How much does a Data Scientist make in New Jersey?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $130,370 for Data Scientists in New Jersey as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $98,220 and the 75th-percentile is $161,830.

Is New Jersey a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Data Scientists?

No — New Jersey's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for New Jersey?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within New Jersey.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Data scientist vs data analyst pay in New Jersey — what's the gap?

BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In New Jersey, the data scientist median typically runs 30-60% above the data analyst median, reflecting heavier ML/statistics requirements, deeper SQL/Python depth expectations, and stronger industry placement in tech and finance.

Does a PhD increase data scientist salary in New Jersey?

BLS does not segment by degree. Industry surveys (Burtch Works, Glassdoor) show a PhD premium of roughly 10-25% versus a master's-only data scientist in New Jersey, concentrated in research-heavy industries (pharma, quant finance, AI labs) and largely absent in product analytics roles.

Industry vs academia data scientist pay in New Jersey?

Academia and government research positions in {state} typically pay below the BLS data scientist median — often 20-40% lower at the assistant-professor or junior-research-scientist level. Industry roles (especially tech, finance, consumer internet) pull the BLS aggregate well above academic ranges.

How Much Do Data Scientists Make in New Jersey? $130K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

BLS reports New Jersey Data Scientist median pay at $130,370. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $119,670.
Wage envelope: $74,780 (P10) to $184,520 (P90), with quartiles at $98,220 and $161,830.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
State ranks #5 nationally on nominal wage, #12 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — New Jersey

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$74,780	$68,643
P25 (lower quartile)	$98,220	$90,159
P50 (median)	$130,370	$119,670
P75 (upper quartile)	$161,830	$148,548
P90 (top tier)	$184,520	$169,376
Mean	$131,800	$120,983
Employment	5,860 Data Scientists in New Jersey

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	New Jersey index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	108.9
Goods	105.8
Services	114.8
Rents	134.1

New Jersey is a high-cost state — RPP 108.9 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (134.1) and services (114.8).

After-tax take-home — New Jersey (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Data Scientist)	$130,370	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$20,107	15.4% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$6,178	1.4–10.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,973	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$94,112	72.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$86,388	÷ (108.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the New Jersey state-tax burden means for Data Scientist take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.7% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $94,112 (72.2% of gross). After the 108.9 RPP, real take-home is $86,388.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $112,590 for Data Scientists with mean pay of $124,590 and total employment of 233,440. New Jersey sits at #5 on nominal pay and #12 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, New Jersey falls 7 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Data Scientist make in New Jersey?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $130,370 for Data Scientists in New Jersey as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $98,220 and the 75th-percentile is $161,830.
Is New Jersey a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Data Scientists?: No — New Jersey's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for New Jersey?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within New Jersey.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Data scientist vs data analyst pay in New Jersey — what's the gap?: BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In New Jersey, the data scientist median typically runs 30-60% above the data analyst median, reflecting heavier ML/statistics requirements, deeper SQL/Python depth expectations, and stronger industry placement in tech and finance.
Does a PhD increase data scientist salary in New Jersey?: BLS does not segment by degree. Industry surveys (Burtch Works, Glassdoor) show a PhD premium of roughly 10-25% versus a master's-only data scientist in New Jersey, concentrated in research-heavy industries (pharma, quant finance, AI labs) and largely absent in product analytics roles.
Industry vs academia data scientist pay in New Jersey?: Academia and government research positions in {state} typically pay below the BLS data scientist median — often 20-40% lower at the assistant-professor or junior-research-scientist level. Industry roles (especially tech, finance, consumer internet) pull the BLS aggregate well above academic ranges.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-2051, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how New Jersey Data Scientist pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.