What is the real (cost-adjusted) Data Scientist salary in Texas?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 97.1 for Texas), the real-wage equivalent is $109,677 — what the $106,540 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $83,529 to $141,641.

How many Data Scientists does Texas employ?

BLS OES counts 23,420 Data Scientists employed in Texas in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does Texas rank for Data Scientist pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Texas ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

How wide is the wage spread in Texas?

P10 to P90 spans $61,230 to $169,310. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

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

No — Texas'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 Texas?

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 Texas.

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 Salary in Texas (2026): $107K Median, BEA RPP-Adjusted

TL;DR

Median Data Scientist salary in Texas: $106,540 nominal, $109,677 real (BEA RPP basis).
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $61,230 · P25 $81,140 · P75 $137,590 · P90 $169,310.
Data Scientist ranking: #20 on the BLS table, #23 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — Texas

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$61,230	$63,033
P25 (lower quartile)	$81,140	$83,529
P50 (median)	$106,540	$109,677
P75 (upper quartile)	$137,590	$141,641
P90 (top tier)	$169,310	$174,295
Mean	$114,800	$118,180
Employment	23,420 Data Scientists in Texas

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Texas index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	97.1
Goods	98.1
Services	92.4
Rents	97.5

Texas's overall RPP (97.1) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Texas (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)	$106,540	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$14,686	13.8% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$8,150	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$83,704	78.6% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$86,168	÷ (97.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Texas levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $5,327 a year for a Data Scientist at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $86,168 — higher than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP is below 100.

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. Texas sits at #20 on nominal pay and #23 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Texas falls 3 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Data Scientist salary in Texas?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 97.1 for Texas), the real-wage equivalent is $109,677 — what the $106,540 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $83,529 to $141,641.
How many Data Scientists does Texas employ?: BLS OES counts 23,420 Data Scientists employed in Texas in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does Texas rank for Data Scientist pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Texas ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
How wide is the wage spread in Texas?: P10 to P90 spans $61,230 to $169,310. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Texas a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Data Scientists?: No — Texas'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 Texas?: 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 Texas.
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.

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 Texas 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.