H1B Report
Salary comparison

Economists vs Data Scientists

Side-by-side H-1B prevailing-wage comparison using the same DOL LCA data that drives every page on H1B Report. Quartiles, hiring geography, top sponsors and yearly wage drift.

Occupation A
Economists
SOC 19-3011Rank #65
Occupation B
Data Scientists
SOC 15-2051Rank #5

Key metrics

Wage figures are offered annual wage; volume is total LCA count.

MetricEconomistsData Scientists
Median wage$94,924$102,700
P25 wage$75,000$80,000
P75 wage$129,485$135,000
Wage spread (P75 − P25)$54,485$55,000
Total filings12,851340,799
Wage samples12,796340,106
Rank#65#5

Median wage by year

Year-over-year drift of the typical offered wage.

Economists
Time series: 17 points from FY2010 to FY2026
Time series
PeriodValue
FY2010$85k
FY2011$81k
FY2012$81k
FY2013$80k
FY2014$80k
FY2015$82k
FY2016$85k
FY2017$85k
FY2018$89k
FY2019$95k
FY2020$94k
FY2021$102k
FY2022$110k
FY2023$114k
FY2024$120k
FY2025$120k
FY2026$150k
Data Scientists
Time series: 17 points from FY2010 to FY2026
Time series
PeriodValue
FY2010$70k
FY2011$71k
FY2012$71k
FY2013$74k
FY2014$75k
FY2015$76k
FY2016$78k
FY2017$85k
FY2018$91k
FY2019$95k
FY2020$102k
FY2021$111k
FY2022$115k
FY2023$119k
FY2024$118k
FY2025$121k
FY2026$130k

Top 5 hiring states — Economists

  • 1NY2,601$102,482
  • 2CA1,853$100,000
  • 3DC1,003$125,000
  • 4MA950$95,763
  • 5TX813$90,000

Top 5 hiring states — Data Scientists

  • 1CA68,055$127,000
  • 2NY36,985$120,000
  • 3TX34,597$97,739
  • 4WA24,843$129,709
  • 5NJ17,688$95,000
Or browse the full occupation index.
Economists vs Data Scientists — H-1B Salary Comparison · H1B Report