Data Scientist Contract Job Trends in Central London

Data Scientist
London > Central London

The median Data Scientist daily rate in Central London is £545, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 3 November 2026.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
3 Nov 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 143 114 114
Rank change year-on-year -29 0 +36
Contract Data Scientist jobs 14 13 15
As % of all contract jobs in Central London 0.61% 0.70% 0.65%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.65% 0.75% 0.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 9 10 9
10th Percentile - £502 £450
25th Percentile £425 £527 £600
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £545 £556 £625
Median % change year-on-year -2.02% -11.00% -
75th Percentile £788 £631 £713
90th Percentile £802 £641 £725
London median daily rate £635 £550 £600
% change year-on-year +15.45% -8.33% -4.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 0 1 0
Median hourly rate - £62.50 -
London median hourly rate - £62.50 £52.50
% change year-on-year - +19.05% +16.67%

All Contract IT Job Roles
Central London

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts in Central London matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.

6 months to
3 Nov 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Contract job adverts in Central London matching a recognised job title 2,144 1,737 2,167
% of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title 93.50% 93.44% 93.20%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,486 1,204 1,359
10th Percentile £363 £325 £362
25th Percentile £450 £425 £463
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £575
Median % change year-on-year - -4.35% -
75th Percentile £675 £675 £680
90th Percentile £769 £763 £775
London median daily rate £550 £543 £550
% change year-on-year +1.38% -1.36% -4.35%
Number of hourly rates quoted 37 24 24
10th Percentile £15.00 £17.61 £21.29
25th Percentile £17.60 £22.86 £30.19
Median hourly rate £25.00 £27.75 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year -9.91% -20.71% -7.89%
75th Percentile £58.75 £38.88 £82.19
90th Percentile £74.50 £61.65 £129.85
London median hourly rate £40.96 £26.68 £38.50
% change year-on-year +53.55% -30.71% -3.34%

Data Scientist Job Vacancy Trend in Central London

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Data Scientist job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Central London.

Data Scientist job vacancy trend in Central London

Data Scientist Daily Rate Trend in Central London

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Data Scientist job vacancies in Central London.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Data Scientist job vacancies in Central London

Data Scientist Daily Rate Histogram in Central London

Daily rate distribution for Data Scientist jobs in Central London over the 6 months to 3 November 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Data Scientist in Central London

Data Scientist Hourly Rate Trend in Central London

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Data Scientist job vacancies in Central London.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Data Scientist job vacancies in Central London

Data Scientist Contract Job Locations in Central London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in Data Scientist jobs within the Central London region over the 6 months to 3 November 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Job Ads
Past 6 Months
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
City of London -22 12 £545 -2.02% 2
Data Scientist
London

Data Scientist Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Central London

For the 6 months to 3 November 2026, Data Scientist contract job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract Data Scientist job ads across the Central London region.

RankSkillShareJob Ads
1Data Science100.0%14
2Python71.4%10
3Machine Learning64.3%9
4AI57.1%8
4Generative AI57.1%8
6LLM50.0%7
7Decision-Making35.7%5
7Validation35.7%5
9Data Pipeline28.6%4
9Statistics28.6%4
11Analytics21.4%3
11AWS21.4%3
11Continuous Improvement21.4%3
11Data Engineering21.4%3
11Exploratory Analysis21.4%3
11Mathematics21.4%3
11Software Engineering21.4%3
11SQL21.4%3
19Analytical Modelling14.3%2
19API Development14.3%2
19API Integration14.3%2
19Applied Mathematics14.3%2
19Critical Thinking14.3%2
19CRM14.3%2
19Customer Experience14.3%2
19Data Analysis14.3%2
19Data Security14.3%2
19Git14.3%2
19Information Retrieval14.3%2
19Microsoft14.3%2

Data Scientist Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Central London by Category

The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.

Job Titles

RankJob TitleShareJob Ads
1Data Engineer7.1%1
1Security Engineer7.1%1