Principal Data Scientist Job Trends in England

Principal Data Scientist
UK > England

The median Principal Data Scientist salary in England is £80,939 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 8 January 2026.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
8 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 607 677 648
Rank change year-on-year +70 -29 +306
Permanent jobs requiring a Principal Data Scientist 7 1 22
As % of all permanent jobs in England 0.013% 0.002% 0.046%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.015% 0.002% 0.049%
Number of salaries quoted 1 0 2
10th Percentile - - £95,375
25th Percentile £79,681 - £97,813
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £80,939 - £106,250
Median % change year-on-year - - +132.24%
75th Percentile £82,198 - £115,313
90th Percentile - - £118,125
UK median annual salary £80,939 - £106,250
% change year-on-year - - +132.24%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
England

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in England. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in England with a recognized job title 47,793 45,221 45,352
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 90.80% 92.75% 95.13%
Number of salaries quoted 30,115 23,851 35,458
10th Percentile £28,697 £33,250 £31,250
25th Percentile £36,750 £45,000 £42,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £55,000 £60,000 £59,526
Median % change year-on-year -8.33% +0.80% -3.21%
75th Percentile £75,000 £79,000 £77,500
90th Percentile £95,000 £97,500 £97,500
UK median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year -8.33% +4.35% -4.17%

Principal Data Scientist
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Principal Data Scientist' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in England.

Principal Data Scientist job vacancy trend in England

Principal Data Scientist
Salary Trend in England

Salary distribution trend for Principal Data Scientist job vacancies in England.

Salary distribution trend for Principal Data Scientist job vacancies in England

Principal Data Scientist
Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Principal Data Scientist within the England region over the 6 months to 8 January 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
Matching
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
London +63 7 £80,939 - 2
Principal Data Scientist
UK

Principal Data Scientist Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England

For the 6 months to 8 January 2026, Principal Data Scientist job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads across the England region featuring Principal Data Scientist in the job title.

1 7 (100.00%) AI
1 7 (100.00%) Data Science
1 7 (100.00%) Machine Learning
1 7 (100.00%) Python
2 4 (57.14%) Computer Science
2 4 (57.14%) Degree
2 4 (57.14%) DV Cleared
2 4 (57.14%) Line Management
2 4 (57.14%) Mathematics
2 4 (57.14%) PhD
2 4 (57.14%) Security Cleared
2 4 (57.14%) Statistics
2 4 (57.14%) Technical Leadership
3 3 (42.86%) Actionable Insight
3 3 (42.86%) Analytics
3 3 (42.86%) B2C
3 3 (42.86%) Big Data
3 3 (42.86%) Broadband
3 3 (42.86%) Customer Experience
3 3 (42.86%) Customer Service
3 3 (42.86%) Data Analysis
3 3 (42.86%) Decision Tree
3 3 (42.86%) Decision-Making
3 3 (42.86%) Deep Learning
3 3 (42.86%) Generative AI
3 3 (42.86%) Natural Language Processing
3 3 (42.86%) Predictive Modelling
3 3 (42.86%) Problem-Solving
3 3 (42.86%) Random Forest
3 3 (42.86%) Reinforcement Learning

Principal Data Scientist Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Communications & Networking
1 3 (42.86%) Broadband
Database & Business Intelligence
1 3 (42.86%) Big Data
General
1 4 (57.14%) Social Skills
2 3 (42.86%) Analytical Skills
2 3 (42.86%) Finance
2 3 (42.86%) Marketing
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 3 (42.86%) TensorFlow
Miscellaneous
1 3 (42.86%) Algorithms
Processes & Methodologies
1 7 (100.00%) AI
1 7 (100.00%) Data Science
1 7 (100.00%) Machine Learning
2 4 (57.14%) Computer Science
2 4 (57.14%) Line Management
2 4 (57.14%) Mathematics
2 4 (57.14%) Statistics
2 4 (57.14%) Technical Leadership
3 3 (42.86%) Actionable Insight
3 3 (42.86%) Analytics
3 3 (42.86%) Customer Experience
3 3 (42.86%) Customer Service
3 3 (42.86%) Decision Tree
3 3 (42.86%) Deep Learning
3 3 (42.86%) Generative AI
3 3 (42.86%) Natural Language Processing
3 3 (42.86%) Predictive Modelling
3 3 (42.86%) Random Forest
3 3 (42.86%) Reinforcement Learning
3 3 (42.86%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 7 (100.00%) Python
2 3 (42.86%) SQL
Qualifications
1 4 (57.14%) Degree
1 4 (57.14%) DV Cleared
1 4 (57.14%) PhD
1 4 (57.14%) Security Cleared