Data Scientist Job Trends
Data Scientist
UK
The median Data Scientist salary in the UK is £79,500 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 16 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 16 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 314 | 530 | 462 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +216 | -68 | +50 |
| Permanent jobs requiring a Data Scientist | 682 | 139 | 311 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.57% | 0.28% | 0.44% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.62% | 0.32% | 0.46% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 380 | 82 | 123 |
| 10th Percentile | £50,000 | £42,500 | £38,896 |
| 25th Percentile | £60,000 | £51,938 | £50,685 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £79,500 | £67,500 | £62,879 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +17.78% | +7.35% | -0.59% |
| 75th Percentile | £95,000 | £85,000 | £78,750 |
| 90th Percentile | £100,000 | £90,000 | £109,250 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £75,000 | £55,000 | £55,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +36.36% | - | -12.00% |
All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies. 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.
| 6 months to 16 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title | 110,105 | 43,964 | 67,208 |
| % of permanent jobs with a recognized job title | 92.43% | 89.90% | 95.34% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 74,779 | 25,831 | 38,509 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,000 | £28,000 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,000 | £35,000 | £41,250 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £58,396 | £53,500 | £55,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +9.15% | -2.73% | -8.33% |
| 75th Percentile | £76,250 | £73,750 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £98,750 | £95,000 | £95,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £46,000 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +19.57% | -8.00% | -4.76% |
Data Scientist Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Data Scientist' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.
Data Scientist Salary Trend
Salary distribution trend for Data Scientist job vacancies in the UK.
Data Scientist Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for jobs citing Data Scientist over the 6 months to 16 October 2026.
Data Scientist Top 17 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Data Scientist within the UK over the 6 months to 16 October 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | +198 | 634 | £80,000 | +14.29% | 618 |
| UK excluding London | +132 | 368 | £75,000 | +36.36% | 225 |
| London | +100 | 290 | £84,250 | +12.33% | 402 |
| Work from Home | +76 | 158 | £67,500 | +3.85% | 301 |
| North of England | +22 | 110 | £80,000 | +45.45% | 60 |
| South East | +17 | 77 | £80,000 | +88.24% | 50 |
| South West | -2 | 73 | £75,000 | +7.14% | 27 |
| Midlands | +17 | 71 | £70,000 | +0.54% | 44 |
| East Midlands | +23 | 65 | £67,500 | -15.63% | 15 |
| North West | +10 | 58 | £75,000 | +36.36% | 39 |
| Yorkshire | +5 | 41 | £85,000 | +54.55% | 19 |
| Wales | - | 16 | £75,000 | - | 12 |
| North East | -61 | 11 | £80,000 | +53.85% | 2 |
| Northern Ireland | -72 | 10 | £72,500 | +81.25% | 2 |
| East of England | -43 | 7 | £60,000 | +2.13% | 29 |
| West Midlands | -41 | 6 | £75,013 | +26.60% | 29 |
| Scotland | +3 | 4 | £75,013 | +85.22% | 4 |
Data Scientist Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 16 October 2026, 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 featuring Data Scientist in the job title.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data Science | 99.7% | 680 |
| 2 | Machine Learning | 51.3% | 350 |
| 3 | AI | 40.9% | 279 |
| 4 | Python | 34.9% | 238 |
| 5 | Analytics | 29.5% | 201 |
| 6 | SQL | 17.4% | 119 |
| 7 | Actionable Insight | 15.1% | 103 |
| 8 | MLOps | 13.8% | 94 |
| 9 | Generative AI | 13.2% | 90 |
| 10 | Degree | 12.0% | 82 |
| 10 | Natural Language Processing | 12.0% | 82 |
| 12 | Statistics | 11.6% | 79 |
| 13 | Predictive Modelling | 11.1% | 76 |
| 14 | Azure | 10.6% | 72 |
| 15 | Mentoring | 10.3% | 70 |
| 16 | Decision-Making | 9.4% | 64 |
| 17 | Roadmaps | 9.2% | 63 |
| 18 | CI/CD | 9.1% | 62 |
| 19 | LLM | 8.9% | 61 |
| 20 | AWS | 8.8% | 60 |
| 21 | Problem-Solving | 7.9% | 54 |
| 22 | Deep Learning | 7.8% | 53 |
| 22 | Software Engineering | 7.8% | 53 |
| 24 | Data Analysis | 7.5% | 51 |
| 24 | GCP | 7.5% | 51 |
| 26 | Mathematics | 7.3% | 50 |
| 27 | Agile | 7.2% | 49 |
| 28 | Validation | 7.0% | 48 |
| 29 | Data Engineering | 6.9% | 47 |
| 30 | Security Cleared | 6.6% | 45 |
Data Scientist Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senior Data Scientist | 52.8% | 360 |
| 2 | Lead Data Scientist | 16.6% | 113 |
| 3 | Principal Data Scientist | 5.6% | 38 |
| 4 | Research Scientist | 5.1% | 35 |
| 5 | Developer | 4.0% | 27 |
| 5 | Machine Learning Scientist | 4.0% | 27 |
| 7 | Data Engineer | 3.5% | 24 |
| 8 | Statistician | 2.5% | 17 |
| 9 | Machine Learning Researcher | 2.3% | 16 |
| 10 | Artificial Intelligence Engineer | 2.2% | 15 |
| 11 | Lead Developer | 1.9% | 13 |
| 11 | Senior Data Engineer | 1.9% | 13 |
| 13 | Data Manager | 1.8% | 12 |
| 14 | Research Engineer | 0.9% | 6 |
| 15 | Senior Data Warehouse Specialist | 0.7% | 5 |
| 16 | Research Software Engineer | 0.6% | 4 |
| 16 | Senior Software Engineer | 0.6% | 4 |
| 18 | Data Analytics Scientist | 0.4% | 3 |
| 19 | Data Analyst | 0.3% | 2 |
| 19 | Data Science Leader | 0.3% | 2 |