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Data Scientists pay in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Data Scientists is $106,500 per year in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC. It is $185,080 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Durham-Chapel Hill, NC is 42.5% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 15-2051 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 1,320 wage and salary jobs in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC and 6,060 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings