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Data Scientists pay in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and Tucson, AZ
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Data Scientists is $185,080 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. It is $83,650 per year in Tucson, AZ. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA is 121.3% above Tucson, AZ 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 6,060 wage and salary jobs in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA and 360 in Tucson, AZ. 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