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Lead Data Scientist salary: median $172,500 a year

Lead Data Scientist listings that state pay run from $157,500 to $185,500 for the middle half, based on 58 current job listings. 166 lead data scientist roles are open now.

Lead Data Scientist pay range

From 58 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter
$157,500
Median
$172,500
Upper quarter
$185,500

Do AI skills change lead data scientist pay?

For Data & Analytics roles in general, as of November 9, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for lead data scientist alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Data & Analytics listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise +43.6% (about $60.5k) compared with similar listings that do not, matched on level and industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$207,500
median, from 2,325 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$135,000
median, from 343 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

More pay data: Data & Analytics pay by level, skills that pay more and pay by employer size.

Lead Data Scientist salary by state

States with at least 8 listings that state pay.

Between jobs? Unemployment benefits and severance rules in these states, or in every state.

Open lead data scientist jobs

Verified against the employer’s own career site within the last week.

Showing the newest 15 of about 166 verified open jobs here. Search all jobs

All 166 lead data scientist jobs

Data & Analytics jobs in the rankings

Rankings about data & analytics jobs

Data & Analytics jobs · Top Data & Analytics employers · All rankings

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Lead Data Scientist salary questions

How much does a lead data scientist make?
Among 58 open lead data scientist listings that state pay, the median is $172,500 a year, and half of listings fall between $157,500 and $185,500.
Where does this lead data scientist pay data come from?
From current job listings on employers’ own career sites that state a pay range. Hourly pay is converted at 2,080 hours a year, and a listing’s midpoint is used. Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Which state pays lead data scientists the most?
Of the states with enough listings, California has the highest median listed pay at $181,000.

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