Data scientist: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Actuaries, economists and statisticians (SOC 2433)
About £45,510 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +13.3% on last year
£5,022 a month About £3,793 a month after tax 50 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £47,838 in 2021 to £60,263 in 2026 (+26%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | x | £33,960 | £47,838 | x | x |
| 2022 | x | £33,936 | £43,375 | x | x |
| 2023 | £31,032 | £37,413 | £49,873 | x | x |
| 2024 | £33,965 | £40,676 | £55,178 | £72,040 | x |
| 2025 | £35,321 | £41,769 | £53,201 | £74,794 | x |
| 2026 | £36,117 | £45,004 | £60,263 | £81,467 | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £60,263 a year and half earn more. That is 47% more than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £45,004 and £81,467; one in ten earns less than £36,117.
Ranked by median, it is number 23 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
The mean (£69,736) is well above the median: a minority in this job earn much more than most.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £3,793 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £3,646 in Scotland.
The median for men is £61,856 and for women £55,706, a gap of 10% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £36,117 | £3,010 |
| 20th | £42,606 | £3,551 |
| 25th (P25) | £45,004 | £3,750 |
| 30th | £47,081 | £3,923 |
| 40th | £52,805 | £4,400 |
| Median (50th) | £60,263 | £5,022 |
| 60th | £68,388 | £5,699 |
| 70th | £75,212 | £6,268 |
| 75th (P75) | £81,467 | £6,789 |
| 80th | £85,856 | £7,155 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £61,856 | £74,670 | 34 |
| Women | £55,706 | £59,469 | 16 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £45,510 | £3,793 |
| Scotland | £43,755 | £3,646 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £60,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 46 job titles to SOC 2433 Actuaries, economists and statisticians. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Actuarial analyst
- Actuarial assistant
- Actuarial consultant
- Actuary
- AI data scientist
- Analyst
- Bioinformatician
- Bioinformatics analyst
- Bioinformatics manager
- Bioinformatics support officer
- Biostatistician
- Campaign analyst
- Data analytics manager
- Data scientist
- Demographer
- Digital analyst
- Digital analytics manager
- Economic adviser
- Economic analyst
- Economic assistant
- Economic consultant
- Economic development officer
- Economic forecaster
- Economic planner
- Economics controller
- Economist
- Financial engineer
- Head of statistics
- Informatician
- Information analyst
- Mathematician
- Political analyst
- Quantitative analyst
- Quantitative strategist
- Research associate
- Research worker
- Statistical adviser
- Statistical analyst
- Statistical assistant
- Statistical consultant
- Statistical controller
- Statistical modeller
- Statistical officer
- Statistician
- Web analyst
- Web analytics manager
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Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.