San Jose data scientist salary: rankings and context
Monthly take-home on that median is roughly US$12,700; local prices sit at COL 100, so its buying power is about US$185,100.
San Jose vs the national and CA picture
Second place goes to San Francisco at US$170,110, 8% lower; at the other end, San Antonio pays US$103,290.
San Jose out-earns the rest of CA for this role — Los Angeles (US$129,740), San Diego (US$130,990) and San Francisco (US$170,110) — and beats the 4-metro state average of US$154,000 by 20%.
Cost of living and take-home in San Jose
Living costs are close to the baseline (COL index 100), so the median's buying power, about US$185,100, is near its face value.
Cash rank and buying-power rank match for San Jose: 1st of 21.
Run the median through our simplified tax model (18% effective) and about US$12,700 lands each month. Budget US$1,650 for a modeled 1-bedroom — 13% of pay — and other modeled costs, and roughly US$9,160 remains.
San Jose vs nearby CA metros
Los Angeles (also in CA) pays US$129,740, 30% less than San Jose; modeled monthly leftover is US$3,500 lower.
A data scientist moving from San Jose to San Diego (also in CA) would see the median fall 29% to US$130,990, with US$3,430 less left over monthly in our model.
A data scientist moving from San Jose to New York (similar cost level, COL 100) would see the median fall 27% to US$135,980, with US$3,110 less left over monthly in our model.
Data Scientist vs other occupations in San Jose
Data Scientist ranks 4th of 9 occupations with observed San Jose data. Lawyer leads the city at US$301,320.
Closest neighbours in the San Jose list: Software Engineer at US$213,110 (+15%) and Mechanical Engineer at US$168,030 (-9%).
How San Jose ranks at the low and high end
Entry and senior pay rank the same in San Jose: 1st of 21 at both the 10th and the 90th percentile.
No observed metro has a higher 90th percentile for this role than San Jose.
The data scientist pay range in San Jose
Pay is spread out: US$109,740 at the 10th percentile to US$282,840 at the 90th (2.6×). Level and setting matter more than the city average here.