How Much Do Data Analysts Earn in 2026? Your Salary Guide

Key takeaways

Data analysts use mathematical and analytical methods to transform data into better data-driven business decisions. As the amount of data available to businesses increases, so too does the demand for skilled data analysts to process and interpret it. Data analysts are typically paid well for their skills.

• According to Glassdoor, data analysts are expected to earn median total pay of $94,000 per year in 2026 [1].

• Higher salaries may be found in industries like personal consumer services, financial services, and aerospace and defense.

• Advanced roles such as analytics manager and data architect may offer significantly higher pay.

Learn how much data analysts earn on average, as well as how various factors can impact your data analyst salary. Afterward, if you're ready to explore a data analyst career, consider enrolling in the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate and become job-ready as you learn at your own pace.

How much do data analysts earn on average?

According to job listing site Glassdoor, the median total pay for a data analyst in the United States is $94,000 per year [1]. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual pay of $88,940 for operations research analysts, a role similar to data analysts [2]. Meanwhile, ZipRecruiter reports an average pay of $82,640 per year [3]. Several factors can influence how much your salary will be as a data analyst. Let’s take a closer look at a few of these considerations.

What factors affect data analyst salaries?

One of the biggest factors influencing your salary is your experience level. In general, the more years you spend working as a data analyst, the more you can expect to earn. Here's how experience can impact your data analyst base salary, according to Glassdoor [1]:

• 1 to 3 years: $81,000

• 4 to 6 years: $86,000

• 7 to 9 years: $90,000

Can advancing your career boost your salary?

Moving into a leadership role can further boost your earning potential. Glassdoor reports that analytics managers earn an average salary of $184,000 in the US, while directors of analytics earn $255,000 [4, 5]. Learn more about advancing your data analyst career.

What industries pay the most for data analysts?

Just about every industry can use data analytics to drive better business decisions. Industries where the demand for data professionals is highest tend to be the same industries that pay the most on average. 

Here are the top-paying industries for data analysts and their associated salaries [1]:

• Personal Consumer Services: $117,419

• Financial Services: $101,691

• Aerospace & Defense: $96,453

• Energy, Mining & Utilities: $94,740

• Manufacturing: $93,117

How important is location for data analyst salaries?

Where you live can have a big impact on how much you make as a data analyst. Typically, working in a big city correlates to a higher salary (to match a higher cost of living). As more and more companies employ a geographically dispersed workforce (including remote workers), it’s common for companies to offer location-based salaries, salaries that consider location rather than merit alone.

According to Zippia, these are some of the highest paying cities for data analysts [6]:

• Richmond, CA: $87,750

• Washington, DC: $82,722

• Jersey City, NJ: $82,520

• Seattle, WA: $81,246

• Baltimore, MD: $79,980

What are other high-paying data professions?

Getting a job as a data analyst might be the first step in your data career. As you gain experience and new data science skills, you might move into a more advanced or specialized position. Here are a few of them and their median total pays, according to Glassdoor. 

• Database administrator: $107,000

• Business analyst: $108,000

• Statistician: $113,000

• Business intelligence analyst: $117,000

• Data engineer: $135,000

• Data scientist: $158,000

• Machine learning engineer: $165,000

• Data architect: $181,000

• Analytics manager: $184,000

Read more: 4 Data Analyst Career Paths: Your Guide to Leveling Up

Job outlook for data analysts

As big data keeps getting bigger, so too does the need for skilled data analysts.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that jobs for operations research analysts, a role similar to data analysts, will grow 12 percent between 2025 and 2035, which is much faster than the average for all occupations [2].

According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Job Reports 2025, meanwhile, AI and big data top the list of fastest-growing job skills, demonstrating their importance over the coming years. In the same report, data analysts and scientists appeared in the top fastest-growing jobs list, along with several other data-oriented professions [7].

Build your data knowledge on Coursera with free resources

Stay updated about data trends with our LinkedIn newsletter Career Chat, or check out the following digital resources to keep expanding your skills:

• Watch on YouTube: Which Data Analyst Certificate Is Right for You? IBM, Google, Meta, or Microsoft?

• Take a skills assessment: SQL Skills Assessment

• Explore Career Academy: Data Analyst

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