If you are a data scientist, your first reaction to seeing these graphs might be to wonder: why the decline? After three years of consistent wage growth, last year saw a sharp drop in average wages, with expert-level data scientists experiencing an 11.9% decrease in just one year. This decline can likely be attributed to the combination of steady growth over the previous years and a relatively small increase in the cost of living, making New York a highly attractive destination for data scientists. As a result, the growing number of professionals entering the field has led to a more competitive job market, which may be contributing to the dip in average salaries.

However, this does not mean New York has become a less desirable place for data scientists. When compared to other tech hubs like Silicon Valley or Seattle, New York offers unique advantages. While Silicon Valley has a stronger emphasis on software development and hardware engineering, data scientists in New York often work at the crossroads of big data, business strategy, and market dynamics. Financial data science is particularly strong in New York due to the prominence of Wall Street. While salaries in the city may be more sensitive to external factors, there are generally more long-term career advancement opportunities here compared to California. Where Data Scientist roles were once some of the “sexiest” and highest paid data roles , one trend we see across the globe is a fuzziness in job descriptions between this and Data Analysts.