Data Scientists in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,077
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$26,043
25.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$85,669
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$103,120
Kept after tax
$77,077
Worth in national money
$85,669
State rank
24
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama sits in the middle of the pack for data scientists. The median is $103,120, ranking 24 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 482 occupations Alabama reports, data scientists comes in at 41 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $103,120 the take-home is $77,077; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $85,669 would nationally. The average comes to $105,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Alabama occupies the middle band for data scientists: a median of $103,120, ranking 24 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Data scientists ranks 41 of 482 occupations by median in Alabama, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for data scientists in Alabama, on $103,120, is $77,077 — equivalent to $85,669 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $105,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Data Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $103,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $161,590 |
| This salary | $103,120 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $77,077 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $81,375 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,929 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $97,010 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,664 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of data scientists in Alabama earn under $103,120 and half over. The published range runs $59,130 at the tenth percentile to $161,590 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $77,077, from $103,120, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 41 of 482 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $85,669, the adjusted value of that $103,120 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 41 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for data scientists in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $59,130 to $161,590; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $77,077 from $103,120. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 41 of 482 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $85,669 — the adjusted value of that $103,120 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 41 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $59,130 at the bottom tenth to $161,590 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $85,669 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $77,077.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($59,130) and the ninetieth ($161,590) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $85,669 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $77,077 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.