Data Scientists in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,261
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$16,499
20.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,475
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$78,760
Kept after tax
$62,261
Worth in national money
$70,475
State rank
48
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for data scientists. The middle earner takes $78,760, ranking 48 of 49 states — about 34.49% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 484 occupations Louisiana reports, data scientists comes in at 96 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $78,760 you keep $62,261 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $70,475 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $88,480, since top earners drag the number up.
- Louisiana ranks 48 of 49 for data scientists, with a median of $78,760 — about 34.49% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Data scientists ranks 96 of 484 occupations by median in Louisiana, 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.
- Retained pay in Louisiana is $62,261 after the full tax stack, from $78,760. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $70,475 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $88,480 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Data Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $53,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,210 |
| This salary | $78,760 |
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 Louisiana | $62,261 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,238 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,370 |
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 | $75,950 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,036 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Louisiana earn under $78,760 and half over. The published range runs $53,050 at the tenth percentile to $128,210 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $62,261 take-home in Louisiana comes from $78,760. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 96 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $70,475 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 96.
- Figures are distribution medians for data scientists in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $53,050 to $128,210; 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.
- Retained pay of $62,261, from $78,760, assumes a single Louisiana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 96 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $70,475, worked from $78,760, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Louisiana address, on work sitting at 96 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $88,480, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $53,050 at the bottom tenth to $128,210 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $70,475 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Louisiana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $62,261 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Louisiana is $88,480. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($53,050) and the ninetieth ($128,210) 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?
Louisiana'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 $70,475 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 $62,261 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.