What the data says about data scientist pay in Atlanta
Here is how that number compares with the rest of the United States, with GA, and with other jobs in Atlanta.
How Atlanta compares with United States and GA
Directly above Atlanta is Philadelphia (US$109,910); directly below is Chicago (US$107,640). The full range runs from US$103,290 in San Antonio to US$185,080 in San Jose.
No other GA metro has observed data scientist percentiles here, so Atlanta is judged against the 21-metro national list instead.
Take-home, rent and buying power for Atlanta data scientists
With a COL index of 100, there is little difference between headline pay and price-adjusted pay (US$108,900).
Adjusting for prices does not move Atlanta in the ranking: it is 18th of 21 on both cash and buying power.
After a simplified 14% effective national income tax, the median nets about US$7,800 a month. A modeled 1-bedroom (US$1,650) takes 21% of that, leaving around US$4,320 after modeled living costs.
If you compared Atlanta with similarly priced cities
New York (similar cost level, COL 100) pays US$135,980, 25% more than Atlanta; modeled monthly leftover is US$1,730 higher.
Los Angeles (similar cost level, COL 100) pays US$129,740, 19% more than Atlanta; modeled monthly leftover is US$1,340 higher.
A data scientist moving from Atlanta to Chicago (similar cost level, COL 100) would see the median fall 1% to US$107,640, with US$90 less left over monthly in our model.
Other Atlanta jobs compared with data scientist
Of the 9 roles we track in Atlanta, Data Scientist is 3rd by median; the highest is Lawyer (US$138,210).
Closest neighbours in the Atlanta list: Software Engineer at US$132,960 (+22%) and Project Manager at US$103,400 (-5%).
Where Atlanta stands for junior and senior data scientists
Starting pay holds up better than senior pay here. The 10th percentile places 11th nationally among observed metros; the 90th places 16th.
For the top 10% of earners, San Jose leads with US$282,840 at the 90th percentile, +64% against Atlanta.
Spread between low and high data scientist pay in Atlanta
The 90th percentile (US$172,130) is 2.4× the 10th (US$72,430), a wide band that usually reflects different seniority levels and employer types under one title.