Data Scientist vs Research Scientist H-1B salaries
The median certified H-1B salary was $118,500 at Data Scientist and $153,727 at Research Scientist: Research Scientist paid 30% more. From filings received Jan 2023 to Jun 2026.
| Data Scientist | Research Scientist | |
|---|---|---|
| Certified filings | 8,628 | 5,529 |
| Median salary | $118,500 | $153,727 |
| Middle half | $95,512 to $160,000 | $79,989 to $196,190 |
| Top 10% earn over | $199,363 | $224,000 |
| Above prevailing wage | +6% | +17% |
| Median at Level I | $86,080 | $75,000 |
| Median at Level II | $110,000 | $170,186 |
| Median at Level III | $140,200 | $152,440 |
| Median at Level IV | $183,590 | $214,032 |
| Most filings for | Meta Platforms, Inc | Meta Platforms, Inc |
Same employers, both sides
| Employer | Data Scientist | Research Scientist |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Platforms, Inc (803 / 1,503) | $196,914 | $191,678 |
| Google LLC (347 / 502) | $188,000 | $200,000 |
| Intel Corporation (146 / 139) | $117,590 | $136,448 |
| NVIDIA Corporation (24 / 208) | $179,624 | $169,242 |
| ByteDance Inc. (76 / 82) | $225,000 | $255,300 |
| The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (30 / 83) | $106,000 | $75,000 |
| IBM Corporation (62 / 47) | $163,660 | $210,000 |
| UT Southwestern Medical Center (7 / 72) | $86,000 | $70,160 |
| University of Pittsburgh (7 / 52) | $70,000 | $66,731 |
| TikTok Inc. (40 / 18) | $170,652 | $200,640 |
| Brigham and Women's Hospital (5 / 50) | $74,318 | $75,000 |
| Netflix, Inc. (29 / 26) | $232,690 | $257,421 |
| General Hospital Corporation (11 / 39) | $75,000 | $71,406 |
| KLA Corporation (7 / 37) | $130,688 | $160,000 |
| Waymo LLC (20 / 23) | $205,000 | $205,000 |
Median salary where both have at least 3 filings; the number of filings is in brackets.
Same cities
| City | Data Scientist | Research Scientist |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | $154,500 | $185,723 |
| Menlo Park, CA | $194,834 | $186,384 |
| Mountain View, CA | $180,000 | $202,000 |
| Bellevue, WA | $175,636 | $200,640 |
| San Francisco, CA | $160,000 | $203,500 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $174,000 | $200,000 |
| Cambridge, MA | $125,000 | $90,000 |
| Houston, TX | $100,000 | $75,000 |
| San Jose, CA | $167,268 | $235,000 |
| Seattle, WA | $145,450 | $180,184 |
By year
| Year filed | Data Scientist | Research Scientist |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $117,000 | $77,830 |
| 2024 | $119,000 | $130,000 |
| 2025 | $117,590 | $135,056 |
| 2026 | $119,074 | $186,200 |