Data Scientist Salary in Boston 2026: Complete Guide

Boston has built one of the most distinctive data science ecosystems in the United States. While Silicon Valley dominates the AI narrative and New York commands finance, Boston sits at the intersection of biotech, academia, finance, and healthcare — creating a demand for data scientists that is both deep and highly specialized.

This guide covers exactly what data scientists earn in Boston in 2026, which employers pay the most, the biotech premium that sets this market apart, and how Boston stacks up against NYC, San Francisco, and Seattle.

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Boston Data Science Market Overview

Boston’s data science market is shaped by four overlapping ecosystems, each with distinct hiring patterns and pay structures.

Biotech and Pharma is Boston’s defining sector. The Kendall Square corridor in Cambridge houses more biotech companies per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Biogen, Moderna, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer’s research hub, Sanofi, and dozens of clinical-stage startups employ data scientists to analyze genomic data, accelerate drug discovery, model clinical trials, and build real-world evidence platforms. The domain knowledge required — bioinformatics, survival analysis, causal inference in clinical settings — commands a meaningful salary premium. Finance and Asset Management anchors the other half of Boston’s data science market. Fidelity Investments, State Street, Liberty Mutual, and Wellington Management employ large data science teams working on risk modeling, portfolio optimization, fraud detection, algorithmic trading, and customer analytics. These roles favor statistical rigor and regulatory awareness alongside ML engineering. Academia and Research creates a unique talent pipeline. MIT’s Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems, Harvard’s Data Science Initiative, the Broad Institute, and dozens of affiliated research groups both supply and absorb data science talent. Research scientist roles at academic institutions pay below industry rates, but many practitioners move fluidly between academia and industry, and the intellectual density accelerates skill development. Healthcare AI is the fastest-growing segment. Mass General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Partners HealthCare (now Mass General Brigham), and a constellation of digital health startups are building data science teams to improve diagnostics, predict patient outcomes, and optimize care pathways. This sector blends clinical domain knowledge with ML — a combination that commands a premium.

Consumer tech and SaaS round out the picture: HubSpot’s analytics team, DraftKings’ data science organization, and Wayfair’s supply chain modeling team offer strong compensation and fast career tracks for data scientists who prefer product-driven environments.

Data Scientist Salary by Experience Level in Boston

Boston data scientist salaries span a wide range depending on seniority, sector, and specialization. The figures below represent total compensation (base + bonus + equity where applicable).

Junior / Entry-Level Data Scientist: $85,000–$110,000

Entry-level roles typically require a master’s degree or equivalent experience and proficiency in Python and SQL. Biotech companies hiring junior data scientists often pay at the higher end of this band ($95K–$110K) given the domain ramp-up required. Finance firms and healthcare startups cluster around $90K–$105K for analysts transitioning into data science.

Mid-Level Data Scientist (3–5 years): $115,000–$155,000

At this level, Boston employers expect independent project ownership, experience deploying models to production, and deep domain knowledge in the relevant sector. Bioinformatics specialists and finance-sector data scientists with regulatory modeling experience sit at the upper end. HubSpot, DraftKings, and Wayfair pay competitively in the $120K–$145K range for strong generalist data scientists.

Senior Data Scientist (5–8 years): $145,000–$195,000

Senior data scientists in Boston are expected to lead projects, mentor juniors, and drive measurable business or research outcomes. Biogen, Moderna, and Fidelity pay $165K–$195K total comp for senior data scientists with deep domain expertise. At tech companies like HubSpot or DraftKings, senior roles with equity typically land in the $150K–$180K range.

Staff / Principal Data Scientist (8+ years): $200,000–$260,000

Staff-level roles represent the IC track equivalent of engineering directors. These data scientists own entire research or product analytics domains, influence technical strategy, and often have cross-functional leadership responsibility. The top of this band is achievable at large biotech firms, Fidelity’s quantitative research division, or well-funded healthtech companies. Total comp packages at this level frequently include substantial equity, profit sharing, or multi-year bonuses.

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Top Boston Employers and What They Pay

Biogen is one of Boston’s most recognized biotech employers for data scientists. Roles span real-world evidence analysis, clinical data modeling, and computational biology. Senior data scientists earn $155K–$200K total comp, with strong benefits packages and equity participation. Moderna expanded rapidly after its mRNA platform success and now runs a significant data science organization focused on manufacturing analytics, clinical trial optimization, and immunology modeling. Compensation is competitive: senior data scientists earn $160K–$205K total comp. Fidelity Investments employs one of the largest non-tech data science teams in Boston. Roles cover customer analytics, risk modeling, fraud detection, and alternative data research for investment management. Total comp for senior data scientists runs $155K–$195K, with strong retirement and bonus structures. State Street hires data scientists focused on quantitative analysis, ESG data modeling, and operational analytics. Compensation is solid at $140K–$175K for senior roles, with Boston’s finance culture offering strong stability alongside competitive pay. MIT and Harvard Labs offer research scientist and staff scientist roles that pay below industry rates ($100K–$145K) but provide exceptional research access, publication opportunities, and credentialing that accelerates subsequent industry transitions. Mass General / Dana-Farber employ clinical data scientists and health AI researchers at $120K–$165K, with academic medical center stability and access to some of the most clinically rich datasets in healthcare. HubSpot runs a fast-moving data science team focused on product analytics, customer behavior modeling, and marketing attribution. Compensation for senior data scientists lands at $145K–$180K total comp, with meaningful RSU grants. DraftKings has built a sophisticated data science operation covering sports modeling, user acquisition analytics, and risk management. Pay is competitive in the $140K–$175K range for senior roles, with equity upside tied to company performance.

The Biotech Premium

Boston’s most distinctive salary dynamic is the biotech premium paid to data scientists with specialized life sciences skills. This premium reflects two factors: the domain knowledge required (bioinformatics, R, survival analysis, regulatory familiarity) and the high commercial value of accelerating drug development timelines.

Data scientists with the following skills command 10–20% higher compensation in Boston than generalists at comparable experience levels:

Bioinformatics tools: Bioconductor, GATK, DESeq2, scRNA-seq analysis pipelines

Clinical trial analysis: survival analysis, mixed-effects models, FDA regulatory data standards (CDISC, SDTM)

Genomics and multi-omics: variant calling, pathway analysis, integration of proteomics/transcriptomics data

Real-world evidence: claims data analysis, electronic health records (OMOP CDM), causal inference in observational data

If you have these skills, Boston is arguably the highest-paying market in the world for your profile — more specialized demand relative to supply than any other city.

Boston vs NYC vs San Francisco vs Seattle

Boston’s absolute salaries are lower than San Francisco and New York, but the gap narrows substantially after taxes. California’s 13.3% top marginal rate and New York City’s combined state+city tax of ~12% significantly erode headline compensation. Boston’s 5% flat state income tax means a $175K Boston offer nets more than a $190K NYC offer for many earners.

Seattle’s 0% income tax is a genuine financial advantage — but Boston’s biotech specialization creates higher salary floors for domain-specific data scientists. A computational biologist in Boston will consistently out-earn a comparable candidate in Seattle, where the demand for bioinformatics skills is much lower.

For a direct comparison with the Pacific Northwest market, see our Data Scientist Salary in Seattle 2026 guide. For a European perspective, the Data Scientist Salary in Berlin 2026 covers Germany’s strongest data science market.

Key Skills for Boston Data Scientists

Python is the universal requirement. Every Boston data science employer expects Python proficiency, with libraries varying by sector: scikit-learn, PyTorch, and TensorFlow for ML-heavy roles; pandas, NumPy, and statsmodels for analytics-heavy positions; Biopython and bioinformatics pipelines for biotech. R remains far more important in Boston than most US cities. The biotech and academic research sectors use R extensively for statistical modeling, survival analysis, and bioinformatics. Data scientists who are fluent in both Python and R are significantly more competitive in Boston’s job market. SQL is a baseline everywhere. Boston’s finance and healthcare employers often use complex data warehouse environments (Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery) and expect data scientists to write sophisticated queries independently. Machine learning breadth matters. Employers across sectors want data scientists who understand the full ML pipeline: feature engineering, model selection, cross-validation, hyperparameter tuning, and production deployment. MLOps familiarity (MLflow, SageMaker, Azure ML) is increasingly expected at mid-to-senior levels. Bioinformatics (biotech only) is a high-value specialization. If you have computational biology training, Boston is the market where that background commands the largest salary premium relative to generalist data science. Cloud platforms are standard. AWS dominates Boston’s tech and finance sectors; Azure is common in Microsoft-aligned enterprises; GCP is used at certain research organizations and startups. Cloud certification (AWS Certified Machine Learning, Azure Data Scientist) differentiates candidates in a competitive market.

Negotiation Tips for Boston Data Scientists

1. Quantify the biotech premium if you have life sciences skills. If you have bioinformatics, genomics, or clinical data experience, do not let employers benchmark you against generic data science salary surveys. Your skill set is genuinely scarce. Lead with your domain specialization and anchor to roles at Biogen, Moderna, or Vertex as comparators. 2. Research sector-specific compensation structures. Biotech companies often offer more bonus (10–20% target) relative to equity; finance firms (Fidelity, State Street) typically offer profit-sharing and strong benefits; tech companies (HubSpot, DraftKings) lean more on RSUs. Understand the total comp structure before negotiating so you optimize the right levers. 3. Use competing offers across sectors. A finance offer can be used to negotiate a higher base at a biotech company, and vice versa. Cross-sector competition is common in Boston and employers expect it. Don’t silo your job search to one vertical. 4. Ask for the salary band. Massachusetts law requires employers to disclose pay ranges upon request. Always ask. If the posted range is $130K–$175K, assume the midpoint ($152K) is the internal target and negotiate toward the top third. 5. Factor in the full package. Boston biotech companies often offer strong signing bonuses ($10K–$30K), annual merit increases, and accelerating equity vesting. A slightly lower base offer can exceed a higher base offer when you model out the full 3-year compensation package.

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Ready to Benchmark Your Salary?

Boston’s data science market rewards specialization, domain expertise, and the ability to bridge research and production. Whether you’re coming from a biotech background, a finance analytics role, or a machine learning research position, the city offers a rare combination of intellectual depth and competitive compensation.

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Boston’s combination of biotech density, academic prestige, and finance depth makes it one of the most intellectually rewarding — and financially competitive — data science markets in 2026.