Best colleges for Data Science
Ranked by graduate earnings
Compare 303 U.S. colleges offering Data Science by graduate earnings, cost, and outcomes. Federal data across 45 states.
About Data Science programs
The Data Science program is an interdisciplinary field that combines statistics, scientific computing, and coding to extract knowledge from various types of data. This program is designed for students interested in analyzing and interpreting complex data sets to inform decision-making across multiple sectors, including business, healthcare, and technology.
Students in the Data Science program will gain core skills in data analysis, statistical software usage, and algorithm application. Coursework typically includes data manipulation, feature selection, and model comparison to effectively summarize and interpret data.
Top 303 institutions, ranked by graduate earnings
Ranked by median earnings one year after graduation (often called starting salary), College Scorecard, predominant credential. Programs with fewer than 20 graduates a year, a graduation rate under 30%, or online, degree-completion or graduate-only status rank after the rest.
Specializations within Data Science
2 of the 2 6-digit CIP codes under CIP 30.70 have U.S. graduates (NCES CIP 2020, IPEDS 2024–25). Each links to its own page, ranked by graduates.
Offered across 45 states
The same program, compared state by state. Pick a state for in-state earnings and institutions.
| State | Institutions | Median earnings | Top institution by earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3 | — | — |
| Arizona | 7 | — | — |
| Arkansas | 3 | — | — |
| California | 13 | — | — |
| Colorado | 6 | — | — |
| Connecticut | 6 | — | — |
| Delawarelimited | 1 | — | — |
| District of Columbia | 4 | — | — |
| Florida | 13 | — | — |
| Georgia | 9 | — | — |
| Idaholimited | 2 | — | — |
| Illinois | 10 | — | — |
| Indiana | 4 | — | — |
| Iowa | 6 | — | — |
| Kansas | 3 | — | — |
| Kentucky | 4 | — | — |
| Mainelimited | 1 | — | — |
| Maryland | 14 | — | — |
| Massachusetts | 11 | — | — |
| Michigan | 11 | — | — |
| Minnesota | 8 | — | — |
| Mississippilimited | 1 | — | — |
| Missouri | 8 | — | — |
| Montanalimited | 1 | — | — |
| Nebraskalimited | 2 | — | — |
| New Hampshire | 4 | — | — |
| New Jersey | 10 | — | — |
| New York | 16 | — | — |
| North Carolina | 10 | — | — |
| North Dakotalimited | 2 | — | — |
| Ohio | 12 | — | — |
| Oklahomalimited | 1 | — | — |
| Oregon | 4 | — | — |
| Pennsylvania | 21 | — | — |
| Rhode Island | 4 | — | — |
| South Carolinalimited | 2 | — | — |
| South Dakotalimited | 2 | — | — |
| Tennessee | 9 | — | — |
| Texas | 15 | — | — |
| Utah | 5 | — | — |
| Vermont | 3 | — | — |
| Virginia | 7 | — | — |
| Washington | 4 | — | — |
| West Virginialimited | 2 | — | — |
| Wisconsin | 19 | — | — |
Careers & outlook
The payoff after graduation: occupation 15-2051, Data Scientists, and its national outlook.
Graduates of the Data Science program can expect a promising career outlook, with a projected growth rate of 33.5% and approximately 23,400 annual job openings. The median wage for data scientists is $112,590, and a typical educational requirement is a Bachelor's degree.
Top-paying metros
Related careers
CIP-to-SOC crosswalk for Data Science
The SOC occupations NCES officially maps to CIP 30.70.
Under the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, CIP 30.70 (Data Science) maps to 8 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) occupations, the jobs the U.S. Department of Labor links to this field of study.
| SOC code | Occupation |
|---|---|
| 11-3021 | Computer and Information Systems Managers |
| 11-9121 | Natural Sciences Managers |
| 15-1221 | Computer and Information Research Scientists |
| 15-1243 | Database Architects |
| 15-1252 | Software Developers |
| 15-2041 | Statisticians |
| 15-2051 | Data Scientistsprimary |
| 25-1199 | Postsecondary Teachers, All Other |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk.
Skills & knowledge in Data Science programs
From the U.S. Dept. of Labor for the occupation this program most leads to.
What graduates do on the job
- Analyze, manipulate, or process large sets of data using statistical software.
- Apply feature selection algorithms to models predicting outcomes of interest, such as sales, attrition, and healthcare use.
- Apply sampling techniques to determine groups to be surveyed or use complete enumeration methods.
- Clean and manipulate raw data using statistical software.
- Compare models using statistical performance metrics, such as loss functions or proportion of explained variance.
- Create graphs, charts, or other visualizations to convey the results of data analysis using specialized software.
Common questions
What is Data Science?+
Data Science is an interdisciplinary field focused on extracting knowledge from structured and unstructured data using various methods and tools.
What skills will I learn?+
You will learn skills in data analysis, statistical software, and algorithm application, among others.
What is the job outlook for data scientists?+
The job outlook is very positive, with a growth rate of 33.5% and about 23,400 annual openings.
What is the typical salary for a data scientist?+
The median wage for data scientists is $112,590.
What is the CIP code for Data Science?+
Data Science maps to CIP 30.70 in the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), the U.S. Department of Education taxonomy used for College Scorecard Field of Study earnings and IPEDS completions.
About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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