Best Data Scientist programs in Wisconsin, ranked by enrollment
Develop and implement a set of techniques or analytics applications to transform raw data into meaningful information using data-oriented programming languages and visualization software.
34 schools in Wisconsin run programs that feed this job, graduating 3,190 people a year. The job pays a median of $106,680 in Wisconsin across about 4,370 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
21 programs in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Wisconsin (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Wisconsin page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data Science, Generalmain feeder CIP 30.7001In Wisconsin → | 812 | 25.5% | 19 | — | — |
| 2 | CIP 27.0101In Wisconsin → | 548 | 17.2% | 24 | $48,772 | $21,544 |
| 3 | CIP 11.0103In Wisconsin → | 514 | 16.1% | 6 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 4 | CIP 11.0701In Wisconsin → | 363 | 11.4% | 16 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 5 | CIP 45.0603In Wisconsin → | 291 | 9.1% | 6 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 6 | CIP 30.7102In Wisconsin → | 168 | 5.3% | 6 | — | — |
| 7 | CIP 27.0501In Wisconsin → | 154 | 4.8% | 3 | $59,718 | $20,150 |
| 8 | CIP 52.1301In Wisconsin → | 89 | 2.8% | 7 | $62,069 | $23,500 |
| 9 | CIP 11.0102In Wisconsin → | 68 | 2.1% | 3 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 10 | CIP 11.0804In Wisconsin → | 63 | 2.0% | 1 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 11 | CIP 27.0301In Wisconsin → | 27 | 0.8% | 4 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 12 | CIP 26.1103In Wisconsin → | 20 | 0.6% | 3 | $72,338 | $18,500 |
| 13 | Computational Sciencemain feeder CIP 30.3001In Wisconsin → | 16 | 0.5% | 3 | $50,745 | $27,000 |
| 14 | CIP 27.0601In Wisconsin → | 14 | 0.4% | 2 | — | — |
| 15 | CIP 30.7101In Wisconsin → | 9 | 0.3% | 2 | — | — |
| 16 | CIP 30.7199In Wisconsin → | 8 | 0.3% | 2 | — | — |
| 17 | CIP 52.1302In Wisconsin → | 8 | 0.3% | 2 | $62,069 | $23,500 |
| 18 | CIP 11.0802In Wisconsin → | 6 | 0.2% | 1 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 19 | CIP 30.0801In Wisconsin → | 6 | 0.2% | 1 | $89,651 | $23,175 |
| 20 | CIP 27.0305In Wisconsin → | 5 | 0.2% | 1 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 21 | CIP 27.0303In Wisconsin → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
Top 25 schools in Wisconsin
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 34 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI Public · 9 feeder programs | 1,378 | Data Science, General | — | 90% | — | 45% |
| 2 | University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI Public · 7 feeder programs | 511 | Computer Science | $73,795 | 49% | — | 91% |
| 3 | Concordia University - Wisconsin Mequon, WI Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs | 330 | Information Technology | — | 68% | $24,409 | 78% |
| 4 | Milwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee, WI Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 142 | Artificial Intelligence | — | 67% | $20,167 | 59% |
| 5 | Marquette University Milwaukee, WI Private not-for-profit · 15 feeder programs | 88 | Information Technology | $70,530 | 83% | $25,376 | 81% |
| 6 | University of Wisconsin - La Crosse La Crosse, WI Public · 5 feeder programs | 84 | Mathematics, General | $49,651 | 71% | — | 76% |
| 7 | University of Wisconsin - Stout Menomonie, WI Public · 2 feeder programs | 81 | Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation | $54,639 | 55% | — | 88% |
| 8 | University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI Public · 3 feeder programs | 78 | Business Analytics | — | 59% | — | 86% |
| 9 | University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Green Bay, WI Public · 4 feeder programs | 59 | Computer Science | $52,324 | 48% | — | 89% |
| 10 | University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI Public · 5 feeder programs | 57 | Information Technology | $59,680 | 51% | — | 92% |
| 11 | University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI Public · 4 feeder programs | 54 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | $57,663 | 46% | — | 87% |
| 12 | Carroll University Waukesha, WI Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 47 | Management Science | — | 71% | $22,601 | 67% |
| 13 | University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI Public · 3 feeder programs | 47 | Mathematics, General | $48,609 | 64% | — | 82% |
| 14 | Lawrence University Appleton, WI Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 35 | Computer Science | — | 77% | $19,788 | 64% |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin - Parkside Kenosha, WI Public · 3 feeder programs | 31 | Information Technology | — | 40% | — | 75% |
| 16 | University of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls, WI Public · 3 feeder programs | 25 | Mathematics, General | — | 57% | — | 82% |
| 17 | Beloit College Beloit, WI Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 24 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | — | 71% | $21,381 | 63% |
| 18 | Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Data Science, General | — | 50% | — | — |
| 19 | Carthage College Kenosha, WI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 17 | Data Science, General | — | 64% | $22,844 | 87% |
| 20 | Saint Norbert College De Pere, WI Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 16 | Computer Science | $70,730 | 71% | $23,319 | 86% |
| 21 | University of Wisconsin - Platteville Platteville, WI Public · 3 feeder programs | 10 | Mathematics, General | — | 56% | — | 89% |
| 22 | Ripon College Ripon, WI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 8 | Mathematics, General | — | 63% | $19,267 | 80% |
| 23 | Wisconsin Lutheran College Milwaukee, WI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 8 | Computer Science | — | 64% | $19,138 | 78% |
| 24 | Marian University Fond Du Lac, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Management Science | — | 44% | $22,627 | 75% |
| 25 | Madison Area Technical College Madison, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Data Science, General | — | 29% | — | — |
All 34 schools in Wisconsin
Every school in Wisconsin with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison | Public | 1,378 | 9 |
| University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Public | 511 | 7 |
| Concordia University - Wisconsin | Mequon | Private not-for-profit | 330 | 7 |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering | Milwaukee | Private not-for-profit | 142 | 4 |
| Marquette University | Milwaukee | Private not-for-profit | 88 | 15 |
| University of Wisconsin - La Crosse | La Crosse | Public | 84 | 5 |
| University of Wisconsin - Stout | Menomonie | Public | 81 | 2 |
| University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | Whitewater | Public | 78 | 3 |
| University of Wisconsin - Green Bay | Green Bay | Public | 59 | 4 |
| University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point | Stevens Point | Public | 57 | 5 |
| University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh | Oshkosh | Public | 54 | 4 |
| Carroll University | Waukesha | Private not-for-profit | 47 | 4 |
| University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire | Eau Claire | Public | 47 | 3 |
| Lawrence University | Appleton | Private not-for-profit | 35 | 3 |
| University of Wisconsin - Parkside | Kenosha | Public | 31 | 3 |
What data scientists earn in Wisconsin
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $120,230. Wisconsin pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Wisconsin
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Data Scientists page.
How to become a Data Scientist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Wisconsin
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 25 majors mapped to Data Scientists25 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0102Artificial Intelligence
- 11.0103Information Technology
- 11.0701Computer Science
- 11.0802Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database Administration
- 11.0804Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation
- 26.1103Bioinformatics
- 26.1104Computational Biology
- 26.1199Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Other
- 27.0101Mathematics, General
- 27.0301Applied Mathematics, General
- 27.0303Computational Mathematics
- 27.0304Computational and Applied Mathematics
- 27.0305Financial Mathematics
- 27.0306Mathematical Biology
- 27.0399Applied Mathematics, Other
- 27.0501Statistics, General
- 27.0502Mathematical Statistics and Probability
- 27.0503Mathematics and Statistics
- 27.0601Applied Statistics, General
- 27.9999Mathematics and Statistics, Other
- 30.0801Mathematics and Computer Science
- 30.3001Computational Science
- 30.3901Economics and Computer Science
- 30.4801Linguistics and Computer Science
- 30.7001Data Science, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing data scientists programs in Wisconsin.
What degree do you need to become a Data Scientist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Data Science, General, which awarded 812 degrees in Wisconsin in 2024-25, 25.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Data Scientist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 21 programs to this occupation. The largest are Data Science, Computer and Information Sciences, Mathematics, Computer Science, plus 10 more. Together they graduate about 3,190 people a year in Wisconsin.
How much do data scientists earn in Wisconsin?+
The median is $106,680 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 11.3% below the U.S. median of $120,230. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for data scientists growing?+
BLS projects a +33.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 23,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Wisconsin?+
34 institutions in Wisconsin reported graduates from at least one of the 21 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do data scientists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Intelligence Analyst, Clinical Data Manager, Data Management Manager, Market Intelligence Consultant, Competitive Intelligence Analyst, Business Intelligence Analyst (BI Analyst) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-2051.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card