Data Scientist jobs in 2026 — required skills, demand trends, and top hiring cities

As of 2026-10-01, Skillenai has indexed 5,564 job postings with the title “Data Scientist” over the past 90 days. The skill mentioned most often is Python, with demand share down 2.7% vs the prior 4 weeks.

Last updated · 90d ending 2026-10-01

Postings · last 90 days
5,564
Demand vs prior month
down 2.7% vs the prior 4 weeks
Most-required skill
Top hiring metro
San Francisco

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Frequently asked questions about Data Scientist jobs

+How many Data Scientist jobs are being posted in 2026?

Skillenai has indexed 5,564 job postings with the title “Data Scientist” over the 90 days ending 2026-10-01.

+What skills do Data Scientist jobs require?

Across Data Scientist postings indexed by Skillenai over the 90 days ending 2026-10-01, the skills mentioned most often are Python, SQL, machine learning, R, data visualization.

+Which cities are hiring the most Data Scientist?

As of 2026-10-01, Data Scientist postings indexed by Skillenai are concentrated in San Francisco, New York City, London, Washington, Singapore.

+Is Data Scientist a good career path right now?

Skillenai indexes 5,564 Data Scientist postings over the 90 days ending 2026-10-01. The skill mentioned most often in Data Scientist postings is Python, so building it gives the strongest signal that an applicant matches the role.

+How can I track new Data Scientist job postings as they’re indexed?

Skillenai sends a daily email digest of new Data Scientist postings indexed across the open web. Subscribe from your account dashboard after creating a free Skillenai account.

+What roles do people move into and out of Data Scientist?

The career-flow chart shows roles before and after observed employer changes across all locations. Counts are moves, not distinct people or promotion probabilities. Same-role moves to another employer are included. The incoming and outgoing sides are separate groups of observations, not a matched three-stage journey.

Weekly indexed Data Scientist postings — last 90 days

Salary distribution

Box = 25th–75th percentile · tick = median · whisker = 10th–90th · USD, annualized

Career paths through Data Scientist

Different-role employer moves. Each side is scaled independently.

Historical career profiles · all locations

9,695 employer moves kept the same role.

Roles before Data Scientist

Before Data ScientistSoftware Engineer → Data Scientist: 2,292 observed employer movesData Analyst → Data Scientist: 2,223 observed employer movesResearch Assistant → Data Scientist: 906 observed employer movesML Engineer → Data Scientist: 713 observed employer movesTeaching Assistant → Data Scientist: 509 observed employer movesData Engineer → Data Scientist: 416 observed employer movesResearch Scientist → Data Scientist: 330 observed employer movesDataScientistSoftware Engineer: 2,292 movesSoftware Engineer2,292 movesData Analyst: 2,223 movesData Analyst2,223 movesResearch Assistant: 906 movesResearch Assistant906 movesML Engineer: 713 movesML Engineer713 movesTeaching Assistant: 509 movesTeaching Assistant509 movesData Engineer: 416 movesData Engineer416 movesResearch Scientist: 330 movesResearch Scientist330 moves

Roles after Data Scientist

After Data ScientistData Scientist → Software Engineer: 2,390 observed employer movesData Scientist → Data Analyst: 1,422 observed employer movesData Scientist → ML Engineer: 813 observed employer movesData Scientist → Data Engineer: 592 observed employer movesData Scientist → Machine Learning Engineer: 387 observed employer movesData Scientist → Research Assistant: 361 observed employer movesData Scientist → Teaching Assistant: 282 observed employer movesDataScientistSoftware Engineer: 2,390 movesSoftware Engineer2,390 movesData Analyst: 1,422 movesData Analyst1,422 movesML Engineer: 813 movesML Engineer813 movesData Engineer: 592 movesData Engineer592 movesMachine Learning Engineer: 387 movesMachine LearningEngineer387 movesResearch Assistant: 361 movesResearch Assistant361 movesTeaching Assistant: 282 movesTeaching Assistant282 moves
How to read this chart · view counts

Each side is an independent set of observed employer moves, not the same people followed through three stages. Ribbon widths compare move counts within that side. Internal moves are not included.

Same role means a change of employer while keeping the same role. Counts are moves, not distinct people, promotions, or your chances of making a particular move.

Source: Skillenai talent graph, historical career profiles. Historical descriptions and coverage can change. Only the leading published connections are shown.

Observed connections and move counts
ConnectionMoves
Before: Data Scientist (different employer)9,695
Before: Software Engineer2,292
Before: Data Analyst2,223
Before: Research Assistant906
Before: ML Engineer713
Before: Teaching Assistant509
Before: Data Engineer416
Before: Research Scientist330
After: Data Scientist (different employer)9,695
After: Software Engineer2,390
After: Data Analyst1,422
After: ML Engineer813
After: Data Engineer592
After: Machine Learning Engineer387
After: Research Assistant361
After: Teaching Assistant282

Skills most often required for Data Scientist

NamePostingsShare
Python3,31459.6%
SQL2,52545.4%
machine learning2,02536.4%
R1,15120.7%
data visualization80314.4%
scikit-learn63611.4%
PyTorch59910.8%
A/B testing56810.2%
causal inference5429.7%
AWS5259.4%
Tableau5239.4%
pandas5209.3%
Spark5139.2%
Statistical modeling5129.2%
TensorFlow5109.2%

Top companies posting Data Scientist jobs

Employers ranked by indexed job postings in the last 90 days.

Top companies posting Data Scientist jobs
CompanyPostings · 90 days
Capital One59
Bah53
Grab53
NielsenIQ47
Elsevier44
CACI40
Mastercard39
Stripe39
PwC38
Amgen37

Job postings indexed over the past 90 days, grouped by resolved employer. Counts are postings, not hires. Companies without a published page appear without a link.

Top metros hiring Data Scientist

NamePostingsShare
San Francisco1743.1%
New York City1683.0%
London1663.0%
Washington981.8%
Singapore931.7%
Toronto921.7%
Chicago881.6%
Bengaluru871.6%
Atlanta741.3%

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How this was computed

Counts derive from the Skillenai jobs index over the 90 days ending 2026-10-01, matching postings whose canonical role is “Data Scientist”. Pages refresh weekly (or daily for the top-50 most-posted roles). Adjusted posting share: 2.5% to 2.4%. Demand share change is the relative percentage change between these adjusted shares. Each employer-and-ATS group has at least 10 postings in each 90-day window; its earlier posting count supplies the same weight in both windows. The panel includes 2,593 identified employers and covers 68% of earlier and 72% of latest indexed postings. Windows: 2026-06-02 to 2026-08-31 and 2026-06-30 to 2026-09-28 (UTC; end dates excluded). The windows overlap by 62 days. Dates reflect indexing, not the employer’s posting date. This measures posting mix, not total hiring or market-wide demand. Matching excludes entrants and exits; changes in crawl completeness within an employer or ATS can still affect the result.

role
Data Scientist
source
Skillenai jobs index, deduplicated daily
data_as_of
2026-10-01
window_days
90
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The demand, skills, and geo numbers on this page come from the same Skillenai labor market index that powers our API. Use it for compensation benchmarking, hiring-competition analysis, and skill-adoption tracking.

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Compiled by Jared Rand · Data sourced from the Skillenai labor market index