As the world continues to be inundated with a seemingly endless flow of information, employers in Idaho continue to recruit top data science professionals to fill high salaried jobs.
In 2014, the United States Department of Labor reported the following salary and employment highpoints for data science occupations from 2012-2014:
- The East Idaho nonmetropolitan area held the third highest concentration of data scientists in operations research of all other nonmetropolitan areas in the country, employing roughly 30 as of 2014.
- In 2012, data scientists in finance and operations research in Boise were among Idaho’s top 100 highest paying occupations.
Starting Salary Ranges for Data Scientist in Idaho’s Major Cities
According to the Idaho Department of Commerce, technology and innovation industries are a huge driving force behind the state’s economy. In 2016, 4,830 business were identified in the technology industry, accounting for 49,322 jobs in the state. In the next decade, technology and innovation industries are projected to experience a 13.7% growth rate, which could mean even more job possibilities and high-end salaries for the data scientists employed here.
Boise Valley has long been an established hot spot for tech industry titans like T-Mobile, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and CenturyLink. In 2015, ZipRecruiter called the Boise City-Nampa region one of the “Top Ten Up-and-Coming Cities for Tech Jobs”.
Today, the area continues to encourage amateur tech entrepreneurs through Boise Young Professionals, an agency backed by the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce that holds the b|launched competition each year. The b|launched competition links young techies to veteran entrepreneurs and community funds to accelerate successful company startups in the Treasure Valley. One of the chief initiatives of b|launched is to create greater-paying, more specialized jobs for tech professionals like data scientists.
The Idaho Falls area is another place that data scientists are receiving generous starting salaries due to a booming tech industry. In fact, Idaho Politics Weekly published an article in 2015 naming energy and high technology as one of Idaho Falls’ four major industries. One of the most influential tech presences in the region is Idaho National Laboratory, which employs roughly 7,5000 local workers, making it the top employer in Idaho Falls.
In 2016, the technology-staffing firm Robert Half Technology released the following starting salary ranges for data scientists in the Boise and Idaho Falls areas. Robert Half Technology determined these starting salary ranges by examining numerous data scientist job placements they have arranged in recent years. Salary data does not factor in additional income earned through bonuses or other incentives.
Boise Region
- Boise: $94,000-$132,000
- Nampa: $87,000-$123,000
- Lewiston: $79,000-$111,000
- Kennewick: $99,000-$140,000
- Pasco: $99,000-$140,000
Idaho Falls Region
- Idaho Falls: $85,000-$119,00
- Pocatello: $70,000-$99,000
- Logan: $70,000-$99,000
- Ogden: $82,000-$116,000
- Clearfield: $82,000-$116,000
Data Science Salary Expectations in the Areas of Finance and Operations Research
Data science is such an interdisciplinary field, that salary ranges differ widely according to numerous factors such as education, career pathway, and experience level. In 2014, the United States Department of Labor along with the Idaho Department of Labor released the following salary statistics for data scientists in two industries helping to shape and change the face of data science in Idaho:
Operations Research
- $110,700
Finance
- $99,100
Salaries for Data Scientists in Statistical Modeling in Idaho by Location
The Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area encompasses the three biggest cities in Idaho: Meridian, Boise, and Nampa. Stretching across seven counties, this region is a hot bed for data science jobs. In fact, according to the United States Department of Labor, this region employed 75% of Idaho’s data scientists working in statistical modeling as 2014:
- Boise City-Nampa – $126,950
The US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics information shown here reflects salary data for broad occupational classifications that include data scientists. These estimates are expressed as 90th percentile averages to reflect the fact that data scientists are recognized as the top earners within each classification.