Data Scientist Salary in Lafayette, LA: Median $77,037 in 2026
Lafayette (LA) · COL index 88 · Unemployment 4.2% · Metro pop 490,000 · Rank #226 of 283 for Data Scientist salary
A Data Scientist in Lafayette earns an estimated median of $77,037 per year. That figure starts from the Louisiana state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($77,650) and scales it by Lafayette's composite cost-of-living index of 88 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $42,165; the 90th percentile reaches $129,044. After federal, Louisiana state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer Data Scientist takes home approximately $60,811/year — about $5,068/month or $2,339 every other week.
Compared to the national Data Scientist median of $112,590, Lafayette pays -31.6%. Relative to the Lafayette median household income of $52,200, a Data Scientistsalary runs +47.6%. Local unemployment is 4.2%[3], with an estimated 51 annual Data Scientist openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (233,440).
Data Scientist Snapshot — Lafayette (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Lafayette | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist median salary | $77,037 | $112,590 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $42,165 | $82,560 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $129,044 | $190,530 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $60,811 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $199,674 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,332/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,225/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $60,910 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 88.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 4.2% | — | [3] |
How Data Scientist Salaries Work in Lafayette
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Louisiana state-level OEWS median ($77,650) and scaling by Lafayette's composite cost-of-living index (88)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and Louisiana state income tax at a 2.5% effective rate ($1,936/yr on the $77,037 median)[10].
Lafayette also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. Near-national unemployment means a balanced market — employers and candidates negotiate from roughly equal positions. Median household income in the metro is $60,910, which frames what "a good Data Scientist salary" means locally: a $$77,037 wage pays about 126% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Lafayette
Estimated annual expense shares on a $60,811 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Lafayette's COL index of 88. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Lafayette's COL index of 88[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $950/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Lafayette
Renting
Buying
At $5,068/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,520/mo. Lafayette's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,332/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,225/mo), making rent very affordable on a median Data Scientist salary. For homebuyers, the 2.8× price-to-income ratio is comfortable — a median {p.title} salary supports the median home in {city.name} well inside standard lender DTI caps.
How Lafayette Stacks Up for Data Scientists
Against 283 major US cities: Lafayette ranks #226 for nominal Data Scientist salary, #74 for rent affordability, and #75 for overall purchasing power. Lafayette is mid-pack: solid nominal salaries partly absorbed by cost of living. Whether it "pays well" depends heavily on housing choices.
Nearby Cities — Data Scientist Salary Comparison
Lafayette's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs LA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette, LA ★ | $77,037 | 88 | $950 | — |
| New Orleans, LA | $108,086 | 96 | $1,271 | +40.3% |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $99,079 | 88 | $800 | +28.6% |
| Shreveport, LA | $92,324 | 82 | $850 | +19.8% |
| Lake Charles, LA | $95,702 | 85 | $850 | +24.2% |
| Buffalo, NY | $99,079 | 88 | $1,125 | +28.6% |
Data Scientist Job Market in Lafayette
Lafayette has an estimated 51 annual Data Scientistopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 233,440 national Data Scientists[1]. The 4.2% unemployment rate[3] is near the national average, with steady turnover across most sectors.
About the profession: Data scientists analyze and interpret complex datasets to help organizations make data-driven decisions. The field is experiencing explosive growth driven by AI and machine learning demand. Typical entry requirement: master's degree. This is one of the fastest-growing US occupations — 36% projected through 2034[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Lafayette
Early-career Data Scientists in Lafayette start around $42,165, reach the city median ($77,037) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($129,044) at senior / specialized levels.
Related technology professions in Lafayette
Calculators for Data Scientists in Lafayette
Other professions in Lafayette
Frequently Asked Questions — Data Scientist in Lafayette
How much does a Data Scientist make in Lafayette, LA?
The estimated median salary for a Data Scientist in Lafayette is $77,037/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS Louisiana state median ($77,650) by Lafayette's composite cost-of-living index of 88 (US = 100). After federal, Louisiana state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $60,811/year or $5,068/month.
Can a Data Scientist afford to live in Lafayette?
On $5,068/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,520/month. Lafayette's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,332/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,225/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 14.8%, making housing very affordable for a Data Scientist at the local median. Home-buyers face 2.8× price-to-income, needing roughly 2.8 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Data Scientist pay in Lafayette?
On $77,037 gross, a Data Scientist in Lafayette pays approximately $8,397 in federal income tax (10.9% effective), $1,936 in Louisiana state income tax (2.5% effective), and $5,893 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 21.1%. Some Louisiana cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Lafayette rank for Data Scientist salaries vs other cities?
Lafayette ranks #226 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Data Scientist salary, #74 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #75 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Data Scientist in Lafayette?
On $60,811 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Lafayette looks like: housing $11,400/yr (18.7%); food $6,772/yr; transportation $5,789/yr; healthcare $4,104/yr; utilities $2,858/yr; savings + discretionary $29,888/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Lafayette's COL index of 88 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Data Scientist job market like in Lafayette?
Lafayette's unemployment rate is 4.2% across the metro of 490,000. Estimated annual Data Scientist openings: ~51 (extrapolated from 233,440 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The market is near national averages with steady turnover.
Do Lafayette employers pay above or below the Louisiana median for Data Scientists?
Not consistently — Lafayette's estimated Data Scientist median of $77,037 is 31.6% below the national median. The trade-off is usually lower rents and (in some cases) lower state taxes, which can leave real purchasing power competitive.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Lafayette median is derived from the Louisiana state-level BLS OEWS median ($77,650), scaled by Lafayette's composite cost-of-living index of 88. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Data Scientistmedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Louisiana's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 88index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 88.7(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Louisiana Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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