TopWeb3
Key Data
- The median US data scientist earned $120,230 in May 2025, and US data scientist visa filings in 2025 had a median base of $117,291 across 3,041 records
- Data scientists at Coinbase filed at a median base of $160,000 and Anthropic's data science staff at $165,000, about 33% and 37% above the national median
- Chainalysis data engineers filed at a median base of $190,000, about 58% above the national median
- A remote on-chain data analyst role at Kraken was posted at $110,000 to $176,000 in base pay, before bonus and equity
- The median mid-level software engineer in the US earned $226,000 in total compensation in 2025, the level crypto and AI data roles reach once equity is included
- Data scientists fell from more than half of AI and data roles at US startups in 2020 to under a quarter in 2025
The Traditional Baseline: About $120,000
Start with the wider market. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median data scientist wage at $120,230 as of May 2025, across 275,600 jobs. The BLS occupational outlook for data scientists also projects 35% job growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,800 openings a year.
US visa filings tell the same story. Employers filed 3,041 data scientist applications in 2025 with a median base salary of $117,291. About a third were under $100,000, and only about 10% were above $200,000.
Industry matters even in the traditional market. BLS data shows median data scientist pay of $142,240 in publishing and content, $132,380 in computer systems design and $129,490 in credit and banking.
Crypto and AI Companies Pay About a Third More
Visa filings let us look inside specific companies, because employers must file the base salary for each H-1B worker with the Department of Labor.
Coinbase has filed 20 data scientist applications since 2020, with a median base of $160,000. That is about 33% above the BLS median. Every one of those filings was above $100,000, and 80% fell between $150,000 and $200,000.
Anthropic's nine filings under the title "data science" have a median base of $165,000, about 37% above the national median. A data scientist on its safeguards team filed at $169,541, and a data engineer at $315,000.
Chainalysis, the blockchain analytics firm, shows the premium for engineering-heavy data roles. Its five data engineer filings, including an on-chain protocols data engineer, have a median of $190,000, about 58% above the BLS median.
Job ads show a similar range. A remote on-chain data analyst role at Kraken, open to candidates across the US, was posted at $110,000 to $176,000 in base pay before bonus and equity. In San Francisco listings for AI and crypto teams, engineering roles at the large AI labs are posted at $230,000 to $385,000.
Where the $226K Comes From
The filings above show base pay. The headline figure of $226,000 is a total compensation number.
Levels.fyi's 2025 Pay Report puts the median mid-level software engineer in the US at $226,000 in total compensation, which includes stock and bonus. Senior engineers reached a median of $312,000.
That is the band experienced data professionals at crypto and AI companies move into once equity is counted. At companies like Coinbase and Anthropic, stock often adds a large share on top of a $160,000 to $190,000 base. Crypto firms may add token grants.
But no public dataset we found reports a $226,000 average specifically for on-chain or AI data analysts. The documented premium is in base pay, at roughly a third above the traditional market. The $226,000 figure should be read as the total compensation level these roles reach at mid-career, not as a measured average for the job title.
AI Teams Want Data People Who Can Build
The data science job itself is changing. Carta's State of Startup Compensation report found that data scientists made up more than half of AI and data roles at US startups in 2020, but less than a quarter in 2025. AI engineers made up 17.3% of those roles by the end of 2025.
Vacancy data points the same way. Broadbean's analysis of Veritone's Q1 2026 US data shows AI/ML engineer openings up 94.5% year over year and AI/ML researcher openings up 19.8%. Data scientist openings grew only 8.9%, and big data engineer openings fell 37.5%.
Pay follows the shift. Carta found median AI/ML engineer salaries at startups rose 9.1% from January 2024 to February 2026, against 5.1% for all roles.
Many AI-first teams now hire data skills under other titles. Tether, for example, is recruiting remote AI researchers and GPU infrastructure leads alongside its wallet engineers, with every one of its 19 open roles listed as remote.
What an On-Chain Analyst Actually Needs
On-chain analytics adds a second layer on top of classic data skills.
The Kraken posting is a useful example. It asked for SQL, Python with pandas and plotting libraries, and dbt, along with experience measuring lifetime value, retention and funnels. Those are standard analytics skills.
It then added crypto-specific requirements. Candidates needed a strong grasp of wallets, decentralized exchanges, liquidity, bridges and token mechanics, plus experience with on-chain data sources such as Dune, Flipside, Nansen and subgraphs. Bonus skills included modeling MEV, liquidity provisioning and token distribution.
The role also asked for three or more years in product or trading analytics, ideally in crypto, fintech or data-driven trading.
This mix explains much of the premium. Plenty of analysts know SQL. Far fewer can read raw blockchain data and explain what a liquidity shift means for a trading desk. Our guide to benchmarking an AI developer salary by level explains how to set an ask once you know which band a role sits in.
How Data Professionals Can Move Into the Premium Band
The steps below are a TopWeb3Jobs editorial guide based on the data above.
Add engineering to analysis. The fastest-growing roles combine data work with building. Learning dbt, data pipelines and production Python moves a profile from "analyst" toward "data engineer," where filings show the highest pay.
Learn one on-chain data stack well. Build public dashboards on Dune or Flipside that answer real questions about a protocol. A shared dashboard is the analytics version of a GitHub portfolio.
Pick a domain. Trading, risk, compliance and protocol growth each need different data. Analysts who specialize in one are easier to hire than generalists.
Count the whole package. Base salaries in these roles cluster around $160,000 to $190,000. The gap to $226,000 or more is usually equity or tokens. Ask how they are valued and when they vest.
Read the Numbers With Care
Visa filings show base pay only, cover sponsored workers rather than all staff, and several company samples are small. Anthropic's figure rests on nine filings and Chainalysis on five.
Company titles vary. Some on-chain analysts are hired as "data engineer", "research analyst" or "investigator", so title-based searches miss part of the picture.
The Kraken posting is a single example and is now closed. It shows what one employer asked for, not the whole market.
The BLS median covers all industries and experience levels. Comparing it with company filings at well-funded firms will naturally show a gap.
What to Watch Next
First, the title shift. If data scientist roles keep shrinking as a share of AI teams, data professionals will need engineering skills to stay in the premium band.
Second, crypto analytics demand. Compliance, risk and trading teams all depend on reading on-chain data, and regulation is likely to increase that need.
Third, AI agents. As autonomous agents start to hold wallets and trade on-chain, teams will need analysts who understand both model behavior and blockchain data.
The data supports one clear conclusion today: data professionals at crypto and AI companies earn about a third more in base pay than the wider market, and those who add engineering and on-chain skills are the ones most likely to reach the $226,000 total compensation band.
Sources:
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Data Scientists: May 2025 median wage, employment, 2025 to 2035 projections and pay by industry; US Department of Labor LCA disclosures via h1bdata.info: 2025 data scientist filings, Coinbase, Anthropic PBC and Chainalysis filings
- Carta, State of Startup Compensation H2 2025 (May 2026): role mix in AI and data teams and AI/ML salary growth; Broadbean, "The State of AI Recruitment in 2026" (June 2026): Veritone Q1 2026 US vacancy changes by title; Levels.fyi, 2025 Pay Report: US software engineer total compensation by level
- Kraken, Data Analyst Onchain job posting via the Electric Capital job board: skills and posted base range; TopWeb3Jobs city, company and research pages (October 2026)