Data Scientist Salary in Alabama (2026)
The average Data Scientist in Alabama earns around $145,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $104,465/year ($8,705/month).
Take-Home Pay Breakdown
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
Annual Take-Home Pay | $104,465 |
Monthly Take-Home Pay | $8,705 |
Biweekly Take-Home Pay | $4,018 |
Hourly Take-Home Pay based on 2,080 hrs/year | $50/hr |
Federal Tax | $23,534 |
State Tax | $5,908 |
FICA Taxes | $11,093 |
Effective Tax Rate total taxes ÷ gross salary | 27.96% |
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Read the guideData Scientist Salary Ranges in Alabama
Not all Data Scientists earn the same — not even close
Alabama's data scientist market is anchored by Huntsville's cleared aerospace + defense analytics cluster (NASA Marshall + Redstone Arsenal + Cummings Research Park), UAB Medicine Birmingham (~25K employees, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center clinical AI + research analytics — the only NCI-designated cancer center in AL), Regions Bank Birmingham (Fortune 500 financial services analytics), Protective Life Birmingham (insurance actuarial ML), Encompass Health Birmingham (post-acute rehab analytics), plus Mercedes-Benz Vance + Honda Lincoln + Hyundai Montgomery + Mazda Toyota Huntsville manufacturing analytics.
Principal Data Scientist / Director
$205,000–$365,000+ TC
NASA Marshall Principal · Boeing Huntsville Principal · UAB Director · senior IC + leadership
Senior Data Scientist (Cleared Aerospace)
$140,000–$215,000
NASA + Boeing + Lockheed + Northrop Huntsville · TS/SCI clearance premium · defense analytics
Senior Data Scientist (Financial Services)
$125,000–$190,000
Regions · Protective Life · BBVA legacy · banking + claims + fraud analytics
Senior Data Scientist (Healthcare)
$118,000–$180,000
UAB Medicine · Children's of Alabama · Brookwood Baptist · clinical + claims + research ML
Senior Research Scientist (UAB / Auburn)
$115,000–$185,000
UAB O'Neal Cancer Center · Auburn AI · academic ML · NIH-funded research · publication track
Senior Data Scientist (Automotive)
$118,000–$180,000
Mercedes-Benz Vance · Honda Lincoln · Hyundai Montgomery · MTM Huntsville · manufacturing analytics
Senior Data Scientist (Insurance)
$118,000–$180,000
Protective Life · Alfa Insurance Montgomery · BCBS AL · actuarial + claims + product ML
Mid-Level Data Scientist (3-6 yrs)
$88,000–$132,000
Functional DS at AL Fortune 500 · transitioning to senior band
Junior Data Scientist (0-3 yrs)
$68,000–$100,000
UAH Statistics + Auburn Data Science + UAB Statistics pipeline · entry band
Senior Data Scientist (Cleared MDA)
$145,000–$225,000
Missile Defense Agency Huntsville · Redstone classified analytics · TS/SCI + polygraph premium
Worth knowing: UAB's O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in Alabama and a feature most national DS surveys understate for AL. UAB O'Neal Cancer Center (one of only 53 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers nationally, the only NCI center in AL + one of just 4 NCI-designated centers in the Southeast US outside FL/NC/TN/GA — alongside Vanderbilt-Ingram + Hollings MUSC + Winship Emory) operates substantial clinical AI + cancer genomics + immuno-oncology research data science. Senior UAB cancer research data scientists clear $115-185K TC. The Huntsville defense + aerospace analytics cluster (NASA Marshall + Redstone Arsenal + Cummings Research Park) supports substantial defense-cleared data science — Missile Defense Agency Huntsville analytics + Army AMCOM intelligence analytics + Marshall mission operations analytics + Aerojet + Boeing + Lockheed + Northrop predictive maintenance + signal processing + sensor fusion ML. Senior cleared Huntsville DS clear $140-225K TC including TS/SCI premium + polygraph premium. Regions Bank HQ Birmingham (Fortune 500 ~$160B assets) operates substantial financial services data science. Protective Life Birmingham (Fortune 1000 life insurance + annuity, ~$5B revenue) operates substantial actuarial ML. AL's 5% top bracket plus the distinctive Federal Income Tax Deduction substantially reduces effective AL state tax burden. AL is RTW since 1953.
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More on Alabama
Salaries by profession, top-paying roles by industry, and an economic breakdown for Alabama in 2026.
Tax brackets, standard deductions, and take-home estimates for Alabama in 2026.
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