Data Scientist Salary in Louisiana (2026)

Worth knowing: Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM) is one of the country's most distinctive research institutions and a feature most national DS surveys understate for LA. Tulane SPHTM (founded 1912 in NOLA as the country's first OR only US school of public health and tropical medicine, ~$110M+ annual research funding, ~135 faculty + ~1,400 students) operates substantial epidemiology + biostatistics + global health + tropical medicine + environmental health research with substantial NIH + CDC + USAID funding. Senior Tulane biostatisticians clear $115-175K. LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center Baton Rouge (NIH-funded nutrition + obesity + metabolic research institute, ~700 staff + ~$90M annual research budget) operates one of the country's largest US biomedical research centers dedicated to nutrition + obesity + diabetes research with substantial in-house biostatisticians + clinical data scientists. Ochsner Health clinical analytics + population health + Epic data warehouse + Ochsner Research Institute supports the largest US health system HQ'd in LA serving ~3M+ unique patients annually. LA's flat 3% rate (post-2024 Act 11 reform from progressive 1.85-4.25%) + LA Pennington + Tulane research density + Ochsner clinical scale + lower NOLA + BR + Lafayette cost of living vs major coastal metros support the LA DS proposition. LA RTW since 1976 + no state estate tax (repealed 2008). The 2024 reform package also repealed LA's federal income tax deduction for individuals — eliminating a distinctive pre-2025 LA feature.