Data Scientist Salary in Virginia (2026)
The average Data Scientist in Virginia earns around $138,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $98,415/year ($8,201/month).
Take-Home Pay Breakdown
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
Annual Take-Home Pay | $98,415 |
Monthly Take-Home Pay | $8,201 |
Biweekly Take-Home Pay | $3,785 |
Hourly Take-Home Pay based on 2,080 hrs/year | $47/hr |
Federal Tax | $21,854 |
State Tax | $7,174 |
FICA Taxes | $10,557 |
Effective Tax Rate total taxes ÷ gross salary | 28.69% |
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Read the guideData Scientist Salary Ranges in Virginia
Not all Data Scientists earn the same — not even close
Virginia DS clusters densely in the DC-corridor metro (Arlington / McLean / Tysons / Reston / Herndon / Fairfax) with a smaller separate Richmond market. NoVA hires for federal cleared AI / ML at MITRE / Booz Allen / Leidos / CACI / Northrop / Lockheed, commercial AI at Amazon HQ2 / Capital One / AWS, and an emerging fintech / cyber tier. Richmond hires for Capital One regional ops, CarMax data analytics, Markel insurance, Genworth, and an emerging healthcare-AI tier.
Principal / Staff Data Scientist
$220,000–$345,000
Amazon HQ2, Capital One McLean, AWS Herndon; tier 5-10% below Seattle/SF
Senior ML Research Scientist (cleared / federal)
$210,000–$370,000
MITRE McLean (FFRDC), JAIC/CDAO Pentagon, NGA Springfield
Senior Data Scientist
$155,000–$235,000
Strong floor across NoVA tech + DC-corridor cleared contractor tier
ML Engineer (Senior)
$165,000–$260,000
Amazon HQ2, Capital One, AWS, Lockheed, Northrop autonomy / sensor ML
Cleared MLE (TS/SCI poly)
$185,000–$320,000
MITRE, Booz Allen, Leidos, CACI, ManTech — clearance + poly premium
Quantitative / Credit Risk DS
$155,000–$245,000
Capital One McLean, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Markel Richmond
Data Scientist (Mid-Level)
$120,000–$185,000
Healthy mid-market across NoVA + Richmond + cleared-contractor tier
Federal AI Researcher (DARPA / IARPA)
$150,000–$250,000
GS-14/15 + research-bonus; civil service path with FERS pension
Data Engineer
$120,000–$200,000
Amazon HQ2, Capital One, AWS Herndon, federal-platform contractor tier
Junior / New Grad DS
$90,000–$140,000
GMU MS / VT MS / UVA MS / GW MS new grads — Amazon HQ2 top of range
Worth knowing: MITRE Corporation's McLean campus operates as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) — chartered to provide unbiased technical advice to the federal government — and runs one of the largest applied AI / ML research organizations in the country with roughly 9,000 employees. Senior MITRE research staff publish openly, hold academic-style faculty appointments, and command comp competitive with tier-1 industry research labs. Combined with Amazon HQ2's accelerating buildout (~25,000 planned jobs at the Crystal City / National Landing campus) and Capital One McLean's ~5,000-engineer applied DS / ML organization, Northern Virginia represents the largest non-Bay-Area concentration of senior DS / MLE comp on the East Coast.
The Virginia DS market — Amazon HQ2, cleared federal AI, Capital One, and the VA-vs-MD residency math
5.75%
VA top state income tax (effectively flat above $17K, no local)
~25K
Amazon HQ2 planned jobs at Crystal City / National Landing buildout
$14K+
annual VA-vs-MD residency savings for $250K senior DS
Northern Virginia's DS market reached an inflection point with Amazon's HQ2 announcement in 2018 and the multi-year buildout of the Crystal City / National Landing campus in Arlington. ~25,000 planned jobs across AWS / Amazon Retail / Alexa AI / corporate-finance ML / advertising-AI now physically based in Arlington, with broader DC-corridor effect pulling tier-1 senior tech talent into the metro.
Capital One's McLean HQ runs one of the largest applied DS / ML organizations on the East Coast — credit-risk modeling, fraud detection, retail-banking personalization, and a meaningful applied AI Research arm with formal published output. The broader Capital One footprint across NoVA supports ~5,000 engineering / DS / ML employees.
The cleared-contractor tier is the structural differentiator. MITRE McLean (FFRDC, 9,000 employees, ~50% cleared), Booz Allen Hamilton McLean HQ, Leidos Reston HQ, CACI Reston HQ, ManTech, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin Bethesda, General Dynamics, SAIC, Peraton — collectively run more cleared ML / AI / cyber-AI work than any single US metro outside the Bay Area. Senior MLE with TS/SCI plus poly commands a 15-30% comp premium versus uncleared equivalent. DARPA Arlington / IARPA McLean / Pentagon CDAO / NGA Springfield add a separate federal civil service path — GS-14/15 cash comp is below contractor tier but with FERS pension + structure commercial DS lacks.
Virginia's brackets (2% / 3% / 5% / 5.75% top) have not been inflation-indexed since 1990, so the 5.75% top kicks in at just $17K — meaning essentially every senior+ DS pays 5.75% on every marginal dollar. Functionally a flat 5.75% above the trivially-low threshold. There are no municipal income taxes anywhere in VA — Arlington, McLean, Reston, Tysons, Richmond all 0% local.
The structural senior-DS arbitrage is VA-vs-MD. Maryland levies 5.75% state + 2-3.2% county piggyback (Montgomery / Howard / Prince George's all at 3.2%). For a $250K Capital One McLean staff DS: NoVA caps at 5.75% all-in versus MoCo's 8.95% combined — a $14K-$15K/year residency-decision delta. At $400K senior comp the NoVA-vs-MoCo spread climbs to $22K-$28K/year. DC's own progressive brackets (up to 10.75%) make DC residency worse than either, so senior-tier DS optimal residence is almost always NoVA on tax grounds.
Virginia for data scientists — DC-corridor depth, Richmond fintech, and the I-95 reality
Northern Virginia is one of the most professionally dense metros in the country — federal government, defense / intelligence / cyber, big-tech (Amazon HQ2 + AWS Herndon), fintech (Capital One), academic-style FFRDC research (MITRE), and a deep cleared-contractor tier. The feel is suburban-corporate rather than urban-tech, but senior-DS career-mobility density is unmatched outside Bay Area / Boston / NYC / Seattle.
Arlington (Crystal City / Rosslyn / Ballston / Clarendon) has substantively urbanized — walkable Metro-accessible neighborhoods with real food / arts scenes that didn't exist 15 years ago. Amazon HQ2 has accelerated this. The McLean / Tysons / Vienna / Reston tier covers conventional suburban senior-DS family life — top Fairfax County schools, McLean's old-money character, Tysons' walkable Silver Line corridor, Reston Town Center's planned-mixed-use density.
Richmond is a separate market — historic city, substantive food / arts / brewing scene, much lower cost of living, smaller but real fintech (Capital One regional), insurance (Markel HQ), and emerging healthcare-AI (VCU Health, Bon Secours). Senior DS at Richmond employers live very comfortably at $180-250K in Westover Hills / Museum District / Forest Hill / Henrico's West End.
Climate is mild Mid-Atlantic — hot humid summers, modest winters, abundant fall color. Shenandoah Valley / Blue Ridge for weekend recreation, Atlantic beaches for summer. Substantively better climate than most Northern DS markets.
How Virginia taxes work for data scientists (and how to keep more)
VA's effectively-flat 5.75% state income tax (above $17K) is the simplest part of the stack. A $200K senior DS pays roughly $11,500 in VA state tax; a $400K staff DS pays $23,000. There is no add-on or capital-gains preferential rate. Brackets are not inflation-indexed and have been frozen since 1990, so VA effectively functions as a flat 5.75% above the trivially-low $17K threshold.
There are no municipal income taxes anywhere in VA. Arlington, McLean, Reston, Tysons, Richmond, Norfolk, all 0% local. The clean state-only stack is the structural advantage versus Maryland (5.75% state + 2-3.2% county piggyback) and DC (progressive brackets up to 10.75% top).
The VA-vs-MD residency arbitrage is the single largest senior-DS optimization in the DC corridor. For a senior-tier DS choosing between NoVA (5.75% flat) and MoCo (8.95% combined — Bethesda / Rockville / Chevy Chase / Silver Spring), the delta runs $14K-$28K per year at $250K-$500K comp. Over a 10-year senior+ tenure, that's $140K-$280K of after-tax difference from a residency choice with broadly equivalent commute and school options. Howard County (Columbia / Ellicott City) and Prince George's County (College Park / Bowie) both also levy 3.2% piggyback — same friction.
Virginia generally conforms to federal capital gains treatment, including Section 1202 exclusion at the state level under most readings. (Verify with a qualified tax advisor for any specific liquidity event — VA Tax Bulletin guidance has historically tracked federal QSBS treatment.) For senior+ DS at venture-backed startups in NoVA's emerging fintech / cyber tier or in Richmond's smaller venture portfolio, this is a meaningful state-level advantage versus PA / OH / NC / NJ which all decline to follow federal QSBS.
Virginia retirement-income treatment: Social Security is fully exempt. Virginia provides an age-65+ deduction up to $12,000 per individual (subject to phase-out). Roth distributions after age 59½ are exempt as expected. Late-career DS planning to remain in VA sees friendly retirement treatment.
() availability at major VA employers: Amazon HQ2 follows national Amazon plan — full MBR ($47,500/year above $24,500 deferral). Capital One offers MBR. AWS Herndon follows Amazon plan. Booz Allen, Leidos, CACI, MITRE, Northrop Grumman all offer some form of after-tax — verify in-plan Roth conversion eligibility per employer (most do offer it, but plan rules vary). Federal civil service employees (DARPA / IARPA / NGA / DoD) do not have MBR but have access to TSP + Roth TSP + FERS pension structure.
Backdoor Roth IRA $7,000/year, $4,400 single / $8,750 family standard. VA conforms to federal treatment for both. VA HSA contributions are state-deductible matching federal.
VA529 (Virginia 529 plan, including the Invest529 fund and the prepaid Tuition Track) offers state tax deduction up to $4,000 per account / per beneficiary / per year (no statewide cap on number of accounts). Senior+ DS with multiple school-age children can stack multiple beneficiary accounts for substantial state-tax-deductible 529 contributions.
- →If working at any DC-corridor employer (Amazon HQ2 / Capital One McLean / MITRE / Booz Allen / Leidos / CACI): live in NoVA (Arlington / McLean / Falls Church / Vienna / Reston). Saves $14K-$28K per year vs Bethesda / Silver Spring / Rockville / DC residence. Same Metro / commute geometry.
- →Max at Amazon HQ2 / Capital One / cleared contractor tier offering it — $47,500/year above the $24,500 deferral. Single biggest tax-advantaged accumulation lever.
- → sell-on-vest discipline at Amazon (publicly traded), Capital One, Lockheed / Northrop / Booz Allen / Leidos / CACI. Eliminates capital gains exposure entirely.
- →Backdoor Roth IRA $7K/year — bypasses federal phase-out at staff+ comp. $4,400 single / $8,750 family triple-tax-advantaged, VA state-deductible matching federal.
- →VA529 $4,000 per account / per beneficiary state tax deduction. Multiple beneficiary accounts stack for senior+ DS with multiple children — no statewide cap.
- →Cleared-contractor-tier MLE: maintain TS/SCI + poly clearance currency. Clearance is a portable career asset that compounds across cleared-contractor job changes — NoVA cleared-MLE tier has ~15-30% premium versus uncleared equivalent.
Three VA DS submarkets — what each one looks like
NoVA Amazon HQ2 + commercial tech tier, NoVA cleared / federal AI tier, and Richmond fintech + insurance are three structurally different VA data science career paths.
NoVA Amazon HQ2 + Capital One commercial tech (Arlington / McLean / Reston / Herndon)
Senior $165K-$245K · Staff $220K-$345K · Principal $300K-$480KAmazon HQ2 (Crystal City / National Landing, Arlington — ~25,000 planned jobs across AWS / Retail / Alexa AI / advertising / corporate-finance ML). Capital One McLean HQ (~5,000-engineer applied DS / ML organization across credit risk, fraud, retail-banking personalization, marketing analytics). AWS Herndon datacenter-alley applied AI / cloud-platform ML. Smaller fintech / e-commerce tier across NoVA (CarMax has data ops, Kastle Systems, Tessian, smaller venture-backed).
Amazon HQ2's continued buildout is one of the most consequential senior-DS hiring events in the Eastern US over the past decade. Senior comp tracks Seattle base + slightly reduced housing-allowance multiplier, with cost-of-living gap meaning net real comp is materially better than Seattle equivalent.
NoVA cleared / federal AI tier (MITRE / Booz Allen / Leidos / CACI / Northrop / federal civil service)
Cleared MLE (TS/SCI poly) $200K-$340K · Senior research $230K-$400K · Federal GS-15 $185K-$255KMITRE Corporation McLean (FFRDC, 9,000 employees, ~50% cleared, applied AI / ML research with publication output). Booz Allen Hamilton McLean HQ. Leidos Reston HQ. CACI Reston HQ. ManTech, Northrop Grumman Falls Church / Linthicum, Lockheed Martin Bethesda HQ, General Dynamics, SAIC, Peraton. DARPA Arlington / IARPA McLean civil service research positions. NGA Springfield. Pentagon JAIC/CDAO.
TS/SCI plus polygraph reciprocity is a portable career asset — clearance premium repeats every cleared-contractor job change. Senior cleared MLE tier is one of the most underrated US senior-DS career paths; comp plus pension-structure plus mission-meaning balance is hard to replicate elsewhere.
Richmond fintech + insurance + healthcare (Capital One Richmond / CarMax / Markel / Genworth / VCU Health)
Senior $135K-$210K · Principal $190K-$290K · Director $250K-$380KCapital One regional Richmond operations (smaller than McLean HQ but real applied DS / engineering presence). CarMax HQ tech (vehicle pricing analytics, customer personalization). Markel Corporation HQ (specialty insurance analytics). Genworth Financial. VCU Health (clinical AI emerging tier). Bon Secours Mercy. Smaller venture-backed insurtech and healthcare-AI startups.
Richmond DS comp runs roughly 10-15% below NoVA equivalent but cost of living is dramatically lower — senior DS at $180-250K can buy houses in top-rated suburb districts (Henrico's West End, Short Pump, Glen Allen, Midlothian) that simply aren't accessible at the same comp in NoVA. Quality of life trade-off is real.
The VA DS career arc — Amazon HQ2 / Capital One commercial tech, cleared federal AI, or Richmond fintech
Year 0-2 (New Grad / Junior DS): $90K-$140K total comp at Amazon HQ2, Capital One McLean, AWS Herndon, MITRE, Booz Allen, Leidos, CACI, federal civil service. GMU / Virginia Tech / UVA / GW MS new grads cluster $115K-$140K at Amazon HQ2 / Capital One / AWS. Cleared-contractor entry-level (with clearance) can start higher via the clearance premium. Federal civil service GS-12/13 starts lower in cash but with FERS pension structure. Start + Backdoor Roth from first paycheck.
Year 2-5 (Mid-Level Data Scientist): $125K-$190K. Specialization splits between Amazon HQ2 product DS / AWS cloud ML, Capital One credit-risk modeling, MITRE academic-style research, cleared-contractor applied ML at Booz / Leidos / CACI, federal civil service at DARPA / IARPA / NGA, or Richmond's Capital One / CarMax / Markel / Genworth tier. vesting at publicly-traded employers (Amazon, Capital One, Lockheed, Northrop, Booz Allen, Leidos, CACI) accelerates compounding.
Year 5-10 (Senior / Staff DS): $200K-$345K. The VA-vs-MD residency arbitrage becomes financially meaningful — $14K-$25K/year of MoCo-tax avoidance compounds. Amazon HQ2 staff MLE clears $300K-$420K. Capital One principal credit-risk modeler clears $280K-$370K. MITRE senior research staff $260K-$370K. Cleared MLE with TS/SCI poly $290K-$340K with clearance premium. Federal GS-14/15 caps lower in cash but pension continues.
Year 10+ (Principal / Director / Distinguished / SES): $260K-$500K+. Director of Data Science / VP Engineering at Amazon HQ2 / Capital One / large cleared contractor typically clears $450K. MITRE distinguished research staff reach high six figures with major program impact. Federal SES caps at ~$230K cash but with FERS pension. FIRE genuinely accessible — NoVA cost of living significant but well below Bay Area / NYC.
Where Virginia data scientists actually live
VA DS residential geography is dominated by school district quality, the VA-vs-MD-vs-DC tax math (always favors VA), and commute geometry to specific anchor employers (Amazon HQ2 Arlington, Capital One McLean, MITRE McLean, AWS Herndon, Pentagon area). The clean 0% local + 5.75% state stack means intra-VA residency is school + commute optimization rather than tax optimization.
Arlington (Rosslyn / Ballston / Clarendon / Crystal City)
Metro Orange/Silver/Blue · 0% local · Amazon HQ2 walkable · $2,200-$3,800/mo 1BR
McLean / Great Falls (Fairfax Co), VA
Top Fairfax schools · 0% local · Capital One McLean / MITRE 10-min commute · $1.2M-$3M+
Vienna / Oakton / Tysons, VA
Silver Line Metro · 0% local · top schools · McLean / Tysons / Reston commute
Reston / Herndon (Fairfax Co), VA
Silver Line Metro · 0% local · planned-mixed-use · AWS Herndon / CACI / Leidos commute
Falls Church City / Pimmit Hills, VA
Inner NoVA · 0% local · top Falls Church schools · 15-min Pentagon / Amazon HQ2
Alexandria (Old Town / Del Ray), VA
Walkable historic · 0% local · Pentagon / Amazon HQ2 commute · charming pre-war
West End / Short Pump (Henrico Co, Richmond)
Top Henrico schools · 0% local · Capital One Richmond / Markel commute · $500K-$1.2M
Museum District / Forest Hill / Westover Hills, Richmond
Walkable urban · 0% local · craftsman / pre-war housing · younger DS
Arlington's Metro-accessible urban density (Rosslyn / Ballston / Clarendon / Crystal City) suits younger / urban-preference senior DS. McLean / Vienna / Tysons covers the senior+ family demographic with top Fairfax County schools. Reston / Herndon picks up the AWS / cleared-contractor tier with planned-mixed-use density. Richmond's West End is the equivalent for the secondary market.
Is this the right move?
Virginia for data scientists — who it works for
Working in your favor
- +Amazon HQ2's continued buildout is one of the most consequential senior-DS hiring events in the Eastern US — ~25,000 planned jobs at competitive Seattle-tracking comp
- +Capital One McLean runs ~5,000-engineer applied DS / ML organization with formal AI Research arm and meaningful published output
- +MITRE McLean FFRDC + cleared-contractor tier (Booz Allen / Leidos / CACI / Northrop) operate the largest non-Bay-Area cleared ML / AI research density
- +VA flat-effective 5.75% state income tax + 0% local is significantly better than MD's 5.75% + 2-3.2% county piggyback — VA-vs-MD residency saves $14K-$28K/year for senior+ DS
- +VA generally conforms to federal Section 1202 QSBS exclusion at the state level — meaningful advantage over PA / OH / NC / NJ for venture-backed startup equity gains
- +Cost of living below NYC / Boston / SF — senior+ DS at $250-400K can buy houses in top Fairfax County school districts (McLean / Vienna / Great Falls) with material housing premium versus those metros
Worth knowing before you sign
- −VA's 5.75% top rate is meaningfully above NC (3.99%) / GA (5.39%) / TN (0%) for senior-DS comp — within Southeast peer group, only Maryland and Georgia higher
- −Outside DC corridor and Richmond, senior+ DS optionality is genuinely thin — Norfolk / Hampton Roads / Roanoke have small markets
- −DC-corridor commute geometry is real — I-66, I-95, and the Beltway routinely worst-in-nation traffic
- −Cleared-contractor tier requires US citizenship + clearance-eligibility — narrows hiring pool versus uncleared commercial tech
- −NoVA cost of living, while below NYC / SF, is materially above Richmond / Hampton Roads — McLean / Vienna housing premiums are real
Job Market in Virginia
Virginia has active demand for Data Scientists.
Growth outlook: 36% growth through 2032 (much faster than average)
Related job titles:
Cost of Living in Virginia
Virginia has a varied cost of living by region.
💰 Monthly take-home: $8,201
🏠 Typical rent: $1,600/mo
📊 After rent: $6,601/mo
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