Side-by-side distribution
C / C++
$193,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31%
- Live roles
- 387
Data Scientist
$190,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 42.4%
- Live roles
- 1,661
Highest-paying jobs
C Developer
Software Engineer - Training/Inference (C++)
Software Engineer - Network (C++)
Software Engineer - Platform Infrastructure (Rust, C++)
Software Engineer - Kernels/CUDA (C++)
Software Engineer, C++
Principal Engine Programmer - Systems (C++)
Principal Core Systems Software Engineer - Game Engine (C++)
Staff Software Engineer, Logging (C++)
Senior Software Engineer, C++ (Market Data)
Highest-paying jobs
Data Scientist
Senior Data Scientist (Credit)
Senior Data Scientist (Credit)
Senior Data Scientist (Credit)
Data Scientist, Identity
Applied Scientist, Experimentation
Data Scientist
Data Scientist, Supply
Data Scientist, Developer Productivity
Machine Learning Scientist
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 16 |
Applied Intuition
|
$170,500 | 14 |
|
Roblox
|
$218,940 | 9 |
Esri
|
$134,264 | 8 |
Stevens Capital Management LP
|
$225,000 | 5 |
|
xAI
|
$310,000 | 4 |
| FT Flow Traders | $233,750 | 4 |
|
Aurora Innovation
|
$222,000 | 3 |
Launch Potato
Lyft
Pinterest
Reddit
Roku
Data Scientist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $212,160 | 160 |
| New York | $190,000 | 138 |
| Seattle | $188,750 | 46 |
| Austin | $187,500 | 9 |
| Denver | $187,500 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $183,750 | 16 |
| Boston | $181,250 | 30 |
| London | $160,895 | 21 |
| Toronto | $153,600 | 28 |
| Chicago | $153,300 | 21 |
C / C++ vs Data Scientist: which pays more?
The median for C / C++ is $193,000 per year (typically $156,450–$222,000), versus $190,000 for Data Scientist ($150,000–$229,900). That puts C / C++ about 2% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so C / C++ and Data Scientist are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.