There are plenty of reasons why Missouri is becoming an exciting place for data scientists to meet, work, and grow. According to the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the information technology industry employs over 102,000 workers. IT professionals like data scientists can expect even greater employment options as companies like Cerner Corporation and Netilligent execute expansion plans for operations throughout the state that will create over 15,000 new jobs.
The Missouri Department of Economic Development also presents the following arguments as to why the state is an optimal setting for data scientists and other IT professionals:
- Forbes named Missouri among its list of top ten fastest growing states for tech jobs in 2014.
- Missouri has more than 2 million cable modem, high speed fiber, and satellite lines
- CNN ranked Missouri the #6 most entrepreneurial state in 2012.
- There are 34 schools that offer degrees in computer science throughout Missouri.
- Missouri is home to more than 3,500 IT service firms
Examples of some of prominent IT companies that hire data scientists in Missouri include:
- Bick Group
- IBM
- Simclar Group
- Cass Information Systems
- MEMC Electronic Materials
- Jack Henry & Associates
- DST Systems
- LightEdge Solutions
- BIME Analytics
- Decision Insight
- MindMixer
- ECCO Select
In recent years, data scientists are finding that St. Louis is becoming the most up-and-coming tech center in Missouri. In fact, CNBC called St. Louis one of the “Five US Tech Hubs You Probably Didn’t Know About” in 2015. In that same year, seven out of ten Fortune 500 companies in the state held their headquarters in St. Louis, including:
- Express Scripts
- Graybar Electric
- Centene
- Ameren
- Emerson Electric
- Monsanto
- Peabody Energy
Starting Salary Ranges for Data Scientist in Missouri’s Major Cities
The demand for data science professionals is on the rise in Missouri. In fact, the United States Department of Labor named data scientists working in operations research and statistical modeling among the state’s top 50 list of fastest-growing occupations through 2022.
Robert Half Technology provided the following salary statistics in 2016. The IT staffing agency determined data scientist salaries by searching through thousands of job placements made in previous years. Salaries do not account for additional income achieved through bonuses and other compensative rewards:
Kansas City Area
- Kansas City: $108,000-$153,000
- St. Joseph: $99,000-$140,000
St. Louis Area
- St. Louis: $109,000-$154,000
- Jefferson City: $82,000-$115,000
Springfield Area
- Springfield: $76,000-$107,000
- Rogers: $101,000-$142,000
- Joplin: $77,000-$109,000
Other Cities
- Independence: $108,000-$153,000
- Columbia: $85,000-$119,000
- Cape Girardeau: $109,000-$154,000
A Snapshot of Data Science Salaries in Missouri by Industry
The United States Department of Labor released the following salary statistics, which provide a brief overview of which industries in Missouri paid the highest data science salaries (2014):
Statistical Modeling
- $107,400
Computer and Information Research
- $134,500
Operations Research
- $99,000
Financial Services
- $122,400
Geographic Data on Salaries for Statistical Modeling Specialists in Missouri
Salaries for data scientists in Missouri working as statistical modeling specialists as published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2014:
- Kansas City – $118,360
- St. Louis – $112,790
Geographic Data on Computer and Information Research Scientist Salaries in Missouri
Salaries for data scientists in Missouri working in the area of computer and information rsearch s as published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2014:
- Kansas City – $124,270
- St. Louis – $140,120
Geographic Data on Salaries for Data Scientists in Operations Research in Missouri
In 2014, the United States Department of Labor found that data scientists in operations research working in Kansas City, MO-KS district earned an average annual salary of $73,010. Meanwhile, those in the St. Louis, MO-IL area earned an average annual salary closer to $73,010:
- Kansas City – $126,940
- St. Louis – $106,420
The US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics information shown here reflects salary data for broad occupational classifications that include data scientists. These estimates are expressed as 90th percentile salaries to reflect the fact that data scientists are recognized as the top earners within each classification.