Data Scientist · South East England · 2026
Data Scientist salary in South East England
Data scientists apply statistics and machine learning to build models that predict, classify and optimise. In the UK the title concentrates in tech, finance and increasingly in AI-focused teams. Across South East England, hiring concentrates in Reading, Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton and Milton Keynes. This guide also covers Machine Learning Engineer roles — titles UK official statistics class within the same occupation.
The ladder
| Level | Range | Lower end | Median | Upper end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | £27,000 | £32,000 | £48,000 | |
| Mid | £44,000 | £52,000 | £78,000 | |
| Senior | £58,000 | £68,500 | £103,000 | |
| Lead | £76,000 | £89,500 | £134,500 |
About these figures: the medians are ONS ASHE 2025 figures for South East England, aligned to the “Actuaries, economists and statisticians” occupation (SOC 2433). The lower and upper ends, and the junior-to-lead steps, are modelled from those medians with fixed ratios rather than measured separately. Inside Morganson, the salary check also blends in live salaries from employers' own job ads.
By region vs the UK median
| London | £62,000 | +29% |
|---|---|---|
| South East England | £52,000 | +8% |
| North West England | £47,000 | −2% |
| Yorkshire | £44,000 | −8% |
| Scotland | £46,000 | −4% |
South East England's mid-level median of £52,000 sits 8% above the UK-wide £48,000. The senior median is 2.1× the junior one, and the top of the ladder reaches £134,500 — a level about one in ten lead roles passes.
Data Scientist pay across the UK →
Related roles
Data Analyst in South East EnglandData Engineer in South East EnglandSoftware Engineer in South East EnglandDevOps Engineer in South East EnglandAll salary guides
See where you'd sit on this ladder
Morganson reads your CV, places you on this ladder, blends these baselines with pay advertised on employers' own careers pages, then watches those pages for openings that fit. Three free credits when you join.