jobfacts

Data analysts

SOC 2020 3544

Data analysts gather and organise a variety of data and analyse it to understand what it means for their organisation or society.

Also calledMarket research data analystData analystResearch analystMarket intelligence analystStatisticianData insight professionaland 27 more titles
Typical full-time pay£38,6002025 Provisional
People in the job141,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month1,600↑ 2.5%on last year · 123rd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time data analysts earn between £30,800 and £47,000 a year.

What full-time data analysts earn, 2025
£38,600 typical£27,300lowest 10%£49,900top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£30,800–£47,000)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£27,300
Lowest 20% earn less than£29,900
25%£30,800
Median£38,600
75%£47,000
Top 20% earn more than£49,900
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £38,600
West Midlands!£44,900
London£43,100
North East!£38,200
Wales!£37,900
South West!£36,600
East of England!£35,600
South East!£34,600
North West£34,400
Yorkshire and The Humber!£32,300
East Midlands!£32,200
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £38,600
West Midlands£44,900 (small sample)
London£43,100
North East£38,200 (small sample)
Wales£37,900 (small sample)
South West£36,600 (small sample)
East of England£35,600 (small sample)
South East£34,600 (small sample)
North West£34,400
Yorkshire and The Humber£32,300 (small sample)
East Midlands£32,200 (small sample)
ScotlandNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £34,000
  • 2024 £34,900
  • 2025 Provisional£38,600
↑ 14% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,600 jobs for data analysts are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,800
Jul 20261,708
Jun 20261,798
May 20261,505
Apr 20261,334
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,321
Jan 20261,674
Dec 2025808
Nov 20252,005
Oct 20251,606
Sept 20251,692
Aug 20251,831
Jul 20251,757
Jun 20252,094
May 20252,006
Apr 20251,326
Mar 20251,733
Feb 20251,625
Jan 20251,394
Dec 2024913
Nov 20241,274
Oct 20241,261
Sept 20241,355
Aug 20241,449
Jul 20241,566
Jun 20241,444
May 20241,664
Apr 20241,538
Mar 20241,457
Feb 20241,643
Jan 20241,952
Dec 20231,558
Nov 20231,699
Oct 20231,741
Sept 20231,614
Aug 20232,084
Jul 20232,289
Jun 20232,965
May 20232,962
Apr 20232,462
Mar 20233,261
Feb 20233,358
Jan 20233,606
Dec 20223,048
Nov 20223,748
Oct 20223,974
Sept 20223,843
Aug 20224,069
Jul 20224,127
Jun 20224,187
May 20224,566
Apr 20223,704
Mar 20224,532
Feb 20224,376
Jan 20224,510
Dec 20213,699
Nov 20213,704
Oct 20213,851
Sept 20213,858
Aug 20213,769
Jul 20214,166
Jun 20213,485
May 20213,499
Apr 20212,853
Mar 20213,735
Feb 20212,481
Jan 20212,580
Dec 20202,097
Nov 20201,982
Oct 20202,150
Sept 20201,961
Aug 20201,660
Jul 20201,545
Jun 20201,423
May 20201,251
Apr 20201,823
Mar 20203,501
Feb 20203,842
Jan 20203,772
Dec 20192,573
Nov 20193,516
Oct 20193,559
Sept 20193,320
Aug 20193,594
Jul 20194,491
Jun 20194,553
May 20193,983
Apr 20192,762
Mar 20193,494
Feb 20193,139
Jan 20193,071
Dec 20182,084
Nov 20182,911
Oct 20182,798
Sept 20182,863
Aug 20182,846
Jul 20183,142
Jun 20183,110
May 20183,262
Apr 20183,019
Mar 20183,319
Feb 20183,035
Jan 20183,269
Dec 20172,172
Nov 20173,038
Oct 20173,114
Sept 20172,784
Aug 20173,048
Jul 20172,916
Jun 20173,599
May 20173,477
Apr 20173,324
Mar 20173,529
Feb 20173,053
Jan 20173,682
Is there a shortage of data analysts?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsAbove usual
  • Hours workedUsual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
10%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for business associate professionals, which includes data analysts. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London1,575
Manchester196
Birmingham139
Leeds121
Bristol, City of105
Glasgow City88
Nottingham66
Newcastle upon Tyne64
City of Edinburgh62
Sheffield61
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where data analysts are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 182 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from India, France, United States, ranking it 81st of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of data analysts
11%!
42%
22%
13%!
11%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2411% (small sample)
25–3442%
35–4422%
45–5413% (small sample)
55–6411% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent75%
Higher education below degree!4.7%
A levels or equivalent12%
GCSEs or equivalent8.3%
Other qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent75%
Higher education below degree4.7% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent12%
GCSEs or equivalent8.3%
Other qualificationsNot published

Main employers: general public administration activities (12%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (6.1%), computer programming activities (5.5%), business and other management consultancy activities (3.3%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
75%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
2
from level 3
Apprenticeships take
2 years
typically
T Levels
1
college courses for 16 to 19 year olds

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You'll usually need a degree or postgraduate qualification that includes data analysis, like:

  • maths and statistics
  • marketing and analytics
  • business and marketing
  • data science

Some market researchers focus on understanding what customers think and feel to get insights into products and services. Relevant degree subjects for this role include:

  • psychology
  • social sciences
  • sociology

If you want to specialise in an area like medical or economic market research, you'll find it useful to have a postgraduate master's degree or PhD in statistics or applied statistics.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including maths
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

College

You could take a college course to learn some of the skills you'll need to get a job as a data assistant or data officer. Courses include:

  • data analytics
  • maths and statistics
  • T Level in Digital Data Analytics
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

You may be able to apply for a place on an apprenticeship, such as:

  • Data Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • Market Research Executive Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
  • Data Analyst Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
  • Social Researcher Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship

These can take around 2 to 4 years to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

You could start as a research assistant and move into statistical work after getting more experience and doing qualifications on the job.

The Market Research Society offers training courses at different levels, depending on your job role and responsibilities.

You could apply for a place on a graduate training scheme with a market research company and start as a junior analyst. You'll need a relevant degree or postgraduate qualification to apply.

Other routes

You could get a marketing qualification like those offered by The Chartered Institute of Marketing, which often include a market research focus.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

A knowledge of social media and website analytics will be useful.

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Royal Statistical Society and The Market Research Society, for professional recognition and training opportunities.

Further information

You can find out more about working in market research from:

  • The Market Research Society
  • Royal Statistical Society
  • Social Research Association

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for market research data analyst. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

2 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
Software and data foundation apprenticeshipFoundation apprenticeship2
Digital data analyticsT Level3
Certificate of Higher Education Data AnalystHigher technical4
Certificate of Higher Education in Data ScienceHigher technical4
Digital Modular Programme for Data AnalystsHigher technical4
HNC Data AnalystHigher technical4
NCFE Level 4 Diploma: Data AnalystHigher technical4
Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) Data ScienceHigher technical5
FdSc Business ComputingHigher technical5
FDSc Data ScienceHigher technical5
Foundation Degree in Computer ScienceHigher technical5
Foundation Degree of Science (FdSc) in Computer ScienceHigher technical5
Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Computing for EnglandHigher technical5
Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Digital Technologies for EnglandHigher technical5

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • gathers, cleans and collates datasets and develops data management processes and policies
  • analyses data to identify trends and patterns in a variety of fields, such as opinion polling, predicting demand for goods and services, or the testing of new medications
  • creates visual representations of data, such as data dashboards and graphs
  • presents findings for technical or non-technical audiences to inform the decisions of companies, government or other organisations

Skills

  • apply statistical analysis techniques
  • carry out statistical forecasts
  • compile statistical data for insurance purposes
  • produce statistical financial records
  • analyse market financial trends
  • apply scientific methods
  • calculate insurance rate
  • conduct quantitative research
  • execute analytical mathematical calculations
  • gather data
  • identify statistical patterns
  • obtain financial information
  • perform data analysis
  • process data

Knowledge

  • statistical analysis system software
  • statistics
  • actuarial science
  • financial markets
  • mathematics
  • algorithms
  • data quality assessment
  • insurance law

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Working with ideas and solving problems

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for business and public service associate professionals, a group of 26 jobs that includes data analysts.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 1.2%about 26,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.1 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

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