Data Annotator Salary in the United States

How much does a Data Annotator make in the United States?

As of March 01, 2026, the average salary for a Data Annotator in the United States is $44,406 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $21.

However, a Data Annotator's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $54,848
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $40,798 to $49,872
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $37,513
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View as table View as graph 25% $40,798 10% $37,513 90% $54,848 75% $49,872 $44,406 50%(Median) Didn’t find job title? Click

Data Annotator Salaries by Percentile

Annual
Salary
Monthly
Pay
Weekly
Pay
Hourly
Wage
75th Percentile $49,872 $4,156 $959 $24
Average $44,406 $3,701 $854 $21
25th Percentile $40,798 $3,400 $785 $20
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Key Factors That Influence Data Annotator Salaries

A Data Annotator's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Data Annotator Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Data Annotator's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $44,657
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $48,438
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $54,242
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $62,566
  • Expert (over 8 years): $84,591
Levels Salary
Data Anno... Level Data Annotator$44,657
Transacti... Level Data Annotator$48,438
Transacti... Level Data Annotator$54,242
Transacti... Level Data Annotator$62,566
Transacti... Level Data Annotator$84,591
$44,657 0 yr
$48,438 < 2 yrs
$54,242 2-4 yrs
$62,566 5-8 yrs
$84,591 > 8 yrs
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What Am I Worth?

Top Paying Cities for Data Annotators

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $56,009
  • San Francisco: $55,459
  • Oakland: $54,229

What Skills Can Increase a Data Annotator's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Process Improvement (Mentioned in 6.05% Job Postings): Analyzing and improving existing processes and workflows to minimize process errors and streamline organizational efficiency.
  • Data Analytics (Mentioned in 1.71% Job Postings): Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse techniques under a variety of names, and is used in different business, science, and social science domains. In today's business world, data analysis plays a role in making decisions more scientific and helping businesses operate more effectively. Data mining is a particular data analysis technique that focuses on modeling and knowledge discovery for predictive rather than purely descriptive purposes, while business intelligence covers data analysis that relies heavily on aggregation, focusing mainly on business information. In statistical applications, data analysis can be divided into descriptive statistics, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and confirmatory data analysis (CDA). EDA focuses on discovering new features in the data while CDA focuses on confirming or falsifying existing hypotheses. Predictive analytics focuses on application of statistical models for predictive forecasting or classification, while text analytics applies statistical, linguistic, and structural techniques to extract and classify information from textual sources, a species of unstructured data. All of the above are varieties of data analysis.
  • Collective Bargaining (Mentioned in 1.2% Job Postings): Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. The collective agreements reached by these negotiations usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs. The union may negotiate with a single employer (who is typically representing a company's shareholders) or may negotiate with a group of businesses, depending on the country, to reach an industry-wide agreement. A collective agreement functions as a labour contract between an employer and one or more unions. Collective bargaining consists of the process of negotiation between representatives of a union and employers (generally represented by management, or, in some countries such as Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands, by an employers' organization) in respect of the terms and conditions of employment of employees, such as wages, hours of work, working conditions, grievance procedures, and about the rights and responsibilities of trade unions. The parties often refer to the result of the negotiation as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or as a collective employment agreement (CEA).
See More Skills
Skills Demand Percentage
Process Improvement 6.05%
Data Analytics 1.71%
Collective Bargaining 1.2%
What skills can make your compensation higher?
Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Data Annotator's salary.
  • Change Management: Can increase your salary by up to 32%.
  • Data Analytics: Can increase your salary by up to 17%.
  • SOP: Can increase your salary by up to 16%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Change Management
$58,616
32%
Data Analytics
$51,955
17%
SOP
$51,511
16%
Project Management
$50,623
14%
Business Analysis
$50,623
14%
Process Improvement
$50,179
13%
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Data Annotator Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Data Annotator's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on March 01, 2026

Salary Trends for Data Annotator

Salaries for a Data Annotator can change over time, reflecting shifts in market demand and the overall economy. The median salary decreased from $52,981 in 2023 to around $52,536 in 2025, reflecting changes in demand, location, experience, and the wider economy. For a detailed analysis of Data Annotator salary trends, .

Average Annual Salary of Data Annotator Over Time

2022
$???
2023
$52,981
2024
$53,117
2025
$52,536
2026
$???
2027
$???
Year Average Annual Salary
2022
View More
2023 $52,981
2024 $53,117
2025 $52,536
2026
View More
2027
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Most common benefits for Data Annotator

Social Security
401(k)
Disability
Healthcare
Pension
Time Off (days)
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Common company salaries for Data Annotator

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Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

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