Data Science or Computer Science?
Data science centers on statistics and machine learning to answer questions with data; computer science on building software and computing systems. Data scientists are a much smaller occupation than software developers, but BLS projects it to grow far faster.
Data Science · median pay$120,230Data scientists
Computer Science · median pay$135,980Software developers
Data Science · colleges261awarded it in 2023-24
Computer Science · colleges986awarded it in 2023-24
Side by side
Rows that are the same for both are shown once.
| Data Science | Computer Science | |
|---|---|---|
| In one line | Turning large amounts of data into decisions with statistics, programming and machine learning: cleaning data, building models and explaining the results. | The study of algorithms, software and computing systems. It leads to several jobs, not one: software developer, security analyst, data scientist and researcher. |
| What you study | Statistics and probability, linear algebra, calculus, programming (often Python or R), databases, machine learning, data visualization and communication. | Programming, algorithms and data structures, computer architecture, operating systems, databases, networks, discrete math, calculus, linear algebra and electives such as AI, security or graphics. |
| College program | Data science (CIP 30.7001) · Data analytics (CIP 30.7101) | Computer science (CIP 11.0701) |
| Colleges that awarded it (2023-24) | 261 colleges · 2,161 bachelor's degrees | 986 colleges · 44,627 bachelor's degrees |
| Main job (BLS) | Data scientists | Software developers |
| Median pay (May 2025) | $120,230 | $135,980 |
| Jobs and growth (2025–35) | 275,600 jobs · 35% growth (much faster than average) | 1,905,400 jobs · 10% growth (much faster than average) |
| Other jobs it leads to | Mathematicians and statisticians, Operations research analysts, Database administrators and architects | Computer systems analysts, Information security analysts, Data scientists, Computer and information research scientists |
| License | Both: No state license | |
| Accreditation to look for | No program accreditor; check institutional accreditation | ABET (program) |
Pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; jobs and growth: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35; colleges: NCES IPEDS 2023-24 (first majors).
BLS
Occupational Outlook HandbookU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Checked
- 7 Oct 2026
NCES IPEDS
IPEDS Completions, 2023-24 (complete data file C2024_A)National Center for Education Statistics
- Checked
- 7 Oct 2026
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Computer Science
Checked 8 Oct 2026. All comparisons · How Margdarshan sources its data →