RoleMath

role

Data Analyst

Source-cited RoleMath page about Data Analyst.

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Researched by RoleMath Research. Every figure on this page traces to the official source shown next to it.

What the numbers say about this work

Government occupation data for the role this maps to — Business Intelligence Analysts (SOC 15-2051). This is planning context for the occupation, not a salary or a job this role guarantees you.

Median pay (occupation)
$120,230 / yr · $67,240 to $199,130 (10th–90th percentile)
Projected change (2024–34)
+33.5% · ~23.4k openings/yr
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

BLS OEWS — occupation-level, national BLS Employment Projections 2024–34 This role uses a broad O*NET-SOC/BLS occupation mapping. Data Analyst is mapped to O*NET Business Intelligence Analysts, which rolls into the broader BLS Data Scientists occupation for national wage and outlook data. Treat those figures as nearest-occupation analytics context; entry data analyst jobs commonly sit below the occupation median, and the figure is not a title-specific salary promise.

What it pays by metro

The national median hides a wide geographic spread. Below is the occupation’s median in some of the highest-paying and largest-employment metros, adjusted for local prices — regional price-level context, not take-home pay or a salary this role guarantees you.

MetroNominal medianCost-adjusted
San Jose, CA$185,080$167,610
Seattle, WA$164,740$148,237
San Francisco, CA$170,110$147,137
Charlotte, NC$132,460$136,069
Austin, TX$127,360$129,872
Baltimore, MD$134,320$128,552

See all metros and how this is calculated → Sources: BLS OEWS (May 2025), occupation-level metro median ÷ BEA Regional Price Parities (2024, US=100).

What this work involves

The tasks the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET lists most central to this occupation — role-fit evidence to weigh against your background, not a measure of employer demand.

  • Generate standard or custom reports summarizing business, financial, or economic data for review by executives, managers, clients, and other stakeholders.
  • Maintain or update business intelligence tools, databases, dashboards, systems, or methods.
  • Manage timely flow of business intelligence information to users.
  • Provide technical support for existing reports, dashboards, or other tools.
  • Identify and analyze industry or geographic trends with business strategy implications.
  • Document specifications for business intelligence or information technology reports, dashboards, or other outputs.

O*NET — occupation-level

Skills that matter

The skills O*NET rates most important for this occupation. A starting map for what to build — weigh it against the specific job you’re targeting.

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Learning
  • Active Listening
  • Critical Thinking
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Mathematics
  • Monitoring

O*NET — occupation-level

What employers ask for right now

The skills and certifications employers most often name in a sample of 101public job postings for this role. Treat it as a to-learn list — it’s dated hiring language, not a count of open jobs, demand, or salary.

Most-named skills

  • SQL 77
  • Python 55
  • Tableau 47
  • Looker 37
  • Excel 35
  • Power BI 32
  • data analysis 18
  • Problem solving 18
  • Cybersecurity 15
  • LLM 9
  • Agile 8
  • AWS 7

Certifications named

  • PMP 2

Compare what employers ask across roles → Qualitative employer-language sample only; do not use as official demand, market-size, salary, or certification ROI evidence.

Certification decision support

Certifications mapped to Data Analyst

Certifications mapped to this role from cited OEM target-role data and the RoleMath role mapping, ordered by relationship strength and then Difficulty Score. This is planning context — not a guarantee, not an employer requirement, and not a claim that any one certification is best for everyone. Your fit depends on your background; pay/outlook context is occupation-level on the role page.

Start here signalGoogle Data Analytics Professional Certificate20/100 · Foundational

Entry and starting signals

11 mapped

Lower-difficulty credentials that map to this role as starting points or foundation signals.

CredentialDifficultyCostRelationshipWhy it appears here
Google Data Analytics Professional CertificateGoogle · foundation
20/100FoundationalCost not verifiedstrong signalGoogle Data Analytics can support entry data analyst transitions and portfolio-building.Official source
CompTIA Data+CompTIA · foundation
30/100Foundational$264 examstrong signalData+ maps to analyst fundamentals, data preparation, statistics, visualization, and governance.Official source
Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power UserSplunk · associate
40/100Moderate$130 examstrong signalSplunk Core Certified Advanced Power User maps to Data Analyst as a strong role signal based on its cited track token:data-analyst signal.Official source
Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer AssociateMicrosoft · intermediate
40/100ModerateCost not verifiedstrong signalMicrosoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate maps to Data Analyst as a strong role signal based on its cited track token:data-analyst signal.Official source
Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst AssociateMicrosoft · intermediate
40/100ModerateCost not verifiedstrong signalMicrosoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate maps to Data Analyst as a strong role signal based on its cited name keyword:data signal.Official source
Oracle AI Database SQL Certified AssociateOracle · associate
40/100ModerateCost not verifiedstrong signalOracle AI Database SQL Certified Associate maps to Data Analyst as a strong role signal based on its cited name keyword:data signal.Official source
Databricks Certified Data Analyst AssociateDatabricks · associate
45/100Moderate$200 examstrong signalDatabricks Certified Data Analyst Associate maps to Data Analyst as a strong role signal based on its cited name keyword:data signal.Official source
Splunk Core Certified Power UserSplunk · foundational
20/100Foundational$130 examfoundationSplunk Core Certified Power User maps to Data Analyst as a foundation credential based on its cited track token:data-analyst signal.Official source

3 later-step or lower-priority mappings are kept in the data payload for review.

Advanced or later-step credentials

8 mapped

Credentials that may matter after experience builds; they are not presented as first steps.

CredentialDifficultyCostRelationshipWhy it appears here
Splunk Enterprise Certified AdminSplunk · professional
60/100Hard$130 examadvanced adjacentSplunk Enterprise Certified Admin maps to Data Analyst as an advanced credential for progressing toward/within this role, not an entry signal.Official source
MySQL 8.0 Database Developer Oracle Certified ProfessionalOracle · professional
60/100HardCost not verifiedadvanced adjacentMySQL 8.0 Database Developer Oracle Certified Professional maps to Data Analyst as an advanced credential for progressing toward/within this role, not an entry signal.Official source
Oracle Autonomous AI Database Certified ProfessionalOracle · professional
60/100HardCost not verifiedadvanced adjacentOracle Autonomous AI Database Certified Professional maps to Data Analyst as an advanced credential for progressing toward/within this role, not an entry signal.Official source
CompTIA DataSys+CompTIA · intermediate
60/100Hard$399 examadjacentDataSys+ supports database fluency but is not primarily a data analyst credential.Official source
SnowPro Advanced: Data AnalystSnowflake · professional
75/100Hard$375 examadvanced adjacentSnowPro Advanced: Data Analyst maps to Data Analyst as an advanced credential for progressing toward/within this role, not an entry signal.Official source
CDPSE - Certified Data Privacy Solutions EngineerISACA · advanced
75/100Hard$575 examadvanced adjacentCDPSE - Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer maps to Data Analyst as an advanced credential for progressing toward/within this role, not an entry signal.Official source

2 later-step or lower-priority mappings are kept in the data payload for review.

Adjacent, not primary

2 mapped

Useful only for a pivot or neighboring track; not primary evidence for this role.

CredentialDifficultyCostRelationshipWhy it appears here
Cisco AI Technical PractitionerCisco · practitioner
20/100Foundational$150 examai fluency adjacentCisco AI Technical Practitioner includes data research and analysis topics but is not a data analyst hiring credential.Official source
CompTIA A+CompTIA · foundation
30/100Foundational$548 examnot primaryA+ is not a data analyst credential unless the user first needs IT support employment.Official source

Difficulty is the RoleMath Difficulty Score, not a pass rate. Certification mappings are planning context, not employer requirements, job guarantees, salary claims, or ROI claims.

Answer blocks

Common Questions

What certifications do I need to become a Data Analyst?

Certifications commonly mapped to a Data Analyst role, ordered from the lowest-difficulty starting point: Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate; CompTIA Data+; Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User; Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate — with advanced credentials such as Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin, MySQL 8.0 Database Developer Oracle Certified Professional as later steps.

Entry options, lowest difficulty first: Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate (Google; Difficulty Score 20/100, Foundational; exam fee pending vendor verification); CompTIA Data+ (CompTIA; Difficulty Score 30/100, Foundational; exam ~$264); Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User (Splunk; Difficulty Score 40/100, Moderate; exam ~$130); Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate (Microsoft; Difficulty Score 40/100, Moderate; exam fee pending vendor verification); Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate (Microsoft; Difficulty Score 40/100, Moderate; exam fee pending vendor verification). Advanced or later-step credentials: Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin (Splunk; Difficulty Score 60/100, Hard; exam ~$130); MySQL 8.0 Database Developer Oracle Certified Professional (Oracle; Difficulty Score 60/100, Hard; exam fee pending vendor verification); Oracle Autonomous AI Database Certified Professional (Oracle; Difficulty Score 60/100, Hard; exam fee pending vendor verification).

Citations: Source rows are visible in the page citation ledger; certification source URLs are linked in the decision table.

Use the RoleMath planner to adapt this sequence to your background, budget, and timeline. RoleMath sells nothing.

What is the easiest certification to start a Data Analyst career?

The lowest-difficulty cited certification for starting a Data Analyst path is Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate (RoleMath Difficulty Score 20/100, Foundational, exam fee pending vendor verification). It is a starting signal, not a guarantee of a role.

Entry options, lowest difficulty first: Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate (Google; Difficulty Score 20/100, Foundational; exam fee pending vendor verification); CompTIA Data+ (CompTIA; Difficulty Score 30/100, Foundational; exam ~$264); Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User (Splunk; Difficulty Score 40/100, Moderate; exam ~$130).

Citations: Source rows are visible in the page citation ledger; certification source URLs are linked in the decision table.

Use the RoleMath planner to adapt this sequence to your background, budget, and timeline. RoleMath sells nothing.

How much do Data Analyst certifications cost and how hard are they?

Cited Data Analyst certification exam fees range roughly $130–$544, spanning from Foundational entry options to Expert credentials on the RoleMath Difficulty Score. Pay and outlook are reported at the occupation level on the Data Analyst page, never per certification.

Entry options, lowest difficulty first: Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate (Google; Difficulty Score 20/100, Foundational; exam fee pending vendor verification); CompTIA Data+ (CompTIA; Difficulty Score 30/100, Foundational; exam ~$264); Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User (Splunk; Difficulty Score 40/100, Moderate; exam ~$130); Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate (Microsoft; Difficulty Score 40/100, Moderate; exam fee pending vendor verification).

Citations: Source rows are visible in the page citation ledger; certification source URLs are linked in the decision table.

Use the RoleMath planner to adapt this sequence to your background, budget, and timeline. RoleMath sells nothing.

Data Analyst

Quick Verdict

Data Analyst maps to the BLS occupation Business Intelligence Analysts (SOC 15-2051), which has a national median of $120,230. Pay is occupation-level and location-driven - not caused by the job title or a certification. Below are the full cited labor-market context, the skills the role draws on, and the certification paths that map to it. This role uses a broad ONET-SOC/BLS occupation mapping. Data Analyst is mapped to ONET Business Intelligence Analysts, which rolls into the broader BLS Data Scientists occupation for national wage and outlook data. Treat those figures as nearest-occupation analytics context; entry data analyst jobs commonly sit below the occupation median, and the figure is not a title-specific salary promise.

Fit Signals

  • Conventional (5.79)
  • Investigative (5.41)
  • Enterprising (4.42)

Skills & Tools

*Tools and technologies ONET associates with this occupation* - role-specific examples with ONET hot/in-demand flags, not employer requirements:

  • Amazon Web Services AWS software (hot technology, in demand)
  • Microsoft Azure software (hot technology, in demand)
  • Microsoft Excel (hot technology, in demand)
  • Microsoft Office software (hot technology, in demand)
  • Microsoft Power BI (hot technology, in demand)
  • Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology, in demand)
  • Python (hot technology, in demand)
  • R (hot technology, in demand)

*Foundational ONET skills** (broadly shared across occupations, not unique to this role): Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Writing.

AI & this career

What we can — and can’t — tell you about AI and this role

Cited context only: an occupation-level outlook, descriptive usage data, an employer-language sample, and attributed research — kept separate. No RoleMath AI score, no automation timeline, no job-loss prediction. How we source this →

Occupation outlook · BLS

Where the occupation is projected to go

BLS projects Data scientists at 33.5% employment change for 2024-2034, with 23.4 thousand annual openings. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

A forecast, not a guarantee; occupation-level, not about you - and BLS does not model rapid AI adoption, so this is never an AI prediction.

How AI shows up in the work

Descriptive usage, not demand or loss

For this shared SOC, the May 2026 usage sample reports 52.57% augmentation-labeled and 47.43% automation-labeled Claude conversations. Anthropic Anthropic Economic Index dataset, CC-BY.

Across all occupations the same dataset splits 51.4% augmentation / 48.6% automation (May 2026) — shown so a single role’s number is never read as an outlier.

Descriptive Claude usage data, not employment demand, not job loss, and not a personal forecast; CC-BY attribution required.

Employer language · sample

What a posting sample mentions

a sample of 9 postings (as of 2026-06-12) mentions these AI-related terms RoleMath public ATS employer-language pilot

Employer-language sample only; not official demand, market-size, salary, or certification ROI evidence.

Published research · attributed

What independent research says (not RoleMath’s claim)

  • Eloundou et al. estimate that about 80% of U.S. workers have at least 10% of their work tasks exposed to large language model capabilities (Science 2024). American Association for the Advancement of Science exposure = task overlap, not job loss.
  • Eloundou et al. estimate that about 19% of U.S. workers have at least 50% of their work tasks exposed to large language model capabilities (Science 2024). American Association for the Advancement of Science exposure = task overlap, not job loss.
  • Eloundou et al. explicitly disclaim any forecast of AI adoption or timing, describing their measure as capability overlap with tasks rather than a prediction of job loss (Science 2024). American Association for the Advancement of Science exposure = task overlap, not job loss.
  • OECD reports that high-skill occupations are the most exposed to AI on task-overlap measures (OECD Employment Outlook 2023). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development exposure = task overlap, not job loss.
  • OECD reports that, as of 2023, there is little empirical evidence of negative employment effects from AI (OECD Employment Outlook 2023). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development exposure = task overlap, not job loss.
  • OECD and the AIOE research find that AI exposure and automation risk often run in opposite directions, with the most-exposed high-skill occupations tending to be the least at risk of automation. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development exposure = task overlap, not job loss.
  • Felten, Raj and Seamans construct an occupation-level AI Occupational Exposure index by linking AI capabilities to O*NET occupational abilities (Strategic Management Journal). Strategic Management Journal (Wiley) exposure = task overlap, not job loss.
  • Stanford Digital Economy Lab researchers find a roughly 16% relative decline in employment for workers ages 22-25 in the most AI-exposed occupations, based on high-frequency ADP payroll data (Canaries in the Coal Mine, working paper). Stanford Digital Economy Lab correlational usage data, not proof.
  • The ILO notes that AI-exposure indicators measure potential task overlap and cannot by themselves establish job loss (Workers' exposure to AI). International Labour Organization exposure = task overlap, not job loss.
  • The Anthropic Economic Index reports no measured systematic rise in unemployment attributable to AI in its usage data. Anthropic correlational usage data, not proof.

Tier A research stays attributed and separate from BLS outlook and employer-language samples.

Every page here connects to the same cited data spine — these are the closest surfaces to what you just read.

Roles & paths this connects to

role comparisonAI Specialist vs Data Analyst — an honest comparisonrole comparisonBusiness Intelligence Developer vs Data Analyst — an honest comparisonrole role cost and timeWhat it costs and how long to become a Data Analyst

Zoom out

ai fluency adjacentCisco AI Technical Practitionernot primaryCompTIA A+maps to this roleCompTIA Data+

Every figure on this page, sourced

The claims above trace to these records — the source, and when it was last checked. If a figure has no row here, we did not publish it.

IDSupportsSourceChecked
SCHEMA-CIT-1Schema citationData Analyst BLS OEWS wage sourceLogged in source packet
SCHEMA-CIT-2Schema citationData Analyst BLS Employment Projections sourceLogged in source packet
SCHEMA-CIT-3Schema citationData Analyst O*NET sourceLogged in source packet

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