Rates, 2026
What should a data analyst charge in a major city?
About $800 a day for a data analyst who is working and booked in a major city like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami or Austin. $600 in the first years, $1,025 when senior. A dashboard or analysis runs about $4,050. Also called: dashboards, sql, looker, tableau.
Other markets: New York or LA · remote · a smaller market
First years
$600
a day · $75 an hour
Working, booked
$800
a day · $100 an hour
Senior, sought after
$1,025
a day · $125 an hour
The rate card, working level
- Day rate$800 per day
- Hourlyfor anything that does not fit a day$100 per hour
- A dashboard or analysis$4,050 per project
- Monthly retainer$4,475 per month
Sold by the day, a project fee, a monthly retainer. The day is the unit; half days run 60%.
What to charge for each thing
Ranges for a major city like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami or Austin: the low end is the first years, the high end is senior. Working and booked sits in the middle.
- Dashboard (Looker, Tableau, Power BI)$1,275 to $5,100 each
- One-off analysis$675 to $2,550 each
- Data cleanup$425 to $2,125 each
- Monthly reporting$675 to $2,125 per month
How the number is made
Data analysts at this level in this market day at about $800 ($600 to $1,300 in New York and LA). Put in the year you actually want on the perfect price page and the number moves with it.
A dashboard or analysis runs $1,500 to $8,000 and takes about 30 hours of your time; at your hourly that is $3,000. The number is the higher of the two, because the client is buying the outcome, not the hours.
A retainer is the month, not the hours: a set scope, paid up front on the 1st. It is priced about 20% under the same work bought one at a time, in exchange for the certainty; three months minimum, or it is not a retainer.
Questions
- What is a fair day rate for a data analyst in a major city like Chicago, Atlanta, Miami or Austin?
- About $800 a day for someone working and booked, $600 in the first years, $1,025 when senior and sought after. Half days usually run 60% of the day.
- How much is a dashboard or analysis?
- $4,050 at a working level in this market. The client is buying the outcome, so the price is the higher of what the market pays for it and what your hours in it are worth.
- What does a monthly retainer look like for a data analyst?
- Around $4,475 a month. About 20% under the same work bought one piece at a time, in exchange for certainty; three months minimum.
- Are these rates a rule?
- No. They are US 2026 ranges for the role, placed by level and moved for the market. What a client actually paid you beats all of it. The tool has a box for that, and it wins.
Your number, in five seconds.
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