Data analysis sits in an unusual position. The skills are standardised, the tools are identical everywhere, and the work can be done from anywhere with a connection. That makes it one of the few roles where an international comparison of pay is genuinely actionable rather than academic.
The figures below take a typical mid-career analyst salary in each country and run it through that country's deduction rules on a single person basis, with no children and no special regime.
The ranking after tax
Federal deductions only; state or provincial tax is charged on top. † Foreign employees pay no CPF, so a local resident keeps less. ‡ Cantonal tax is an estimated average; the real figure depends on the commune. § Excludes the 13th and 14th salary payments, which are taxed at 6%. Converted at rates current when this guide was written.
What the table shows
Switzerland and the United States lead, as they do in almost every profession on this site, for different reasons. Switzerland combines high gross pay with modest income tax. The United States combines high gross pay with a federal system that is light by international standards, though the figure above excludes state tax and health insurance, both of which can be substantial.
Israel appears high on gross pay and loses more of it than the headline suggests, because national insurance, health insurance and compulsory pension contributions all apply before the tax bands do. The wider picture is in Israeli tech pay.
Where the percentages diverge
- Germany, Austria and Belgium keep the smallest share of gross pay at this salary level, because social contributions apply from the first euro at high rates and the tax schedule ramps quickly.
- Ireland and the Netherlands do better than their reputations, because contributions are comparatively low and credits do substantial work at this income.
- Denmark keeps a low share and pairs it with very low employer contributions, which means the gross figure understates the total package less than elsewhere.
- Singapore shows a high retained share for a foreign employee and a considerably lower one for a citizen, because CPF takes twenty percent from local workers. See CPF explained.
What the table deliberately leaves out
- Housing costs, which vary far more than tax and point in the opposite direction in Switzerland, Luxembourg and the larger American cities.
- Health insurance, paid outside payroll in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States, and included in the deductions elsewhere.
- Pension contributions, compulsory in Australia, Israel, Switzerland and the Nordic countries and voluntary elsewhere.
- Household circumstances. A married analyst with children in France, Germany or Luxembourg would move up this table considerably.
- Expatriate regimes, which would move the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Denmark to the top for a qualifying new arrival.
The portability point
Because the role is so movable, the sensible way to use a table like this is not to pick the top row. It is to identify which countries pay enough after tax to be worth the move, and then to compare those on housing, healthcare and the things that actually determine quality of life.
The method for doing that properly is in comparing two job offers.