Washington ranked as the state with the highest demand for data science jobs, according to a Center for Data Innovation report.
For the report, the Washington, D.C.-based data policy think tank benchmarked U.S. states based on 25 indicators related to data-driven innovation. The indicators assessed states' strengths across three categories: data availability, technology platforms and human-business capital.
Within the human-business capital category, the Center for Data Innovation ranked all 50 states on demand for data science jobs. The analysts calculated the number of search results for "data science" and "data scientist" on Indeed.com as a share of total regional job listings posted as of March 8, 2017.
The analysts argued a high demand for data science jobs suggested a state had "high levels of innovation, risk-taking and entrepreneurship" and indicated companies outside of the technology industry were adopting data-driven tools.
"Many of the firms listed are hiring statisticians and computer scientists in an expanding range of industries that are effectively using data scientists to improve the goods and services they produce," the report reads.
Here are the states with the highest proportion of data science job listings.
1. Washington: 12 percent
2. Maryland: 7.8 percent
3. Massachusetts: 7.4 percent
4. Virginia: 7 percent
5. California: 6.6 percent
Here are the states with the lowest proportion of data science job listings.
1. Mississippi: 1.2 percent
1. Montana: 1.2 percent
3. Louisiana: 1.3 percent
4. Kentucky: 1.4 percent
4. North Dakota: 1.4 percent
4. South Carolina: 1.4 percent
4. South Dakota: 1.4 percent
To access the Center for Data Innovation's report, click here.