What is a data analyst? A key role for data-driven business decisions

What is a data analyst?

Data analysts work with data to help their organizations make better business decisions. Using techniques from a range of disciplines, including computer programming, mathematics, and statistics, data analysts draw conclusions from data to describe, predict, and improve business performance. They form the core of any analytics team and tend to be generalists versed in the methods of mathematical and statistical analysis.

The rising demand for data analysts

The data analyst role is in high demand as organizations grow their analytics capabilities at a rapid clip. In May 2026, Fortune Business Insights forecast the big data analytics market would grow from $447.7 billion in 2026 to $1.176.6 billion in 2034, a CAGR of 12.8%.

Data analyst vs. data scientist

While data analysts and data scientists may be commingled on analytics teams, their roles differ considerably.

Data analysts seek to describe the current state of their organizations by translating data into information accessible to the business. They collect, analyze, and report on data to meet business needs. The role includes identifying new sources of data and methods to improve data collection, analysis, and reporting. Data scientists, on the other hand, are often engaged in long-term research and prediction, while data analysts seek to support business leaders in making tactical decisions through reporting and ad hoc queries.

The difference between the two comes down to timescale. A data analyst might help an organization better understand how its customers use a product in the moment in what works and doesn’t work for them, whereas a data scientist might use the insights generated from that work to help design a new product that anticipates future customer needs.

Data analyst role

Data analysts mostly work with an organization’s structured data. They create reports, dashboards, and other visualizations on data associated with customers, business processes, and market economics to provide insights to senior management and business leaders in support of decision-making efforts. They also work with all manner of data, including inventories, logistics and transportation costs, market research, profit margins, and sales figures to help the business estimate market share, price products, time sales, and optimize transportation costs.

Data analyst responsibilities

Data analysts seek to understand the questions the business needs to answer and determine whether those questions can be answered by data. They must understand the technical issues associated with collecting and analyzing data, and reporting. And they must be able to recognize trends and patterns. According to Workable, key data analyst responsibilities include:

• Analyzing data using statistical techniques and providing reports
• Developing and implementing databases and data collection systems
• Acquiring data from primary and secondary sources and maintaining data systems
• Identifying, analyzing, and interpreting trends or patterns in complex data sets
• Filtering and cleaning data
• Working with management to prioritize business and information needs
• Locating and defining new process improvement opportunities

Data analyst skills

The following are the most in-demand skills for data analysts:

1. SQL
2. Python
3. R
4. Generative AI and prompt engineering
5. Statistical programming
6. Machine learning
7. Probability and statistics
8. Data management
9. Statistical visualization
10. Econometrics

In addition to analytical and mathematical skills, and facility with languages such as SQL, communication skills are essential. Data analysts frequently need to engage with the business to understand its objectives and gather requirements.

Landing a data analyst job

An eclectic mix of skills and experience is often key to getting noticed when applying for data analyst positions, though facility with SQL and statistical analysis are requirements. Good communication and writing skills go a long way as well given the amount of reports analysts write. Practical experience is also a plus, even if only an internship.

Data analyst training

While there’s no set education requirement for data analysts, most data analysts have at least a BS in mathematics, economics, computer science, information management, or statistics. Coding bootcamps can help, too, and internships can provide experience that many organizations look for.

Data analyst certifications

Data analytics skills are in high demand and are relatively rare, so individuals with the right mix of experience and skill can command higher salaries. The right big data certifications and business intelligence certifications can help.

Some popular certifications include:

• Associate Certified Analytics Professional (aCAP)
• AWS Certified Data Analytics
• Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
• CDP Data Analyst
• CompTIA Data+
• Microsoft Certified Power BI Data Analyst Associate
• SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional
• Tableau Certified Data Analyst

Data analyst salary

Data analyst is just one job title in the expanding field of analytics. According to data from PayScale, the average annual salary for a data analyst is $70,384, with a reported range from $51,000 to $95,000. Indeed reports an average base salary of $85,605, with a range of $53,000 to $138,000.

Top 5 cities for data analyst salaries:

Other data analytics jobs

Salary data on data analyst-related positions include:

• Analytics manager: $110,581
• Business analyst: $80,610
• Business intelligence analyst: $80,000
• Data architect: $135,694
• Data engineer: $99,932
• Data manager: $86,517
• Data scientist: $103,441
• Research analyst: $65,493
• Statistician: $97,082