From payments to health, state governments handle critical data. As AI reshapes public services, clean, optimized data is essential for effective systems. State data leaders drive this through strategy, governance and transparency.
But unlike governors, or even chief information officers, not every state has formally named a chief data officer. According to research from Beeck Center’s Digital Service Network and Data Labs teams, only a little more than half of states have established a CDO position. Most operate with lean teams ranging from just themselves up to 10 other full-time employees and have budgets of less than $1 million.
State CDOs often operate behind the scenes, making them largely unknown to the public. Even for journalists, identifying these roles can be challenging due to inconsistent public records. However, the new
Beeck Center State Chief Data Officer Tracker puts this information all in one place.
Government Technology expanded on their analysis, using the tracker data to dig even deeper into the state CDO landscape to reveal regional and demographic trends that show how states are approaching the evolving data landscape.
Regional trends on the CDO map point to uneven data leadership, with the West and Northeast leading while the Midwest and Southeast lag.
The surge in state CDO roles reflects the growing emphasis on data governance, especially with AI's rise. Analyzing creation dates reveals a peak between 2017 and 2019, followed by a 2020 dip, and then a resurgence in 2024. This timeline highlights the sometimes hot and cold recognition of data leadership's importance in state government.
While a 2020
Boston Consulting Group report highlighted the data science industry's gender diversity gap, with women comprising only 15 to 22 percent of professionals, state data leadership tells a more promising story. Individually researching each CDO,
Government Technology found 34 percent of current state CDOs identify as women. This suggests there’s a greater balance within government data roles.
The experience current CDOs have in state data leadership varies, from newcomers like Indiana's Pete Miller,
appointed in January, to seasoned veterans leading long-established data initiatives. There’s plenty of fresh faces on the scene, with nine new CDO appointments in 2024, reflecting the evolving and dynamic nature of state-level data governance.
Nikki Davidson is a data reporter for Government Technology. She’s covered government and technology news as a video, newspaper, magazine and digital journalist for media outlets across the country. She’s based in Monterey, Calif.
