Salaries in Ann Arbor.
522 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.02x national average. Last updated April 2026.
522 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$330,000
Distinguished Engineer
Median of All Roles
$149,000
Industrial Robot AI Programmer
Entry Level
$33,000
Hotel Clerk / Front Desk
Salary data sourced from SEC filings, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and aggregated job postings across 50+ platforms. Ranges reflect 25th to 75th percentile for full-time positions. Cost-of-living adjustments use Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2025 index). Last updated April 2026.
Ann Arbor, MI has a cost-of-living index of 1.02x the national average. The highest-paying role is Distinguished Engineer at $330,000, while the median across all 522 roles is $149,000. Ann Arbor is a top-tier research hub anchored by the University of Michigan.
About the Ann Arbor market
Ann Arbor is a top-tier research hub anchored by the University of Michigan. The city has a thriving startup ecosystem, strong automotive R&D presence, and growing AI and robotics sector. Toyota, Google, and numerous autonomous vehicle companies have offices here.
Higher EducationAutomotive R&DTechnologyHealthcareRobotics
Top 50 salaries in Ann Arbor
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Distinguished Engineer | $330,000 | $250,000 – $420,000 |
| 2 | Chief AI Officer | $313,000 | $232,000 – $404,000 |
| 3 | Chief Technology Officer | $305,000 | $226,000 – $399,000 |
| 4 | VP of AI | $305,000 | $231,000 – $399,000 |
| 5 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $298,000 | $222,000 – $389,000 |
| 6 | SVP of AI Innovation | $294,000 | $221,000 – $386,000 |
| 7 | Chief Revenue Officer | $288,000 | $216,000 – $381,000 |
| 8 | Chief Product Officer | $284,000 | $210,000 – $373,000 |
| 9 | Head of AI Research | $284,000 | $210,000 – $373,000 |
| 10 | CEO | $283,000 | $206,000 – $391,000 |
| 11 | Chief Algorithm Officer | $283,000 | $212,000 – $369,000 |
| 12 | Chief Marketing Officer | $276,000 | $207,000 – $361,000 |
| 13 | Principal Engineer | $276,000 | $212,000 – $361,000 |
| 14 | VP of AI Product | $271,000 | $202,000 – $350,000 |
| 15 | Head of AI | $270,000 | $200,000 – $350,000 |
| 16 | VP of AI Engineering | $270,000 | $204,000 – $352,000 |
| 17 | CFO | $263,000 | $197,000 – $348,000 |
| 18 | Head of Applied AI | $263,000 | $196,000 – $345,000 |
| 19 | VP of Engineering | $260,000 | $195,000 – $340,000 |
| 20 | VP of Product | $257,000 | $194,000 – $331,000 |
| 21 | Chief Data Officer | $255,000 | $191,000 – $333,000 |
| 22 | Head of AI Platform | $253,000 | $189,000 – $332,000 |
| 23 | Chief Operating Officer | $250,000 | $186,000 – $333,000 |
| 24 | Chief Human Resources Officer | $247,000 | $187,000 – $321,000 |
| 25 | AI Transformation Officer | $247,000 | $185,000 – $325,000 |
| 26 | VP of Product Design | $242,000 | $180,000 – $314,000 |
| 27 | VP of Marketing | $242,000 | $180,000 – $319,000 |
| 28 | VP of Sales | $242,000 | $182,000 – $323,000 |
| 29 | CTO, AI Startup | $237,000 | $185,000 – $309,000 |
| 30 | Head of AI Partnerships | $235,000 | $175,000 – $310,000 |
| 31 | Staff Engineer | $233,000 | $186,000 – $297,000 |
| 32 | AI Program Director | $230,000 | $173,000 – $301,000 |
| 33 | Director of Generative AI | $227,000 | $171,000 – $299,000 |
| 34 | Foundation Model Engineer | $226,000 | $168,000 – $294,000 |
| 35 | Director of AI Strategy | $225,000 | $170,000 – $294,000 |
| 36 | Director of Engineering | $218,000 | $168,000 – $282,000 |
| 37 | Director of Data Science | $217,000 | $167,000 – $283,000 |
| 38 | AI Alignment Researcher | $217,000 | $161,000 – $289,000 |
| 39 | AI Systems Architect | $217,000 | $164,000 – $284,000 |
| 40 | AI World Model Engineer | $217,000 | $161,000 – $286,000 |
| 41 | Reinforcement Learning Engineer | $212,000 | $159,000 – $276,000 |
| 42 | AI Research Scientist | $210,000 | $158,000 – $273,000 |
| 43 | Quantum ML Researcher | $210,000 | $155,000 – $278,000 |
| 44 | Multi-Agent Systems Architect | $208,000 | $153,000 – $275,000 |
| 45 | AI Safety Researcher | $207,000 | $154,000 – $271,000 |
| 46 | AI Agent Architect | $207,000 | $157,000 – $268,000 |
| 47 | AI Security & Red Teaming Specialist | $207,000 | $154,000 – $271,000 |
| 48 | AI Financial Engineer | $206,000 | $152,000 – $264,000 |
| 49 | AI Infrastructure Manager | $206,000 | $156,000 – $268,000 |
| 50 | AI Cloud Architect | $205,000 | $155,000 – $260,000 |
Tax considerations
Michigan has a flat 4.25% income tax. Ann Arbor has a city income tax of 1% for residents. The moderate combined rate is offset by the strong employer base and research ecosystem.
Negotiating in Ann Arbor
Leverage the autonomous vehicle and robotics corridor. Ann Arbor employers pay nationally competitive rates for AI, robotics, and automotive engineering talent.
Know the number. Get the offer.
Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.
Start free