Salaries in Ann Arbor.
3,445 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.02x national average. Last updated June 2026.
3,445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$368,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median of All Roles
$159,000
Big Data Engineer
Entry Level
$33,000
Hotel Clerk / Front Desk
Salary data sourced from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), state pay-transparency job postings, and community submissions. 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 June 2026.
Ann Arbor, MI has a cost-of-living index of 1.02x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $368,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $159,000. 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 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $368,000 | $287,000 – $478,000 |
| 2 | Technical Fellow | $350,000 | $273,000 – $455,000 |
| 3 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $346,000 | $270,000 – $450,000 |
| 4 | Senior VP of Security | $343,000 | $268,000 – $446,000 |
| 5 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $340,000 | $266,000 – $442,000 |
| 6 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $337,000 | $263,000 – $438,000 |
| 7 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $334,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 8 | SVP of Technology | $334,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 9 | Senior VP of Product | $333,000 | $260,000 – $433,000 |
| 10 | Chief Security Officer | $333,000 | $260,000 – $433,000 |
| 11 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $331,000 | $258,000 – $431,000 |
| 12 | Distinguished Engineer | $330,000 | $250,000 – $420,000 |
| 13 | Chief Science Officer | $323,000 | $252,000 – $419,000 |
| 14 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $321,000 | $251,000 – $418,000 |
| 15 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $321,000 | $251,000 – $418,000 |
| 16 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 17 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $318,000 | $248,000 – $414,000 |
| 18 | SVP of Strategy | $315,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 19 | Chief AI Officer | $313,000 | $232,000 – $404,000 |
| 20 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 21 | SVP of Engineering | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 22 | Chief Design Officer | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 23 | Chief Strategy Officer | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 24 | SVP of Data | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 25 | L7 Software Engineer | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 26 | Principal Applied Scientist | $309,000 | $241,000 – $402,000 |
| 27 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $307,000 | $239,000 – $399,000 |
| 28 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $307,000 | $239,000 – $398,000 |
| 29 | Senior Head of Security | $307,000 | $240,000 – $399,000 |
| 30 | Senior VP of Design | $307,000 | $240,000 – $399,000 |
| 31 | SVP of Product | $307,000 | $239,000 – $399,000 |
| 32 | Chief Technology Officer | $305,000 | $226,000 – $399,000 |
| 33 | VP of AI | $305,000 | $231,000 – $399,000 |
| 34 | VP of AI Research | $305,000 | $237,000 – $396,000 |
| 35 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $304,000 | $236,000 – $394,000 |
| 36 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $304,000 | $237,000 – $395,000 |
| 37 | Chief Commercial Officer | $304,000 | $237,000 – $396,000 |
| 38 | Principal Cryptographer | $303,000 | $236,000 – $394,000 |
| 39 | Chief Legal Officer | $303,000 | $236,000 – $394,000 |
| 40 | Chief Growth Officer | $302,000 | $235,000 – $392,000 |
| 41 | Principal AI Engineer | $301,000 | $234,000 – $391,000 |
| 42 | Principal NLP Engineer | $301,000 | $234,000 – $390,000 |
| 43 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $301,000 | $234,000 – $390,000 |
| 44 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $298,000 | $222,000 – $389,000 |
| 45 | Principal Language Runtime Engineer | $298,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 46 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 47 | SVP of Sales | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 48 | SVP of Operations | $297,000 | $231,000 – $386,000 |
| 49 | SVP of Design | $297,000 | $231,000 – $386,000 |
| 50 | Staff AI Agent Architect | $296,000 | $231,000 – $384,000 |
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