Salaries in Baltimore.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.08x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$389,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median of All Roles
$168,000
Senior Sports Analytics Engineer
Entry Level
$36,000
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.
Baltimore, MD has a cost-of-living index of 1.08x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $389,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $168,000. Baltimore's economy is anchored by Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, one of the largest employers in the state.
About the Baltimore market
Baltimore's economy is anchored by Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, one of the largest employers in the state. The city has strong cybersecurity, defense, and biotech sectors, benefiting from proximity to NSA, Fort Meade, and NIH. The port of Baltimore also drives significant logistics and trade employment.
Healthcare & BiotechCybersecurity & DefenseHigher EducationLogistics & PortGovernment
Top 50 salaries in Baltimore
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $389,000 | $304,000 – $506,000 |
| 2 | Technical Fellow | $370,000 | $289,000 – $482,000 |
| 3 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $367,000 | $286,000 – $477,000 |
| 4 | Senior VP of Product | $367,000 | $286,000 – $477,000 |
| 5 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $360,000 | $281,000 – $468,000 |
| 6 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $354,000 | $276,000 – $461,000 |
| 7 | Chief Security Officer | $353,000 | $275,000 – $459,000 |
| 8 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $350,000 | $274,000 – $456,000 |
| 9 | Distinguished Engineer | $349,000 | $265,000 – $445,000 |
| 10 | Chief AI Officer | $345,000 | $256,000 – $445,000 |
| 11 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $345,000 | $269,000 – $448,000 |
| 12 | Senior VP of Security | $345,000 | $270,000 – $449,000 |
| 13 | Chief Strategy Officer | $345,000 | $269,000 – $448,000 |
| 14 | Chief Science Officer | $341,000 | $267,000 – $444,000 |
| 15 | Principal Applied Scientist | $340,000 | $266,000 – $443,000 |
| 16 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $340,000 | $266,000 – $443,000 |
| 17 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $339,000 | $265,000 – $441,000 |
| 18 | Senior Head of Security | $338,000 | $264,000 – $439,000 |
| 19 | Senior VP of Design | $338,000 | $264,000 – $440,000 |
| 20 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $338,000 | $264,000 – $440,000 |
| 21 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $337,000 | $263,000 – $438,000 |
| 22 | SVP of Technology | $337,000 | $263,000 – $438,000 |
| 23 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $335,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 24 | Chief Legal Officer | $334,000 | $260,000 – $434,000 |
| 25 | Principal AI Engineer | $331,000 | $258,000 – $430,000 |
| 26 | SVP of Engineering | $331,000 | $259,000 – $431,000 |
| 27 | L7 Software Engineer | $331,000 | $259,000 – $431,000 |
| 28 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $328,000 | $245,000 – $428,000 |
| 29 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $327,000 | $256,000 – $425,000 |
| 30 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $325,000 | $253,000 – $422,000 |
| 31 | Principal LLM Engineer | $325,000 | $253,000 – $422,000 |
| 32 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $325,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 33 | SVP of Product | $325,000 | $254,000 – $422,000 |
| 34 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $324,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 35 | CTO | $324,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 36 | Senior Head of Product | $324,000 | $253,000 – $422,000 |
| 37 | Chief Architect | $324,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 38 | VP of AI | $323,000 | $245,000 – $423,000 |
| 39 | VP of AI Research | $323,000 | $251,000 – $419,000 |
| 40 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $321,000 | $250,000 – $417,000 |
| 41 | Principal Cryptographer | $321,000 | $250,000 – $417,000 |
| 42 | SVP of Finance | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 43 | Principal NLP Engineer | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 44 | SVP of Strategy | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 45 | Staff AI Safety Engineer | $316,000 | $247,000 – $411,000 |
| 46 | Chief Risk Officer | $316,000 | $247,000 – $411,000 |
| 47 | Chief Design Officer | $315,000 | $246,000 – $411,000 |
| 48 | SVP of Data | $315,000 | $246,000 – $411,000 |
| 49 | Principal Protocol Engineer | $314,000 | $245,000 – $409,000 |
| 50 | SVP of Sales | $314,000 | $245,000 – $409,000 |
Tax considerations
Maryland's top income tax rate is 5.75%, and Baltimore City adds a local income tax of 3.2%. The combined burden is among the higher ones, but federal and defense salaries compensate.
Negotiating in Baltimore
A security clearance is extremely valuable in the Baltimore corridor. Cleared professionals earn 20 to 30% more, and the NSA and defense contractor presence drives constant demand.
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