Salaries in Birmingham.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.84x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$297,000
Principal AI Research Scientist
Median of All Roles
$132,000
AI Audit Engineer
Entry Level
$28,000
Home Health Aide
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.
Birmingham, AL has a cost-of-living index of 0.84x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal AI Research Scientist at $297,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $132,000. Birmingham is Alabama's largest metro, anchored by a major medical center, banking, and a growing innovation district.
About the Birmingham market
Birmingham is Alabama's largest metro, anchored by a major medical center, banking, and a growing innovation district. UAB is one of the state's largest employers and a driver of biomedical research jobs. The extremely low cost of living makes Birmingham a strong value for professionals in healthcare and finance.
HealthcareBanking & FinanceManufacturingTechnologyEducation
Top 50 salaries in Birmingham
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 2 | Technical Fellow | $288,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 3 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $285,000 | $222,000 – $371,000 |
| 4 | Distinguished Engineer | $280,000 | $212,000 – $356,000 |
| 5 | Senior VP of Security | $280,000 | $218,000 – $364,000 |
| 6 | Senior VP of Product | $277,000 | $216,000 – $360,000 |
| 7 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $275,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 8 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $272,000 | $213,000 – $354,000 |
| 10 | Chief Strategy Officer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 11 | Chief Security Officer | $269,000 | $209,000 – $350,000 |
| 12 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $268,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
| 13 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $268,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
| 14 | Chief Science Officer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
| 15 | SVP of Product | $268,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
| 16 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $267,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 17 | Principal Cryptographer | $267,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 18 | SVP of Technology | $265,000 | $207,000 – $344,000 |
| 19 | Chief AI Officer | $263,000 | $195,000 – $339,000 |
| 20 | SVP of Engineering | $263,000 | $205,000 – $342,000 |
| 21 | L7 Software Engineer | $263,000 | $205,000 – $342,000 |
| 22 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $261,000 | $204,000 – $339,000 |
| 23 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $260,000 | $202,000 – $337,000 |
| 24 | Senior VP of Design | $260,000 | $204,000 – $339,000 |
| 25 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $259,000 | $203,000 – $338,000 |
| 26 | Principal Applied Scientist | $257,000 | $201,000 – $334,000 |
| 27 | Chief Architect | $257,000 | $200,000 – $334,000 |
| 28 | Chief Legal Officer | $255,000 | $199,000 – $331,000 |
| 29 | Chief Design Officer | $255,000 | $199,000 – $332,000 |
| 30 | SVP of Sales | $255,000 | $199,000 – $331,000 |
| 31 | SVP of Strategy | $255,000 | $199,000 – $331,000 |
| 32 | Principal AI Engineer | $253,000 | $197,000 – $328,000 |
| 33 | Senior Head of Security | $253,000 | $197,000 – $328,000 |
| 34 | Principal Language Runtime Engineer | $252,000 | $197,000 – $328,000 |
| 35 | Senior Head of Product | $252,000 | $197,000 – $328,000 |
| 36 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $252,000 | $197,000 – $327,000 |
| 37 | Chief Transformation Officer | $251,000 | $196,000 – $326,000 |
| 38 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $250,000 | $195,000 – $324,000 |
| 39 | SVP of Data | $250,000 | $195,000 – $326,000 |
| 40 | CTO | $249,000 | $195,000 – $324,000 |
| 41 | Chief Digital Officer | $249,000 | $194,000 – $324,000 |
| 42 | Principal NLP Engineer | $248,000 | $193,000 – $321,000 |
| 43 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $248,000 | $193,000 – $322,000 |
| 44 | Chief Commercial Officer | $248,000 | $193,000 – $323,000 |
| 45 | SVP of AI Innovation | $247,000 | $186,000 – $324,000 |
| 46 | SVP of Design | $247,000 | $192,000 – $321,000 |
| 47 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $245,000 | $183,000 – $320,000 |
| 48 | Chief Innovation Officer | $245,000 | $190,000 – $318,000 |
| 49 | General Counsel | $245,000 | $190,000 – $318,000 |
| 50 | VP of AI | $244,000 | $185,000 – $319,000 |
Tax considerations
Alabama's top state income tax rate is 5%. Birmingham has no city income tax. The low rate combined with very affordable housing creates excellent take home pay ratios.
Negotiating in Birmingham
Leverage UAB and the medical corridor when negotiating. Healthcare and biotech roles command nationally competitive salaries even in this low cost market.
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