Salaries in Boulder.
522 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.15x national average. Last updated April 2026.
522 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$368,000
Distinguished Engineer
Median of All Roles
$167,000
AI Supply Chain Analyst
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.
Boulder, CO has a cost-of-living index of 1.15x the national average. The highest-paying role is Distinguished Engineer at $368,000, while the median across all 522 roles is $167,000. Boulder is one of America's most concentrated startup hubs per capita, with a strong presence in aerospace, natural products, and technology.
About the Boulder market
Boulder is one of America's most concentrated startup hubs per capita, with a strong presence in aerospace, natural products, and technology. The University of Colorado and national labs like NIST and NOAA drive research employment. Outdoor lifestyle attracts top talent willing to accept slightly lower salaries.
Technology & StartupsAerospaceNatural ProductsResearch LabsClean Energy
Top 50 salaries in Boulder
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Distinguished Engineer | $368,000 | $279,000 – $469,000 |
| 2 | Chief AI Officer | $364,000 | $270,000 – $469,000 |
| 3 | VP of AI | $347,000 | $263,000 – $454,000 |
| 4 | SVP of AI Innovation | $341,000 | $257,000 – $449,000 |
| 5 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $336,000 | $250,000 – $438,000 |
| 6 | Chief Technology Officer | $327,000 | $242,000 – $428,000 |
| 7 | Chief Algorithm Officer | $322,000 | $241,000 – $420,000 |
| 8 | Chief Revenue Officer | $319,000 | $239,000 – $421,000 |
| 9 | VP of AI Engineering | $317,000 | $239,000 – $413,000 |
| 10 | Head of AI Research | $317,000 | $235,000 – $416,000 |
| 11 | CEO | $316,000 | $230,000 – $437,000 |
| 12 | Head of AI | $307,000 | $228,000 – $398,000 |
| 13 | VP of AI Product | $305,000 | $227,000 – $395,000 |
| 14 | Chief Product Officer | $304,000 | $225,000 – $400,000 |
| 15 | Principal Engineer | $302,000 | $232,000 – $395,000 |
| 16 | CFO | $299,000 | $224,000 – $397,000 |
| 17 | Chief Operating Officer | $296,000 | $221,000 – $395,000 |
| 18 | Chief Marketing Officer | $293,000 | $220,000 – $383,000 |
| 19 | Chief Data Officer | $290,000 | $218,000 – $379,000 |
| 20 | VP of Engineering | $290,000 | $218,000 – $379,000 |
| 21 | VP of Sales | $287,000 | $215,000 – $383,000 |
| 22 | Head of Applied AI | $284,000 | $212,000 – $374,000 |
| 23 | VP of Product | $282,000 | $213,000 – $362,000 |
| 24 | AI Transformation Officer | $282,000 | $211,000 – $369,000 |
| 25 | VP of Product Design | $281,000 | $209,000 – $365,000 |
| 26 | Head of AI Platform | $277,000 | $206,000 – $363,000 |
| 27 | Director of Generative AI | $277,000 | $209,000 – $365,000 |
| 28 | VP of Marketing | $276,000 | $205,000 – $364,000 |
| 29 | Head of AI Partnerships | $276,000 | $205,000 – $364,000 |
| 30 | Chief Human Resources Officer | $273,000 | $206,000 – $355,000 |
| 31 | CTO, AI Startup | $272,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 32 | Foundation Model Engineer | $257,000 | $191,000 – $335,000 |
| 33 | Director of AI Strategy | $251,000 | $190,000 – $328,000 |
| 34 | Staff Engineer | $250,000 | $199,000 – $319,000 |
| 35 | Director of Engineering | $248,000 | $192,000 – $321,000 |
| 36 | AI Program Director | $248,000 | $188,000 – $326,000 |
| 37 | Director of Data Science | $245,000 | $188,000 – $319,000 |
| 38 | AI Alignment Researcher | $245,000 | $182,000 – $325,000 |
| 39 | AI Systems Architect | $245,000 | $185,000 – $321,000 |
| 40 | Multimodal AI Engineer | $239,000 | $179,000 – $311,000 |
| 41 | Reinforcement Learning Engineer | $239,000 | $179,000 – $311,000 |
| 42 | AI Cloud Architect | $238,000 | $180,000 – $302,000 |
| 43 | AI Financial Engineer | $237,000 | $175,000 – $304,000 |
| 44 | Transformer Architecture Engineer | $237,000 | $176,000 – $310,000 |
| 45 | AI Hardware/Chip Design Engineer | $237,000 | $176,000 – $313,000 |
| 46 | Multi-Agent Systems Architect | $237,000 | $175,000 – $313,000 |
| 47 | Quantum ML Researcher | $235,000 | $174,000 – $311,000 |
| 48 | AI Business Development Manager | $234,000 | $161,000 – $317,000 |
| 49 | AI Agent Architect | $233,000 | $176,000 – $302,000 |
| 50 | AI World Model Engineer | $233,000 | $173,000 – $307,000 |
Tax considerations
Colorado has a flat 4.4% state income tax. Boulder has no additional city income tax. The moderate rate combined with high quality of life makes it competitive despite higher housing costs.
Negotiating in Boulder
Reference the startup density. Boulder employers compete fiercely for talent and often offer equity packages that rival larger metros. Negotiate total compensation, not just base.
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