Salaries in Burlington.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.06x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$371,000
Principal AI Research Scientist
Median of All Roles
$165,000
AI Digital Twin Architect
Entry Level
$35,000
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.
Burlington, VT has a cost-of-living index of 1.06x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal AI Research Scientist at $371,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $165,000. Burlington is Vermont's largest city and a small but growing hub for technology, healthcare, and sustainable industries.
About the Burlington market
Burlington is Vermont's largest city and a small but growing hub for technology, healthcare, and sustainable industries. The University of Vermont drives education and research employment. The city attracts remote workers and small tech companies seeking New England quality of life at lower costs than Boston.
HealthcareHigher EducationTechnologyTourismSustainable Agriculture
Top 50 salaries in Burlington
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $371,000 | $289,000 – $482,000 |
| 2 | Technical Fellow | $360,000 | $281,000 – $468,000 |
| 3 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $357,000 | $279,000 – $464,000 |
| 4 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $356,000 | $278,000 – $463,000 |
| 5 | Distinguished Engineer | $350,000 | $265,000 – $445,000 |
| 6 | Senior VP of Security | $349,000 | $273,000 – $454,000 |
| 7 | Senior VP of Product | $346,000 | $270,000 – $450,000 |
| 8 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $341,000 | $266,000 – $443,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $340,000 | $265,000 – $442,000 |
| 10 | Chief Strategy Officer | $338,000 | $264,000 – $440,000 |
| 11 | Chief Security Officer | $336,000 | $262,000 – $437,000 |
| 12 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $335,000 | $262,000 – $436,000 |
| 13 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $335,000 | $262,000 – $436,000 |
| 14 | Chief Science Officer | $335,000 | $262,000 – $436,000 |
| 15 | SVP of Product | $335,000 | $262,000 – $436,000 |
| 16 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $334,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 17 | Principal Cryptographer | $334,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 18 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $331,000 | $258,000 – $430,000 |
| 19 | SVP of Technology | $331,000 | $258,000 – $430,000 |
| 20 | Chief AI Officer | $329,000 | $244,000 – $424,000 |
| 21 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $329,000 | $256,000 – $427,000 |
| 22 | L7 Software Engineer | $329,000 | $257,000 – $427,000 |
| 23 | CTO | $328,000 | $255,000 – $426,000 |
| 24 | Senior VP of Design | $325,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 25 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $324,000 | $253,000 – $422,000 |
| 26 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $324,000 | $253,000 – $422,000 |
| 27 | Principal Applied Scientist | $321,000 | $251,000 – $418,000 |
| 28 | Chief Growth Officer | $320,000 | $249,000 – $416,000 |
| 29 | Principal LLM Engineer | $319,000 | $248,000 – $414,000 |
| 30 | Chief Design Officer | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 31 | Chief Legal Officer | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 32 | SVP of Strategy | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 33 | Principal AI Engineer | $316,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 34 | Principal Language Runtime Engineer | $316,000 | $246,000 – $409,000 |
| 35 | Senior Head of Security | $316,000 | $247,000 – $410,000 |
| 36 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $316,000 | $246,000 – $409,000 |
| 37 | SVP of Engineering | $315,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 38 | Senior Head of Product | $315,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 39 | Chief Transformation Officer | $314,000 | $244,000 – $408,000 |
| 40 | SVP of Business Development | $314,000 | $245,000 – $409,000 |
| 41 | Chief Cloud Officer | $314,000 | $245,000 – $409,000 |
| 42 | SVP of Data | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 43 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $312,000 | $243,000 – $405,000 |
| 44 | Senior High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $311,000 | $243,000 – $403,000 |
| 45 | Chief Digital Officer | $311,000 | $242,000 – $405,000 |
| 46 | Staff AI Agent Architect | $310,000 | $242,000 – $403,000 |
| 47 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $310,000 | $241,000 – $402,000 |
| 48 | Chief Commercial Officer | $310,000 | $241,000 – $403,000 |
| 49 | Principal NLP Engineer | $309,000 | $241,000 – $401,000 |
| 50 | SVP of AI Innovation | $308,000 | $232,000 – $405,000 |
Tax considerations
Vermont's top income tax rate is 8.75%, one of the highest in the nation. Burlington has no city income tax, but the state burden requires careful salary planning.
Negotiating in Burlington
Negotiate remote work flexibility. Burlington's lifestyle appeal is a retention tool, but employers know they must offer competitive pay to offset Vermont's high tax rate.
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