Salaries in North Charleston.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.94x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$336,000
Principal AI Research Scientist
Median of All Roles
$146,000
AI Model Compression Engineer
Entry Level
$30,000
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.
North Charleston, SC has a cost-of-living index of 0.94x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal AI Research Scientist at $336,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $146,000. North Charleston is the industrial and manufacturing heart of the Lowcountry, home to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner assembly facility and the Charleston Naval Complex.
About the North Charleston market
North Charleston is the industrial and manufacturing heart of the Lowcountry, home to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner assembly facility and the Charleston Naval Complex. The area has attracted significant defense, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing investment. Growth in logistics driven by the expanding port continues to drive employment.
Aerospace & ManufacturingDefensePort & LogisticsAutomotiveTechnology
Top 50 salaries in North Charleston
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $336,000 | $262,000 – $436,000 |
| 2 | Technical Fellow | $336,000 | $262,000 – $436,000 |
| 3 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $326,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 4 | Chief Security Officer | $320,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 5 | Senior VP of Security | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 6 | Senior VP of Product | $310,000 | $242,000 – $403,000 |
| 7 | SVP of Technology | $308,000 | $240,000 – $401,000 |
| 8 | SVP of Product | $303,000 | $237,000 – $394,000 |
| 9 | Distinguished Engineer | $301,000 | $228,000 – $383,000 |
| 10 | Principal Applied Scientist | $299,000 | $234,000 – $389,000 |
| 11 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $299,000 | $234,000 – $389,000 |
| 12 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $298,000 | $233,000 – $388,000 |
| 13 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 14 | SVP of Engineering | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 15 | Senior VP of Design | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 16 | Principal Cryptographer | $296,000 | $231,000 – $385,000 |
| 17 | Chief Strategy Officer | $294,000 | $230,000 – $383,000 |
| 18 | SVP of Sales | $293,000 | $229,000 – $381,000 |
| 19 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $292,000 | $228,000 – $380,000 |
| 20 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $290,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 21 | CTO | $290,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 22 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $290,000 | $227,000 – $377,000 |
| 23 | Chief Commercial Officer | $288,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 24 | Chief Science Officer | $288,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 25 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $287,000 | $224,000 – $374,000 |
| 26 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $286,000 | $222,000 – $371,000 |
| 27 | SVP of Data | $286,000 | $223,000 – $372,000 |
| 28 | Chief Legal Officer | $285,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 29 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $284,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 30 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $284,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 31 | Principal NLP Engineer | $283,000 | $220,000 – $367,000 |
| 32 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $283,000 | $220,000 – $367,000 |
| 33 | Senior Head of Security | $283,000 | $221,000 – $368,000 |
| 34 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $283,000 | $221,000 – $367,000 |
| 35 | Chief Architect | $282,000 | $220,000 – $367,000 |
| 36 | Chief AI Officer | $280,000 | $208,000 – $361,000 |
| 37 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $280,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 38 | L7 Software Engineer | $280,000 | $218,000 – $364,000 |
| 39 | Chief Digital Officer | $279,000 | $217,000 – $363,000 |
| 40 | SVP of Business Development | $279,000 | $217,000 – $363,000 |
| 41 | Principal LLM Engineer | $277,000 | $216,000 – $360,000 |
| 42 | Senior Head of Product | $276,000 | $216,000 – $360,000 |
| 43 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $275,000 | $214,000 – $357,000 |
| 44 | Chief Design Officer | $275,000 | $214,000 – $357,000 |
| 45 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $274,000 | $214,000 – $356,000 |
| 46 | Principal Language Runtime Engineer | $274,000 | $214,000 – $356,000 |
| 47 | Chief Analytics Officer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $356,000 |
| 48 | VP of AI | $273,000 | $207,000 – $357,000 |
| 49 | VP of AI Research | $273,000 | $212,000 – $354,000 |
| 50 | Senior High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $354,000 |
Tax considerations
South Carolina's top income tax rate is 6.4%. North Charleston has no city income tax. The moderate state rate is offset by affordable housing and strong employer demand.
Negotiating in North Charleston
Highlight aerospace manufacturing experience. Boeing and defense contractors in North Charleston pay nationally competitive rates for specialized engineering skills.
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