Salaries in Chicago.
422 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.07x national average. Last updated April 2026.
422 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$325,000
Chief AI Officer
Median of All Roles
$160,000
AI Climate/Sustainability Specialist
Entry Level
$34,000
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.
Chicago, IL has a cost-of-living index of 1.07x the national average. The highest-paying role is Chief AI Officer at $325,000, while the median across all 422 roles is $160,000. Chicago's economy is anchored by finance, manufacturing, and a rapidly expanding tech sector.
About the Chicago market
Chicago's economy is anchored by finance, manufacturing, and a rapidly expanding tech sector. The city has become a major hub for fintech, enterprise SaaS, and e-commerce. With lower living costs than coastal cities and a deep talent pool from top universities, Chicago offers strong salary to cost of living ratios for professionals across industries.
Financial ServicesManufacturingTechnologyHealthcareTransportation & Logistics
Top 50 salaries in Chicago
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Chief AI Officer | $325,000 | $241,000 – $419,000 |
| 2 | Chief Technology Officer | $320,000 | $237,000 – $419,000 |
| 3 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $316,000 | $235,000 – $412,000 |
| 4 | SVP of AI Innovation | $305,000 | $230,000 – $401,000 |
| 5 | Head of AI | $300,000 | $223,000 – $389,000 |
| 6 | Chief Revenue Officer | $300,000 | $225,000 – $396,000 |
| 7 | Chief Product Officer | $298,000 | $220,000 – $391,000 |
| 8 | CEO | $297,000 | $216,000 – $411,000 |
| 9 | Chief Algorithm Officer | $288,000 | $216,000 – $375,000 |
| 10 | Chief Marketing Officer | $287,000 | $215,000 – $375,000 |
| 11 | VP of Engineering | $284,000 | $213,000 – $371,000 |
| 12 | VP of AI Engineering | $284,000 | $214,000 – $369,000 |
| 13 | Head of AI Research | $283,000 | $210,000 – $372,000 |
| 14 | CFO | $281,000 | $211,000 – $373,000 |
| 15 | Chief Operating Officer | $278,000 | $207,000 – $371,000 |
| 16 | Head of Applied AI | $278,000 | $207,000 – $366,000 |
| 17 | Chief Data Officer | $273,000 | $204,000 – $357,000 |
| 18 | VP of AI Product | $273,000 | $203,000 – $353,000 |
| 19 | Head of AI Platform | $271,000 | $202,000 – $355,000 |
| 20 | AI Transformation Officer | $265,000 | $198,000 – $347,000 |
| 21 | VP of Marketing | $259,000 | $193,000 – $342,000 |
| 22 | Head of AI Partnerships | $259,000 | $193,000 – $342,000 |
| 23 | Chief Human Resources Officer | $257,000 | $194,000 – $333,000 |
| 24 | VP of Sales | $257,000 | $193,000 – $342,000 |
| 25 | VP of Product | $252,000 | $190,000 – $324,000 |
| 26 | Director of Generative AI | $248,000 | $187,000 – $326,000 |
| 27 | Director of Engineering | $242,000 | $187,000 – $314,000 |
| 28 | VP of Product Design | $241,000 | $180,000 – $313,000 |
| 29 | Director of Data Science | $239,000 | $184,000 – $312,000 |
| 30 | Director of AI Strategy | $236,000 | $178,000 – $308,000 |
| 31 | AI Program Director | $234,000 | $176,000 – $306,000 |
| 32 | Transformer Architecture Engineer | $231,000 | $172,000 – $303,000 |
| 33 | Foundation Model Engineer | $230,000 | $171,000 – $300,000 |
| 34 | AI Agent Architect | $228,000 | $172,000 – $295,000 |
| 35 | AI World Model Engineer | $228,000 | $169,000 – $300,000 |
| 36 | AI Cloud Architect | $224,000 | $169,000 – $284,000 |
| 37 | AI Research Scientist | $223,000 | $167,000 – $289,000 |
| 38 | AI Hardware/Chip Design Engineer | $223,000 | $166,000 – $294,000 |
| 39 | AI Financial Engineer | $222,000 | $164,000 – $286,000 |
| 40 | Multi-Agent Systems Architect | $222,000 | $164,000 – $294,000 |
| 41 | AI Systems Architect | $219,000 | $166,000 – $287,000 |
| 42 | Privacy / Data Counsel | $216,000 | $166,000 – $282,000 |
| 43 | Multimodal AI Researcher | $216,000 | $161,000 – $287,000 |
| 44 | Neurosymbolic AI Researcher | $215,000 | $160,000 – $284,000 |
| 45 | Neuro AI Engineer | $215,000 | $160,000 – $284,000 |
| 46 | Multimodal AI Engineer | $214,000 | $161,000 – $278,000 |
| 47 | Reinforcement Learning Engineer | $214,000 | $161,000 – $278,000 |
| 48 | AI Compiler Engineer | $214,000 | $161,000 – $280,000 |
| 49 | AI Infrastructure Manager | $214,000 | $162,000 – $279,000 |
| 50 | Autonomous Vehicle AI Engineer | $213,000 | $158,000 – $282,000 |
Tax considerations
Illinois has a flat 4.95% state income tax. Chicago does not levy a separate city income tax, making the overall burden moderate compared to coastal metros.
Negotiating in Chicago
Reference the Bay Area or NYC salary band for your role, then negotiate a modest discount. Chicago employers routinely offer 85 to 90% of coastal pay.
Know the number. Get the offer.
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