Salaries in Cincinnati.
522 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.90x national average. Last updated April 2026.
522 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$300,000
Distinguished Engineer
Median of All Roles
$132,000
AI Frontend 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.
Cincinnati, OH has a cost-of-living index of 0.90x the national average. The highest-paying role is Distinguished Engineer at $300,000, while the median across all 522 roles is $132,000. Cincinnati is home to Procter and Gamble, Kroger, and a growing fintech scene.
About the Cincinnati market
Cincinnati is home to Procter and Gamble, Kroger, and a growing fintech scene. The city's extremely affordable cost of living and strong corporate base create excellent purchasing power. The University of Cincinnati feeds a steady pipeline of engineering and business talent.
Consumer GoodsFinancial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingTechnology
Top 50 salaries in Cincinnati
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Distinguished Engineer | $300,000 | $227,000 – $382,000 |
| 2 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $276,000 | $206,000 – $360,000 |
| 3 | Chief AI Officer | $271,000 | $201,000 – $349,000 |
| 4 | Chief Technology Officer | $269,000 | $199,000 – $352,000 |
| 5 | Chief Algorithm Officer | $260,000 | $195,000 – $338,000 |
| 6 | SVP of AI Innovation | $254,000 | $192,000 – $334,000 |
| 7 | VP of AI | $251,000 | $190,000 – $328,000 |
| 8 | Head of AI | $248,000 | $184,000 – $321,000 |
| 9 | Chief Revenue Officer | $244,000 | $183,000 – $323,000 |
| 10 | CEO | $243,000 | $176,000 – $335,000 |
| 11 | Chief Product Officer | $243,000 | $180,000 – $320,000 |
| 12 | Chief Data Officer | $243,000 | $183,000 – $318,000 |
| 13 | VP of AI Engineering | $241,000 | $182,000 – $314,000 |
| 14 | Principal Engineer | $241,000 | $185,000 – $315,000 |
| 15 | CFO | $239,000 | $179,000 – $317,000 |
| 16 | Chief Operating Officer | $236,000 | $176,000 – $315,000 |
| 17 | VP of Engineering | $236,000 | $177,000 – $309,000 |
| 18 | Head of AI Research | $236,000 | $175,000 – $310,000 |
| 19 | Chief Marketing Officer | $232,000 | $174,000 – $303,000 |
| 20 | Head of Applied AI | $232,000 | $173,000 – $305,000 |
| 21 | VP of AI Product | $227,000 | $169,000 – $294,000 |
| 22 | AI Transformation Officer | $225,000 | $168,000 – $295,000 |
| 23 | VP of Sales | $218,000 | $164,000 – $291,000 |
| 24 | Head of AI Platform | $217,000 | $162,000 – $284,000 |
| 25 | Chief Human Resources Officer | $214,000 | $162,000 – $278,000 |
| 26 | VP of Product | $212,000 | $160,000 – $272,000 |
| 27 | VP of Marketing | $209,000 | $156,000 – $276,000 |
| 28 | VP of Product Design | $207,000 | $154,000 – $269,000 |
| 29 | Head of AI Partnerships | $207,000 | $154,000 – $273,000 |
| 30 | Director of Generative AI | $205,000 | $154,000 – $269,000 |
| 31 | CTO, AI Startup | $205,000 | $160,000 – $267,000 |
| 32 | Director of Engineering | $204,000 | $158,000 – $264,000 |
| 33 | Staff Engineer | $204,000 | $162,000 – $260,000 |
| 34 | Foundation Model Engineer | $197,000 | $147,000 – $257,000 |
| 35 | Transformer Architecture Engineer | $195,000 | $145,000 – $255,000 |
| 36 | AI Program Director | $194,000 | $147,000 – $255,000 |
| 37 | AI Agent Architect | $192,000 | $145,000 – $248,000 |
| 38 | Director of Data Science | $192,000 | $147,000 – $249,000 |
| 39 | Director of AI Strategy | $192,000 | $146,000 – $251,000 |
| 40 | AI Alignment Researcher | $190,000 | $141,000 – $252,000 |
| 41 | AI Systems Architect | $190,000 | $144,000 – $248,000 |
| 42 | AI World Model Engineer | $190,000 | $141,000 – $250,000 |
| 43 | Agentic Orchestrator | $187,000 | $140,000 – $243,000 |
| 44 | Multi-Agent Systems Architect | $187,000 | $138,000 – $248,000 |
| 45 | Engineering Manager, AI | $187,000 | $150,000 – $234,000 |
| 46 | AI Cloud Architect | $185,000 | $140,000 – $234,000 |
| 47 | Quantum ML Researcher | $185,000 | $137,000 – $246,000 |
| 48 | AI Hardware/Chip Design Engineer | $185,000 | $138,000 – $245,000 |
| 49 | Director of Product | $184,000 | $142,000 – $239,000 |
| 50 | AI Business Development Manager | $183,000 | $126,000 – $248,000 |
Tax considerations
Ohio's income tax tops out around 3.5%. Cincinnati adds an earnings tax of 1.8%. The combined rate is moderate and the very low cost of living offsets it significantly.
Negotiating in Cincinnati
Leverage P&G and Kroger benchmarks. These Fortune 500 companies set salary floors that ripple across all professional roles in the Cincinnati metro.
Know the number. Get the offer.
Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.
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