Salaries in Columbia.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.90x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$321,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median of All Roles
$140,000
Federated Learning Specialist
Entry Level
$30,000
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.
Columbia, SC has a cost-of-living index of 0.90x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $321,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $140,000. Columbia is South Carolina's capital and home to Fort Jackson, the University of South Carolina, and a growing insurance and financial services sector.
About the Columbia market
Columbia is South Carolina's capital and home to Fort Jackson, the University of South Carolina, and a growing insurance and financial services sector. The city offers very affordable living and stable government and military employment. Tech growth is accelerating as remote work brings new residents.
GovernmentMilitaryInsuranceHigher EducationHealthcare
Top 50 salaries in Columbia
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $321,000 | $251,000 – $418,000 |
| 2 | Technical Fellow | $318,000 | $248,000 – $414,000 |
| 3 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $312,000 | $243,000 – $405,000 |
| 4 | Distinguished Engineer | $306,000 | $232,000 – $389,000 |
| 5 | Chief Security Officer | $306,000 | $238,000 – $398,000 |
| 6 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $300,000 | $235,000 – $390,000 |
| 7 | Senior VP of Security | $300,000 | $234,000 – $390,000 |
| 8 | Senior VP of Product | $300,000 | $234,000 – $390,000 |
| 9 | Chief AI Officer | $290,000 | $215,000 – $374,000 |
| 10 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $290,000 | $227,000 – $377,000 |
| 11 | SVP of Engineering | $287,000 | $224,000 – $374,000 |
| 12 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $287,000 | $224,000 – $374,000 |
| 13 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $286,000 | $224,000 – $373,000 |
| 14 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $284,000 | $222,000 – $369,000 |
| 15 | SVP of Technology | $284,000 | $221,000 – $369,000 |
| 16 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $283,000 | $221,000 – $368,000 |
| 17 | Principal Cryptographer | $281,000 | $219,000 – $365,000 |
| 18 | SVP of Strategy | $281,000 | $219,000 – $365,000 |
| 19 | Senior Head of Security | $279,000 | $218,000 – $362,000 |
| 20 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 21 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $278,000 | $217,000 – $361,000 |
| 22 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 23 | Principal AI Engineer | $276,000 | $215,000 – $359,000 |
| 24 | Chief Strategy Officer | $276,000 | $216,000 – $359,000 |
| 25 | SVP of Product | $276,000 | $216,000 – $359,000 |
| 26 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $275,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 27 | Chief Legal Officer | $275,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 28 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 29 | Senior VP of Design | $274,000 | $214,000 – $356,000 |
| 30 | Principal Applied Scientist | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 31 | CTO | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 32 | Chief Commercial Officer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $356,000 |
| 33 | L7 Software Engineer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 34 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $271,000 | $202,000 – $353,000 |
| 35 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 36 | Principal Language Runtime Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 37 | Chief Transformation Officer | $271,000 | $212,000 – $353,000 |
| 38 | SVP of Sales | $270,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 39 | VP of AI Research | $269,000 | $210,000 – $349,000 |
| 40 | Principal LLM Engineer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 41 | Chief Science Officer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 42 | Chief Growth Officer | $264,000 | $205,000 – $343,000 |
| 43 | Chief Digital Officer | $264,000 | $206,000 – $344,000 |
| 44 | Chief Risk Officer | $264,000 | $205,000 – $343,000 |
| 45 | Chief Design Officer | $263,000 | $205,000 – $342,000 |
| 46 | SVP of Data | $263,000 | $205,000 – $342,000 |
| 47 | SVP of AI Innovation | $262,000 | $197,000 – $344,000 |
| 48 | Principal Protocol Engineer | $262,000 | $204,000 – $341,000 |
| 49 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $260,000 | $203,000 – $338,000 |
| 50 | Chief Architect | $259,000 | $202,000 – $337,000 |
Tax considerations
South Carolina's top income tax rate is 6.4%. Columbia has no city income tax. The moderate state rate is offset by very affordable housing and living costs.
Negotiating in Columbia
Leverage government and military contractor pay scales. Columbia employers align with federal benchmarks which often exceed local private sector rates.
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