Salaries in Columbus.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.93x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$326,000
Technical Fellow
Median of All Roles
$144,000
AI Data Engineer
Entry Level
$29,000
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.
Columbus, OH has a cost-of-living index of 0.93x the national average. The highest-paying role is Technical Fellow at $326,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $144,000. Columbus is Ohio's largest city and a growing technology and logistics hub, home to companies like Nationwide Insurance and a major Intel semiconductor fab under construction.
About the Columbus market
Columbus is Ohio's largest city and a growing technology and logistics hub, home to companies like Nationwide Insurance and a major Intel semiconductor fab under construction. The city's large university system and low cost of living attract both startups and corporate expansions. Tech salaries have been climbing as national employers establish Midwest offices.
Insurance & Financial ServicesTechnologyLogisticsHealthcareHigher Education
Top 50 salaries in Columbus
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Technical Fellow | $326,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 2 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $326,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 3 | Distinguished Engineer | $319,000 | $242,000 – $406,000 |
| 4 | Senior VP of Security | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 5 | Senior VP of Product | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 6 | Chief Security Officer | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 7 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $312,000 | $244,000 – $406,000 |
| 8 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $310,000 | $242,000 – $403,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $304,000 | $238,000 – $395,000 |
| 10 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $300,000 | $234,000 – $390,000 |
| 11 | L7 Software Engineer | $300,000 | $234,000 – $390,000 |
| 12 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $299,000 | $233,000 – $389,000 |
| 13 | Chief AI Officer | $297,000 | $220,000 – $383,000 |
| 14 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $296,000 | $231,000 – $385,000 |
| 15 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $294,000 | $230,000 – $382,000 |
| 16 | Senior VP of Design | $294,000 | $230,000 – $382,000 |
| 17 | SVP of Engineering | $291,000 | $227,000 – $379,000 |
| 18 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $290,000 | $226,000 – $377,000 |
| 19 | Principal LLM Engineer | $288,000 | $224,000 – $374,000 |
| 20 | Senior Head of Security | $288,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 21 | SVP of Product | $288,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 22 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $287,000 | $224,000 – $373,000 |
| 23 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $285,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 24 | CTO | $285,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 25 | Principal Cryptographer | $285,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 26 | Chief Design Officer | $285,000 | $222,000 – $371,000 |
| 27 | SVP of Sales | $285,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 28 | SVP of Technology | $284,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 29 | SVP of Data | $283,000 | $220,000 – $368,000 |
| 30 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $282,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 31 | Chief Architect | $282,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 32 | Chief Science Officer | $280,000 | $218,000 – $364,000 |
| 33 | Principal Applied Scientist | $279,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 34 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $277,000 | $207,000 – $362,000 |
| 35 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $277,000 | $216,000 – $360,000 |
| 36 | Chief Strategy Officer | $277,000 | $216,000 – $360,000 |
| 37 | Staff AI Safety Engineer | $275,000 | $215,000 – $357,000 |
| 38 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $356,000 |
| 39 | Senior Director of Security | $273,000 | $213,000 – $354,000 |
| 40 | Chief Legal Officer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 41 | Chief Digital Officer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 42 | SVP of Design | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 43 | SVP of Strategy | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 44 | Chief Cloud Officer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 45 | Principal AI Engineer | $272,000 | $211,000 – $353,000 |
| 46 | Staff Quantitative Developer | $270,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 47 | SVP of Finance | $270,000 | $210,000 – $351,000 |
| 48 | SVP of Business Development | $270,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 49 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $269,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
| 50 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $269,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
Tax considerations
Ohio's income tax tops out around 3.5%, and Columbus adds a city income tax of 2.5%. The combined rate is moderate, but the city tax applies to all who work within city limits.
Negotiating in Columbus
Mention Intel's new fab investment when negotiating. The semiconductor megaproject is driving salaries upward across the entire Columbus tech and engineering market.
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