Salaries in Columbus.
3,445 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.93x national average. Last updated June 2026.
3,445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$335,000
Principal AI Research Scientist
Median of All Roles
$145,000
Lead Energy Trading Analyst
Entry Level
$30,000
Home Health Aide
Salary data sourced from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), state pay-transparency job postings, and community submissions. 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 June 2026.
Columbus, OH has a cost-of-living index of 0.93x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal AI Research Scientist at $335,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $145,000. 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.
Insurance & Financial ServicesTechnologyLogisticsHealthcareHigher Education
Top 50 salaries in Columbus
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $335,000 | $262,000 – $436,000 |
| 2 | Senior VP of Security | $322,000 | $251,000 – $419,000 |
| 3 | Senior VP of Product | $322,000 | $251,000 – $419,000 |
| 4 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $316,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 5 | Technical Fellow | $312,000 | $244,000 – $406,000 |
| 6 | SVP of Technology | $305,000 | $238,000 – $397,000 |
| 7 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $304,000 | $238,000 – $395,000 |
| 8 | Distinguished Engineer | $301,000 | $228,000 – $383,000 |
| 9 | Chief Security Officer | $301,000 | $234,000 – $391,000 |
| 10 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $299,000 | $233,000 – $389,000 |
| 11 | Chief Strategy Officer | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 12 | SVP of Product | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 13 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $296,000 | $231,000 – $385,000 |
| 14 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $295,000 | $231,000 – $384,000 |
| 15 | Senior VP of Design | $294,000 | $230,000 – $382,000 |
| 16 | L7 Software Engineer | $294,000 | $230,000 – $382,000 |
| 17 | Principal Applied Scientist | $293,000 | $229,000 – $381,000 |
| 18 | SVP of Sales | $290,000 | $226,000 – $377,000 |
| 19 | Principal LLM Engineer | $288,000 | $224,000 – $374,000 |
| 20 | Chief Science Officer | $288,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 21 | Chief AI Officer | $285,000 | $212,000 – $368,000 |
| 22 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $285,000 | $223,000 – $371,000 |
| 23 | SVP of Engineering | $283,000 | $221,000 – $367,000 |
| 24 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $283,000 | $221,000 – $367,000 |
| 25 | Chief Design Officer | $283,000 | $220,000 – $368,000 |
| 26 | SVP of Data | $283,000 | $220,000 – $368,000 |
| 27 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $281,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 28 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $280,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 29 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $279,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 30 | Chief Architect | $279,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 31 | SVP of Finance | $278,000 | $216,000 – $361,000 |
| 32 | Principal Cryptographer | $276,000 | $216,000 – $359,000 |
| 33 | SVP of Design | $276,000 | $215,000 – $359,000 |
| 34 | SVP of Strategy | $276,000 | $215,000 – $359,000 |
| 35 | Chief Cloud Officer | $276,000 | $215,000 – $359,000 |
| 36 | Staff AI Safety Engineer | $275,000 | $215,000 – $357,000 |
| 37 | Senior Head of Security | $274,000 | $214,000 – $356,000 |
| 38 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 39 | Senior Director of Security | $273,000 | $213,000 – $354,000 |
| 40 | Senior Head of Product | $273,000 | $214,000 – $356,000 |
| 41 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $273,000 | $214,000 – $355,000 |
| 42 | Principal AI Engineer | $272,000 | $211,000 – $353,000 |
| 43 | SVP of Marketing | $272,000 | $212,000 – $354,000 |
| 44 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 45 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 46 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 47 | Chief Legal Officer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 48 | Chief Trust Officer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 49 | SVP of Operations | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 50 | General Counsel | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
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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