Salaries in Denver.
3,445 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.08x national average. Last updated June 2026.
3,445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$370,000
Technical Fellow
Median of All Roles
$169,000
AI Assistant Developer
Entry Level
$34,000
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.
Denver, CO has a cost-of-living index of 1.08x the national average. The highest-paying role is Technical Fellow at $370,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $169,000. Denver has emerged as a secondary tech hub with strong aerospace, telecom, and outdoor industry employers.
About the Denver market
Denver has emerged as a secondary tech hub with strong aerospace, telecom, and outdoor industry employers. The city attracts remote workers and relocating companies seeking lower costs than the coasts. Salaries have climbed steadily as national employers open satellite offices and compete for Denver's growing talent pool.
Aerospace & DefenseTechnologyEnergyHealthcareOutdoor & Recreation
Top 50 salaries in Denver
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Technical Fellow | $370,000 | $289,000 – $482,000 |
| 2 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $364,000 | $284,000 – $473,000 |
| 3 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $363,000 | $283,000 – $472,000 |
| 4 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $363,000 | $283,000 – $472,000 |
| 5 | Distinguished Engineer | $360,000 | $273,000 – $458,000 |
| 6 | Senior VP of Security | $360,000 | $281,000 – $468,000 |
| 7 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $354,000 | $276,000 – $461,000 |
| 8 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $353,000 | $276,000 – $459,000 |
| 9 | Senior VP of Product | $352,000 | $275,000 – $458,000 |
| 10 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $350,000 | $274,000 – $456,000 |
| 11 | Chief Security Officer | $349,000 | $272,000 – $454,000 |
| 12 | Chief AI Officer | $348,000 | $258,000 – $449,000 |
| 13 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $344,000 | $268,000 – $447,000 |
| 14 | Principal Cryptographer | $344,000 | $268,000 – $447,000 |
| 15 | Senior VP of Design | $342,000 | $267,000 – $444,000 |
| 16 | SVP of Product | $341,000 | $267,000 – $444,000 |
| 17 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $340,000 | $266,000 – $443,000 |
| 18 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $338,000 | $264,000 – $440,000 |
| 19 | L7 Software Engineer | $338,000 | $264,000 – $440,000 |
| 20 | SVP of Technology | $337,000 | $263,000 – $438,000 |
| 21 | Principal Applied Scientist | $330,000 | $258,000 – $430,000 |
| 22 | SVP of Sales | $330,000 | $258,000 – $430,000 |
| 23 | SVP of Strategy | $330,000 | $258,000 – $430,000 |
| 24 | Principal LLM Engineer | $328,000 | $256,000 – $426,000 |
| 25 | Chief Strategy Officer | $328,000 | $256,000 – $427,000 |
| 26 | Chief Commercial Officer | $328,000 | $256,000 – $427,000 |
| 27 | Senior Head of Product | $327,000 | $256,000 – $426,000 |
| 28 | Chief Growth Officer | $326,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 29 | SVP of Engineering | $325,000 | $254,000 – $422,000 |
| 30 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $325,000 | $254,000 – $422,000 |
| 31 | Chief Science Officer | $325,000 | $254,000 – $422,000 |
| 32 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $324,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 33 | Chief Legal Officer | $324,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 34 | VP of AI | $323,000 | $245,000 – $423,000 |
| 35 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $322,000 | $251,000 – $418,000 |
| 36 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $322,000 | $251,000 – $418,000 |
| 37 | VP of AI Research | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 38 | Senior Head of Security | $319,000 | $249,000 – $414,000 |
| 39 | SVP of Data | $319,000 | $248,000 – $415,000 |
| 40 | Principal NLP Engineer | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 41 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 42 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 43 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 44 | SVP of Finance | $316,000 | $247,000 – $411,000 |
| 45 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $315,000 | $235,000 – $412,000 |
| 46 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $315,000 | $245,000 – $409,000 |
| 47 | Chief Design Officer | $315,000 | $246,000 – $411,000 |
| 48 | Senior Director of Security | $314,000 | $245,000 – $407,000 |
| 49 | Staff AI Agent Architect | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 50 | SVP of Marketing | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
Tax considerations
Colorado has a flat 4.4% state income tax. Denver has no additional city income tax, making the overall tax burden lighter than most coastal metros.
Negotiating in Denver
Position yourself as a remote talent anchor. Many companies pay near coastal rates for Denver based employees to save on office costs while retaining top performers.
Know the number. Get the offer.
Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.
Start