Salaries in Detroit.
422 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.90x national average. Last updated April 2026.
422 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$287,000
Chief AI Officer
Median of All Roles
$133,000
AI Media & Entertainment Specialist
Entry Level
$29,000
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.
Detroit, MI has a cost-of-living index of 0.90x the national average. The highest-paying role is Chief AI Officer at $287,000, while the median across all 422 roles is $133,000. Detroit's economy is transforming as the automotive industry pivots to electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology.
About the Detroit market
Detroit's economy is transforming as the automotive industry pivots to electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology. Ford, GM, and a growing cluster of mobility startups are investing billions in the region. The city's low cost of living paired with rising tech salaries makes it one of the highest purchasing power metros for engineering roles.
Automotive & EVMobility & Autonomous VehiclesHealthcareManufacturingDefense
Top 50 salaries in Detroit
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Chief AI Officer | $287,000 | $213,000 – $371,000 |
| 2 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $266,000 | $198,000 – $347,000 |
| 3 | Chief Technology Officer | $258,000 | $192,000 – $339,000 |
| 4 | Chief Algorithm Officer | $255,000 | $191,000 – $332,000 |
| 5 | Chief Revenue Officer | $252,000 | $189,000 – $333,000 |
| 6 | CEO | $250,000 | $182,000 – $345,000 |
| 7 | Head of AI Research | $250,000 | $185,000 – $329,000 |
| 8 | SVP of AI Innovation | $246,000 | $186,000 – $324,000 |
| 9 | Head of AI | $243,000 | $180,000 – $315,000 |
| 10 | Chief Product Officer | $241,000 | $178,000 – $316,000 |
| 11 | CFO | $236,000 | $177,000 – $314,000 |
| 12 | Chief Operating Officer | $234,000 | $174,000 – $312,000 |
| 13 | Chief Marketing Officer | $232,000 | $174,000 – $303,000 |
| 14 | Chief Data Officer | $229,000 | $172,000 – $300,000 |
| 15 | VP of Engineering | $229,000 | $172,000 – $300,000 |
| 16 | VP of AI Engineering | $229,000 | $173,000 – $298,000 |
| 17 | Head of Applied AI | $225,000 | $168,000 – $295,000 |
| 18 | VP of Product | $223,000 | $168,000 – $286,000 |
| 19 | AI Transformation Officer | $222,000 | $167,000 – $292,000 |
| 20 | VP of AI Product | $220,000 | $164,000 – $285,000 |
| 21 | Head of AI Platform | $219,000 | $163,000 – $287,000 |
| 22 | VP of Marketing | $218,000 | $162,000 – $287,000 |
| 23 | Head of AI Partnerships | $218,000 | $162,000 – $287,000 |
| 24 | Chief Human Resources Officer | $216,000 | $163,000 – $280,000 |
| 25 | VP of Sales | $207,000 | $156,000 – $276,000 |
| 26 | VP of Product Design | $203,000 | $151,000 – $264,000 |
| 27 | Director of Generative AI | $200,000 | $151,000 – $264,000 |
| 28 | Director of AI Strategy | $198,000 | $150,000 – $259,000 |
| 29 | AI Financial Engineer | $197,000 | $145,000 – $253,000 |
| 30 | Multi-Agent Systems Architect | $197,000 | $145,000 – $260,000 |
| 31 | Director of Engineering | $196,000 | $151,000 – $254,000 |
| 32 | AI Program Director | $196,000 | $148,000 – $258,000 |
| 33 | Director of Data Science | $194,000 | $149,000 – $252,000 |
| 34 | AI Cloud Architect | $188,000 | $142,000 – $239,000 |
| 35 | Deep Learning Engineer | $187,000 | $145,000 – $239,000 |
| 36 | Transformer Architecture Engineer | $187,000 | $140,000 – $245,000 |
| 37 | AI Hardware/Chip Design Engineer | $187,000 | $140,000 – $248,000 |
| 38 | Foundation Model Engineer | $186,000 | $138,000 – $242,000 |
| 39 | AI Agent Architect | $185,000 | $140,000 – $239,000 |
| 40 | Quantum ML Researcher | $185,000 | $137,000 – $246,000 |
| 41 | AI World Model Engineer | $185,000 | $137,000 – $243,000 |
| 42 | Agentic Orchestrator | $182,000 | $136,000 – $236,000 |
| 43 | Privacy / Data Counsel | $182,000 | $140,000 – $237,000 |
| 44 | Reinforcement Learning Researcher | $182,000 | $136,000 – $241,000 |
| 45 | Multimodal AI Researcher | $182,000 | $135,000 – $241,000 |
| 46 | Neurosymbolic AI Researcher | $181,000 | $134,000 – $239,000 |
| 47 | Neuro AI Engineer | $181,000 | $134,000 – $239,000 |
| 48 | AI Research Scientist | $180,000 | $135,000 – $234,000 |
| 49 | AI Compiler Engineer | $180,000 | $135,000 – $236,000 |
| 50 | Director of Product | $178,000 | $138,000 – $232,000 |
Tax considerations
Michigan has a flat 4.25% state income tax. Detroit adds a city income tax of 2.4% for residents. Factor the city tax into your calculations if living within city limits.
Negotiating in Detroit
Highlight EV and autonomous vehicle expertise. Detroit employers are paying significant premiums for talent with electric vehicle, battery tech, or self driving experience.
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 free