Salaries in Detroit.
3,445 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.90x national average. Last updated June 2026.
3,445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$321,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median of All Roles
$140,000
Junior AI Research Scientist
Entry Level
$29,000
Hotel Clerk / Front Desk
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.
Detroit, MI 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 3,445 roles is $140,000. 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 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $321,000 | $251,000 – $418,000 |
| 2 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $315,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 3 | Technical Fellow | $309,000 | $241,000 – $401,000 |
| 4 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $303,000 | $237,000 – $394,000 |
| 5 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $295,000 | $230,000 – $384,000 |
| 6 | SVP of Technology | $292,000 | $228,000 – $380,000 |
| 7 | Distinguished Engineer | $291,000 | $221,000 – $370,000 |
| 8 | Senior VP of Product | $291,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 9 | Chief Security Officer | $291,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 10 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $289,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 11 | Senior VP of Security | $288,000 | $225,000 – $374,000 |
| 12 | Chief AI Officer | $287,000 | $213,000 – $371,000 |
| 13 | SVP of Product | $287,000 | $224,000 – $374,000 |
| 14 | Principal Cryptographer | $286,000 | $224,000 – $373,000 |
| 15 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $284,000 | $221,000 – $369,000 |
| 16 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $284,000 | $222,000 – $369,000 |
| 17 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $281,000 | $219,000 – $365,000 |
| 18 | SVP of Sales | $281,000 | $219,000 – $365,000 |
| 19 | Principal LLM Engineer | $279,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 20 | Chief Science Officer | $279,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 21 | L7 Software Engineer | $279,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 22 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $278,000 | $217,000 – $361,000 |
| 23 | Chief Architect | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 24 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $276,000 | $215,000 – $359,000 |
| 25 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $276,000 | $215,000 – $359,000 |
| 26 | SVP of Data | $276,000 | $215,000 – $359,000 |
| 27 | SVP of Strategy | $275,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 28 | Principal AI Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 29 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 30 | VP of AI Research | $271,000 | $212,000 – $353,000 |
| 31 | SVP of Engineering | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 32 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $271,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 33 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 34 | Chief Design Officer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $353,000 |
| 35 | Chief Strategy Officer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 36 | Chief Transformation Officer | $271,000 | $212,000 – $353,000 |
| 37 | SVP of Marketing | $271,000 | $212,000 – $353,000 |
| 38 | Principal Applied Scientist | $270,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 39 | Staff AI Safety Engineer | $269,000 | $210,000 – $349,000 |
| 40 | Chief Risk Officer | $269,000 | $210,000 – $349,000 |
| 41 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 42 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 43 | Chief Legal Officer | $267,000 | $208,000 – $347,000 |
| 44 | SVP of Design | $267,000 | $208,000 – $347,000 |
| 45 | SVP of Business Development | $267,000 | $208,000 – $347,000 |
| 46 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $266,000 | $198,000 – $347,000 |
| 47 | Staff AI Agent Architect | $266,000 | $208,000 – $346,000 |
| 48 | SVP of Finance | $266,000 | $207,000 – $346,000 |
| 49 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $265,000 | $206,000 – $344,000 |
| 50 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $265,000 | $207,000 – $344,000 |
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.
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