Salaries in Honolulu.
422 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.30x national average. Last updated April 2026.
422 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$395,000
Chief AI Officer
Median of All Roles
$192,000
EdTech Product Manager
Entry Level
$43,000
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.
Honolulu, HI has a cost-of-living index of 1.30x the national average. The highest-paying role is Chief AI Officer at $395,000, while the median across all 422 roles is $192,000. Honolulu's economy is driven by military spending, tourism, and healthcare.
About the Honolulu market
Honolulu's economy is driven by military spending, tourism, and healthcare. The extremely high cost of living means employers must pay significant premiums. Federal and defense contractor roles offer the highest salaries, while the growing renewable energy sector is creating new technology positions.
Military & DefenseTourism & HospitalityHealthcareGovernmentRenewable Energy
Top 50 salaries in Honolulu
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Chief AI Officer | $395,000 | $293,000 – $510,000 |
| 2 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $387,000 | $289,000 – $506,000 |
| 3 | SVP of AI Innovation | $374,000 | $282,000 – $492,000 |
| 4 | Chief Technology Officer | $373,000 | $277,000 – $489,000 |
| 5 | Chief Algorithm Officer | $371,000 | $278,000 – $484,000 |
| 6 | CEO | $365,000 | $265,000 – $504,000 |
| 7 | Chief Product Officer | $365,000 | $270,000 – $480,000 |
| 8 | Chief Revenue Officer | $357,000 | $268,000 – $471,000 |
| 9 | Head of AI | $347,000 | $257,000 – $450,000 |
| 10 | Chief Marketing Officer | $345,000 | $259,000 – $451,000 |
| 11 | VP of AI Product | $345,000 | $257,000 – $446,000 |
| 12 | Head of Applied AI | $345,000 | $257,000 – $453,000 |
| 13 | CFO | $341,000 | $256,000 – $453,000 |
| 14 | Chief Data Officer | $341,000 | $256,000 – $446,000 |
| 15 | Head of AI Research | $340,000 | $252,000 – $448,000 |
| 16 | VP of AI Engineering | $334,000 | $252,000 – $435,000 |
| 17 | Chief Operating Officer | $332,000 | $247,000 – $442,000 |
| 18 | VP of Engineering | $328,000 | $246,000 – $429,000 |
| 19 | Head of AI Platform | $326,000 | $243,000 – $427,000 |
| 20 | VP of Sales | $324,000 | $243,000 – $433,000 |
| 21 | Head of AI Partnerships | $315,000 | $234,000 – $415,000 |
| 22 | VP of Product | $312,000 | $236,000 – $401,000 |
| 23 | AI Transformation Officer | $312,000 | $234,000 – $410,000 |
| 24 | Chief Human Resources Officer | $309,000 | $233,000 – $401,000 |
| 25 | VP of Product Design | $306,000 | $228,000 – $397,000 |
| 26 | VP of Marketing | $306,000 | $228,000 – $403,000 |
| 27 | AI Program Director | $304,000 | $230,000 – $399,000 |
| 28 | Director of Generative AI | $299,000 | $225,000 – $393,000 |
| 29 | Director of AI Strategy | $292,000 | $221,000 – $382,000 |
| 30 | Foundation Model Engineer | $288,000 | $214,000 – $375,000 |
| 31 | Director of Data Science | $285,000 | $219,000 – $371,000 |
| 32 | AI Financial Engineer | $281,000 | $208,000 – $362,000 |
| 33 | AI Hardware/Chip Design Engineer | $281,000 | $210,000 – $372,000 |
| 34 | Multi-Agent Systems Architect | $281,000 | $208,000 – $372,000 |
| 35 | Director of Engineering | $277,000 | $214,000 – $359,000 |
| 36 | AI Cloud Architect | $272,000 | $206,000 – $345,000 |
| 37 | Privacy / Data Counsel | $268,000 | $206,000 – $349,000 |
| 38 | AI Compiler Engineer | $268,000 | $201,000 – $351,000 |
| 39 | AI Agent Architect | $264,000 | $199,000 – $341,000 |
| 40 | Autonomous Systems Engineer | $264,000 | $196,000 – $338,000 |
| 41 | Transformer Architecture Engineer | $262,000 | $195,000 – $343,000 |
| 42 | AI Alignment Researcher | $261,000 | $194,000 – $347,000 |
| 43 | AI Systems Architect | $261,000 | $197,000 – $341,000 |
| 44 | AI World Model Engineer | $261,000 | $194,000 – $344,000 |
| 45 | Multimodal AI Engineer | $260,000 | $195,000 – $338,000 |
| 46 | Computer Vision Researcher | $260,000 | $192,000 – $345,000 |
| 47 | Quantum ML Researcher | $260,000 | $192,000 – $345,000 |
| 48 | AI Solutions Architect | $259,000 | $192,000 – $338,000 |
| 49 | Neuro AI Engineer | $259,000 | $192,000 – $342,000 |
| 50 | AI Infrastructure Engineer | $257,000 | $196,000 – $331,000 |
Tax considerations
Hawaii has the highest top state income tax rate in the nation at 11%. Honolulu has no city income tax, but the state burden combined with high living costs requires careful salary planning.
Negotiating in Honolulu
Negotiate housing allowances alongside salary. Honolulu employers, especially federal contractors, often provide COLA adjustments and housing stipends that significantly increase total compensation.
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