Salaries in Kansas City.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.93x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$339,000
Principal AI Research Scientist
Median of All Roles
$145,000
Senior TypeScript Developer
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.
Kansas City, MO has a cost-of-living index of 0.93x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal AI Research Scientist at $339,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $145,000. Kansas City straddles Missouri and Kansas, creating a unique dual state job market with strong logistics, tech, and agriculture technology sectors.
About the Kansas City market
Kansas City straddles Missouri and Kansas, creating a unique dual state job market with strong logistics, tech, and agriculture technology sectors. The metro's central location has made it a hub for distribution centers and supply chain companies. Cerner's healthcare IT presence and a growing startup scene have boosted demand for technology professionals.
Logistics & DistributionHealthcare ITAgriculture TechnologyFinancial ServicesGovernment
Top 50 salaries in Kansas City
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $339,000 | $264,000 – $440,000 |
| 2 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 3 | Technical Fellow | $316,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 4 | Senior VP of Product | $310,000 | $242,000 – $403,000 |
| 5 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $307,000 | $240,000 – $399,000 |
| 6 | Distinguished Engineer | $304,000 | $230,000 – $387,000 |
| 7 | Chief Security Officer | $304,000 | $237,000 – $395,000 |
| 8 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $302,000 | $236,000 – $393,000 |
| 9 | Chief Strategy Officer | $300,000 | $234,000 – $390,000 |
| 10 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $299,000 | $233,000 – $389,000 |
| 11 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $298,000 | $233,000 – $388,000 |
| 12 | Senior VP of Security | $297,000 | $232,000 – $387,000 |
| 13 | Senior VP of Design | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 14 | Chief Science Officer | $291,000 | $227,000 – $379,000 |
| 15 | Chief AI Officer | $288,000 | $214,000 – $372,000 |
| 16 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $288,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 17 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $287,000 | $224,000 – $374,000 |
| 18 | SVP of Engineering | $285,000 | $223,000 – $371,000 |
| 19 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $285,000 | $223,000 – $371,000 |
| 20 | Chief Design Officer | $285,000 | $222,000 – $371,000 |
| 21 | SVP of Product | $285,000 | $223,000 – $371,000 |
| 22 | SVP of Data | $285,000 | $222,000 – $371,000 |
| 23 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $284,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 24 | Chief Commercial Officer | $283,000 | $220,000 – $368,000 |
| 25 | L7 Software Engineer | $283,000 | $221,000 – $367,000 |
| 26 | Principal Applied Scientist | $282,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 27 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $282,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 28 | CTO | $282,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 29 | Chief Architect | $282,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 30 | SVP of Technology | $281,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 31 | SVP of Finance | $280,000 | $219,000 – $365,000 |
| 32 | Principal Cryptographer | $279,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 33 | SVP of Sales | $279,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 34 | SVP of Strategy | $279,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 35 | VP of AI Research | $278,000 | $216,000 – $361,000 |
| 36 | Senior Head of Security | $277,000 | $216,000 – $360,000 |
| 37 | Senior Head of Product | $276,000 | $216,000 – $360,000 |
| 38 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $276,000 | $216,000 – $359,000 |
| 39 | SVP of Marketing | $275,000 | $214,000 – $358,000 |
| 40 | Principal AI Engineer | $274,000 | $214,000 – $356,000 |
| 41 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $356,000 |
| 42 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $356,000 |
| 43 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $274,000 | $213,000 – $356,000 |
| 44 | Chief Legal Officer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 45 | VP of AI | $272,000 | $207,000 – $357,000 |
| 46 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $272,000 | $211,000 – $353,000 |
| 47 | Chief Growth Officer | $272,000 | $212,000 – $354,000 |
| 48 | Chief Risk Officer | $272,000 | $212,000 – $354,000 |
| 49 | Principal NLP Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 50 | Principal AI Platform Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
Tax considerations
Missouri's top income tax rate is about 4.8%, and Kansas City adds a 1% earnings tax. Workers living in Kansas face that state's rates instead. Choose your side of the state line carefully.
Negotiating in Kansas City
Negotiate which side of the state line you will be based on. Your tax situation differs meaningfully between Missouri and Kansas, and some employers offer flexibility on office location.
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