Salaries in Lexington.
522 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.86x national average. Last updated April 2026.
522 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$275,000
Distinguished Engineer
Median of All Roles
$126,000
AI Media & Entertainment Specialist
Entry Level
$27,000
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.
Lexington, KY has a cost-of-living index of 0.86x the national average. The highest-paying role is Distinguished Engineer at $275,000, while the median across all 522 roles is $126,000. Lexington is Kentucky's second largest city with an economy driven by the University of Kentucky, healthcare, and the equine industry.
About the Lexington market
Lexington is Kentucky's second largest city with an economy driven by the University of Kentucky, healthcare, and the equine industry. A growing tech startup scene and affordable cost of living are attracting remote workers. The bourbon and manufacturing sectors also contribute to the local economy.
HealthcareHigher EducationManufacturingEquine IndustryTechnology
Top 50 salaries in Lexington
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Distinguished Engineer | $275,000 | $209,000 – $350,000 |
| 2 | Chief AI Officer | $261,000 | $194,000 – $337,000 |
| 3 | Chief Technology Officer | $254,000 | $189,000 – $333,000 |
| 4 | VP of AI | $254,000 | $193,000 – $333,000 |
| 5 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $249,000 | $185,000 – $324,000 |
| 6 | SVP of AI Innovation | $245,000 | $185,000 – $323,000 |
| 7 | Chief Revenue Officer | $241,000 | $181,000 – $318,000 |
| 8 | CEO | $237,000 | $172,000 – $327,000 |
| 9 | Chief Product Officer | $237,000 | $175,000 – $311,000 |
| 10 | Head of AI Research | $237,000 | $175,000 – $311,000 |
| 11 | Chief Algorithm Officer | $236,000 | $177,000 – $308,000 |
| 12 | Chief Data Officer | $233,000 | $174,000 – $304,000 |
| 13 | Chief Marketing Officer | $230,000 | $173,000 – $301,000 |
| 14 | Principal Engineer | $230,000 | $177,000 – $301,000 |
| 15 | Chief Operating Officer | $228,000 | $170,000 – $304,000 |
| 16 | VP of AI Product | $226,000 | $168,000 – $292,000 |
| 17 | VP of AI Engineering | $226,000 | $170,000 – $294,000 |
| 18 | Head of AI | $225,000 | $167,000 – $292,000 |
| 19 | CFO | $219,000 | $164,000 – $291,000 |
| 20 | Head of Applied AI | $219,000 | $163,000 – $288,000 |
| 21 | VP of Engineering | $217,000 | $163,000 – $284,000 |
| 22 | VP of Product | $215,000 | $162,000 – $276,000 |
| 23 | Head of AI Platform | $211,000 | $158,000 – $277,000 |
| 24 | Director of Generative AI | $208,000 | $157,000 – $273,000 |
| 25 | Chief Human Resources Officer | $206,000 | $156,000 – $268,000 |
| 26 | AI Transformation Officer | $206,000 | $155,000 – $271,000 |
| 27 | VP of Product Design | $202,000 | $151,000 – $262,000 |
| 28 | VP of Marketing | $202,000 | $151,000 – $267,000 |
| 29 | VP of Sales | $202,000 | $152,000 – $270,000 |
| 30 | CTO, AI Startup | $198,000 | $155,000 – $258,000 |
| 31 | Head of AI Partnerships | $196,000 | $146,000 – $259,000 |
| 32 | Staff Engineer | $195,000 | $155,000 – $248,000 |
| 33 | AI Program Director | $192,000 | $145,000 – $251,000 |
| 34 | Foundation Model Engineer | $189,000 | $140,000 – $246,000 |
| 35 | AI Financial Engineer | $188,000 | $139,000 – $241,000 |
| 36 | Director of AI Strategy | $187,000 | $142,000 – $245,000 |
| 37 | Transformer Architecture Engineer | $186,000 | $139,000 – $243,000 |
| 38 | AI Hardware/Chip Design Engineer | $186,000 | $139,000 – $246,000 |
| 39 | Director of Engineering | $182,000 | $140,000 – $235,000 |
| 40 | AI Alignment Researcher | $182,000 | $135,000 – $241,000 |
| 41 | AI Systems Architect | $182,000 | $137,000 – $237,000 |
| 42 | AI World Model Engineer | $182,000 | $135,000 – $239,000 |
| 43 | Director of Data Science | $181,000 | $139,000 – $236,000 |
| 44 | Multimodal AI Engineer | $179,000 | $134,000 – $233,000 |
| 45 | Reinforcement Learning Engineer | $177,000 | $133,000 – $230,000 |
| 46 | AI Research Scientist | $175,000 | $132,000 – $228,000 |
| 47 | AI Business Development Manager | $175,000 | $121,000 – $237,000 |
| 48 | Quantum ML Researcher | $175,000 | $130,000 – $232,000 |
| 49 | Autonomous Vehicle AI Engineer | $174,000 | $130,000 – $231,000 |
| 50 | AI Safety Researcher | $173,000 | $128,000 – $226,000 |
Tax considerations
Kentucky has a flat 4% state income tax. Lexington has an occupational tax of about 2.25%. The combined rate is moderate and the very affordable housing stretches salaries further.
Negotiating in Lexington
Leverage UK Health and the medical corridor when negotiating. Healthcare and biotech roles command nationally competitive salaries in Lexington.
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