Salaries in Los Angeles.
3,445 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.18x national average. Last updated June 2026.
3,445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$430,000
Technical Fellow
Median of All Roles
$184,000
Senior Spend Management Platform Engineer
Entry Level
$39,000
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.
Los Angeles, CA has a cost-of-living index of 1.18x the national average. The highest-paying role is Technical Fellow at $430,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $184,000. Los Angeles blends a thriving entertainment industry with a growing tech and startup ecosystem, often called Silicon Beach.
About the Los Angeles market
Los Angeles blends a thriving entertainment industry with a growing tech and startup ecosystem, often called Silicon Beach. The city's diverse economy spans aerospace, healthcare, fashion, and gaming. LA offers strong salaries that, while below San Francisco levels, pair with a broader lifestyle appeal and lower housing costs relative to the Bay Area.
Entertainment & MediaAerospace & DefenseTechnologyHealthcareFashion
Top 50 salaries in Los Angeles
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Technical Fellow | $430,000 | $335,000 – $558,000 |
| 2 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $417,000 | $325,000 – $542,000 |
| 3 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $405,000 | $316,000 – $526,000 |
| 4 | Senior VP of Security | $405,000 | $316,000 – $526,000 |
| 5 | Senior VP of Product | $405,000 | $316,000 – $526,000 |
| 6 | Distinguished Engineer | $397,000 | $301,000 – $506,000 |
| 7 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $390,000 | $305,000 – $507,000 |
| 8 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $387,000 | $302,000 – $503,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $382,000 | $299,000 – $497,000 |
| 10 | Chief Science Officer | $380,000 | $297,000 – $495,000 |
| 11 | Chief Security Officer | $378,000 | $294,000 – $491,000 |
| 12 | Chief AI Officer | $377,000 | $280,000 – $486,000 |
| 13 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $377,000 | $294,000 – $490,000 |
| 14 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $375,000 | $293,000 – $489,000 |
| 15 | SVP of Product | $373,000 | $291,000 – $485,000 |
| 16 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $372,000 | $290,000 – $484,000 |
| 17 | L7 Software Engineer | $369,000 | $288,000 – $480,000 |
| 18 | Principal Applied Scientist | $368,000 | $288,000 – $479,000 |
| 19 | CTO | $368,000 | $287,000 – $479,000 |
| 20 | SVP of Technology | $368,000 | $287,000 – $479,000 |
| 21 | Principal Cryptographer | $365,000 | $285,000 – $474,000 |
| 22 | SVP of Sales | $365,000 | $284,000 – $474,000 |
| 23 | SVP of Strategy | $365,000 | $284,000 – $474,000 |
| 24 | Principal LLM Engineer | $362,000 | $282,000 – $470,000 |
| 25 | Senior Head of Security | $362,000 | $283,000 – $471,000 |
| 26 | Principal AI Engineer | $359,000 | $279,000 – $466,000 |
| 27 | Chief Legal Officer | $358,000 | $279,000 – $465,000 |
| 28 | Chief Strategy Officer | $358,000 | $280,000 – $466,000 |
| 29 | Chief Growth Officer | $356,000 | $277,000 – $463,000 |
| 30 | Chief Risk Officer | $356,000 | $277,000 – $463,000 |
| 31 | Principal NLP Engineer | $355,000 | $276,000 – $460,000 |
| 32 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $355,000 | $276,000 – $460,000 |
| 33 | SVP of Engineering | $355,000 | $277,000 – $461,000 |
| 34 | Senior VP of Design | $355,000 | $278,000 – $461,000 |
| 35 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $355,000 | $277,000 – $461,000 |
| 36 | SVP of Data | $355,000 | $277,000 – $462,000 |
| 37 | Staff AI Agent Architect | $352,000 | $275,000 – $458,000 |
| 38 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $352,000 | $274,000 – $457,000 |
| 39 | Chief Transformation Officer | $352,000 | $275,000 – $458,000 |
| 40 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $351,000 | $273,000 – $456,000 |
| 41 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $350,000 | $274,000 – $456,000 |
| 42 | Chief Architect | $350,000 | $273,000 – $456,000 |
| 43 | SVP of Business Development | $350,000 | $272,000 – $455,000 |
| 44 | Chief Cloud Officer | $346,000 | $270,000 – $451,000 |
| 45 | Staff AI Safety Engineer | $345,000 | $270,000 – $449,000 |
| 46 | Chief Innovation Officer | $344,000 | $268,000 – $447,000 |
| 47 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $343,000 | $268,000 – $446,000 |
| 48 | Senior Director of Security | $343,000 | $267,000 – $445,000 |
| 49 | Senior Head of Product | $343,000 | $269,000 – $447,000 |
| 50 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $343,000 | $268,000 – $446,000 |
Tax considerations
California's 13.3% top state income tax rate applies to LA earners as well. There is no city income tax, but the high state rate makes take home pay lower than cities in no income tax states.
Negotiating in Los Angeles
Highlight cross industry skills. LA employers value candidates who bridge entertainment and tech, so framing your experience across verticals can unlock higher offers.
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