Salaries in Milwaukee.
422 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.91x national average. Last updated April 2026.
422 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$282,000
Chief AI Officer
Median of All Roles
$136,000
Investment Banker
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.
Milwaukee, WI has a cost-of-living index of 0.91x the national average. The highest-paying role is Chief AI Officer at $282,000, while the median across all 422 roles is $136,000. Milwaukee has a strong manufacturing heritage that is evolving into advanced manufacturing, water technology, and healthcare.
About the Milwaukee market
Milwaukee has a strong manufacturing heritage that is evolving into advanced manufacturing, water technology, and healthcare. The city is a national leader in water innovation and freshwater research. Major employers include Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell Automation, and a growing health tech cluster.
ManufacturingFinancial ServicesHealthcareWater TechnologyFood & Beverage
Top 50 salaries in Milwaukee
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Chief AI Officer | $282,000 | $209,000 – $364,000 |
| 2 | Chief Technology Officer | $274,000 | $203,000 – $360,000 |
| 3 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $268,000 | $200,000 – $350,000 |
| 4 | SVP of AI Innovation | $265,000 | $200,000 – $348,000 |
| 5 | Chief Revenue Officer | $260,000 | $195,000 – $343,000 |
| 6 | Head of AI | $256,000 | $189,000 – $331,000 |
| 7 | Chief Product Officer | $256,000 | $189,000 – $336,000 |
| 8 | Head of AI Research | $256,000 | $189,000 – $336,000 |
| 9 | CEO | $255,000 | $186,000 – $353,000 |
| 10 | Chief Algorithm Officer | $245,000 | $183,000 – $319,000 |
| 11 | VP of AI Engineering | $244,000 | $184,000 – $317,000 |
| 12 | Chief Data Officer | $241,000 | $181,000 – $316,000 |
| 13 | CFO | $237,000 | $177,000 – $314,000 |
| 14 | Chief Operating Officer | $237,000 | $176,000 – $316,000 |
| 15 | Head of Applied AI | $237,000 | $176,000 – $311,000 |
| 16 | VP of Engineering | $234,000 | $176,000 – $306,000 |
| 17 | VP of Product | $232,000 | $175,000 – $298,000 |
| 18 | Head of AI Platform | $228,000 | $170,000 – $299,000 |
| 19 | Chief Marketing Officer | $227,000 | $170,000 – $297,000 |
| 20 | Chief Human Resources Officer | $223,000 | $168,000 – $289,000 |
| 21 | VP of AI Product | $223,000 | $166,000 – $288,000 |
| 22 | AI Transformation Officer | $223,000 | $167,000 – $292,000 |
| 23 | Head of AI Partnerships | $212,000 | $158,000 – $279,000 |
| 24 | VP of Product Design | $210,000 | $156,000 – $272,000 |
| 25 | VP of Marketing | $210,000 | $156,000 – $276,000 |
| 26 | VP of Sales | $210,000 | $157,000 – $280,000 |
| 27 | AI Program Director | $207,000 | $156,000 – $271,000 |
| 28 | Director of Generative AI | $205,000 | $154,000 – $269,000 |
| 29 | Director of AI Strategy | $202,000 | $153,000 – $265,000 |
| 30 | Director of Engineering | $196,000 | $152,000 – $254,000 |
| 31 | Director of Data Science | $196,000 | $150,000 – $255,000 |
| 32 | Foundation Model Engineer | $196,000 | $146,000 – $255,000 |
| 33 | AI Financial Engineer | $195,000 | $144,000 – $251,000 |
| 34 | AI Hardware/Chip Design Engineer | $193,000 | $144,000 – $255,000 |
| 35 | AI Research Scientist | $189,000 | $142,000 – $246,000 |
| 36 | AI Systems Architect | $188,000 | $142,000 – $246,000 |
| 37 | Multi-Agent Systems Architect | $187,000 | $138,000 – $248,000 |
| 38 | AI Cloud Architect | $185,000 | $140,000 – $234,000 |
| 39 | Director of Product Design | $185,000 | $142,000 – $237,000 |
| 40 | Director of Product | $184,000 | $142,000 – $239,000 |
| 41 | Reinforcement Learning Researcher | $184,000 | $137,000 – $243,000 |
| 42 | Multimodal AI Researcher | $184,000 | $137,000 – $244,000 |
| 43 | AI Compiler Engineer | $184,000 | $138,000 – $241,000 |
| 44 | Transformer Architecture Engineer | $184,000 | $137,000 – $240,000 |
| 45 | Neurosymbolic AI Researcher | $183,000 | $136,000 – $242,000 |
| 46 | AI Memory Systems Engineer | $183,000 | $136,000 – $242,000 |
| 47 | AI Business Development Manager | $182,000 | $125,000 – $246,000 |
| 48 | Quantum ML Researcher | $182,000 | $135,000 – $241,000 |
| 49 | AI Reasoning Specialist | $182,000 | $135,000 – $241,000 |
| 50 | AI Solutions Architect | $181,000 | $135,000 – $237,000 |
Tax considerations
Wisconsin's top income tax rate is 7.65%. Milwaukee has no city income tax. The state rate is above average, but affordable housing keeps overall cost of living manageable.
Negotiating in Milwaukee
Highlight advanced manufacturing or water technology expertise. Milwaukee employers pay nationally competitive rates for specialized engineering talent in these niche sectors.
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