Salaries in Milwaukee.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.91x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$328,000
Principal AI Research Scientist
Median of All Roles
$142,000
NetSuite Architect
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 Principal AI Research Scientist at $328,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $142,000. 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 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $328,000 | $256,000 – $426,000 |
| 2 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $319,000 | $248,000 – $414,000 |
| 3 | Technical Fellow | $315,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 4 | Senior VP of Security | $309,000 | $241,000 – $402,000 |
| 5 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $304,000 | $237,000 – $395,000 |
| 6 | Senior VP of Product | $300,000 | $234,000 – $390,000 |
| 7 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $298,000 | $233,000 – $388,000 |
| 8 | Distinguished Engineer | $297,000 | $225,000 – $378,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $295,000 | $230,000 – $383,000 |
| 10 | SVP of Product | $291,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 11 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $290,000 | $226,000 – $377,000 |
| 12 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $290,000 | $226,000 – $377,000 |
| 13 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $290,000 | $226,000 – $377,000 |
| 14 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $288,000 | $225,000 – $374,000 |
| 15 | Chief Security Officer | $288,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 16 | SVP of Strategy | $284,000 | $221,000 – $369,000 |
| 17 | Chief AI Officer | $282,000 | $209,000 – $364,000 |
| 18 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $282,000 | $220,000 – $367,000 |
| 19 | Chief Strategy Officer | $282,000 | $220,000 – $367,000 |
| 20 | L7 Software Engineer | $282,000 | $220,000 – $367,000 |
| 21 | SVP of Sales | $281,000 | $219,000 – $366,000 |
| 22 | Chief Science Officer | $279,000 | $218,000 – $363,000 |
| 23 | Principal Applied Scientist | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 24 | Senior Head of Security | $277,000 | $216,000 – $359,000 |
| 25 | Senior VP of Design | $277,000 | $216,000 – $359,000 |
| 26 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $276,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 27 | SVP of Technology | $275,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 28 | Chief Technology Officer | $274,000 | $203,000 – $360,000 |
| 29 | VP of AI | $274,000 | $208,000 – $360,000 |
| 30 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 31 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $356,000 |
| 32 | Chief Commercial Officer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $356,000 |
| 33 | Principal Cryptographer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 34 | Chief Legal Officer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 35 | Chief Growth Officer | $272,000 | $212,000 – $353,000 |
| 36 | Principal AI Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 37 | Principal NLP Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 38 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 39 | SVP of Engineering | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 40 | Chief Transformation Officer | $269,000 | $210,000 – $350,000 |
| 41 | SVP of Marketing | $269,000 | $210,000 – $350,000 |
| 42 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $268,000 | $200,000 – $350,000 |
| 43 | Principal Language Runtime Engineer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 44 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 45 | SVP of Design | $267,000 | $208,000 – $348,000 |
| 46 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $266,000 | $207,000 – $345,000 |
| 47 | Principal LLM Engineer | $266,000 | $207,000 – $345,000 |
| 48 | Staff AI Agent Architect | $266,000 | $208,000 – $346,000 |
| 49 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $266,000 | $207,000 – $345,000 |
| 50 | SVP of AI Innovation | $265,000 | $200,000 – $348,000 |
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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