Salaries in Philadelphia.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.09x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$397,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median of All Roles
$170,000
Senior Control Systems Engineer
Entry Level
$35,000
Home Health Aide
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.
Philadelphia, PA has a cost-of-living index of 1.09x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $397,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $170,000. Philadelphia combines a robust healthcare and life sciences sector with established finance and higher education institutions.
About the Philadelphia market
Philadelphia combines a robust healthcare and life sciences sector with established finance and higher education institutions. The city's pharmaceutical corridor is among the strongest in the country. Tech growth has accelerated, particularly in health tech and enterprise software, offering salaries that stretch further than in nearby New York.
Healthcare & PharmaFinancial ServicesHigher EducationTechnologyManufacturing
Top 50 salaries in Philadelphia
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $397,000 | $309,000 – $516,000 |
| 2 | Technical Fellow | $393,000 | $306,000 – $511,000 |
| 3 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $389,000 | $304,000 – $506,000 |
| 4 | Senior VP of Security | $367,000 | $286,000 – $477,000 |
| 5 | Distinguished Engineer | $363,000 | $275,000 – $462,000 |
| 6 | Chief Security Officer | $363,000 | $283,000 – $472,000 |
| 7 | Senior VP of Product | $359,000 | $281,000 – $467,000 |
| 8 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $357,000 | $279,000 – $465,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $357,000 | $279,000 – $463,000 |
| 10 | SVP of Technology | $354,000 | $276,000 – $460,000 |
| 11 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $353,000 | $276,000 – $459,000 |
| 12 | SVP of Product | $348,000 | $272,000 – $452,000 |
| 13 | L7 Software Engineer | $348,000 | $272,000 – $452,000 |
| 14 | Chief AI Officer | $341,000 | $253,000 – $440,000 |
| 15 | Chief Strategy Officer | $341,000 | $266,000 – $444,000 |
| 16 | Principal Applied Scientist | $340,000 | $266,000 – $442,000 |
| 17 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $340,000 | $266,000 – $442,000 |
| 18 | Chief Legal Officer | $340,000 | $265,000 – $442,000 |
| 19 | Chief Architect | $337,000 | $263,000 – $438,000 |
| 20 | SVP of Engineering | $335,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 21 | Senior VP of Design | $335,000 | $262,000 – $435,000 |
| 22 | Chief Science Officer | $335,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 23 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $333,000 | $260,000 – $433,000 |
| 24 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $333,000 | $260,000 – $433,000 |
| 25 | Principal AI Engineer | $331,000 | $258,000 – $430,000 |
| 26 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $331,000 | $259,000 – $430,000 |
| 27 | Chief Design Officer | $331,000 | $258,000 – $431,000 |
| 28 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $330,000 | $257,000 – $429,000 |
| 29 | Chief Technology Officer | $329,000 | $244,000 – $431,000 |
| 30 | Chief Growth Officer | $329,000 | $256,000 – $427,000 |
| 31 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $328,000 | $256,000 – $426,000 |
| 32 | Chief Commercial Officer | $328,000 | $256,000 – $427,000 |
| 33 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $327,000 | $255,000 – $425,000 |
| 34 | SVP of Sales | $327,000 | $255,000 – $425,000 |
| 35 | VP of AI Research | $326,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 36 | SVP of Marketing | $326,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 37 | SVP of Finance | $326,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 38 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $325,000 | $253,000 – $422,000 |
| 39 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $324,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 40 | Principal Cryptographer | $324,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 41 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $322,000 | $240,000 – $420,000 |
| 42 | Chief Transformation Officer | $322,000 | $251,000 – $419,000 |
| 43 | Chief Risk Officer | $322,000 | $251,000 – $419,000 |
| 44 | Principal NLP Engineer | $321,000 | $250,000 – $417,000 |
| 45 | Principal Language Runtime Engineer | $321,000 | $250,000 – $417,000 |
| 46 | Principal LLM Engineer | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 47 | Senior Head of Security | $318,000 | $248,000 – $413,000 |
| 48 | Principal Protocol Engineer | $317,000 | $247,000 – $413,000 |
| 49 | SVP of Strategy | $317,000 | $247,000 – $412,000 |
| 50 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $315,000 | $245,000 – $409,000 |
Tax considerations
Pennsylvania has a flat 3.07% state income tax, but Philadelphia adds a 3.75% city wage tax for residents. This combined local burden is worth factoring into salary negotiations.
Negotiating in Philadelphia
Account for the Philadelphia wage tax in your ask. Request a 5 to 8% premium over suburban offers to offset the city's local tax on all earned income.
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