Salaries in Portland.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.10x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$397,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median of All Roles
$172,000
Senior Tax Platform Developer
Entry Level
$35,000
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.
Portland, OR has a cost-of-living index of 1.10x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $397,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $172,000. Portland's tech scene is anchored by Intel's semiconductor campus and a strong cluster of sportswear and creative companies including Nike and Adidas.
About the Portland market
Portland's tech scene is anchored by Intel's semiconductor campus and a strong cluster of sportswear and creative companies including Nike and Adidas. The city attracts professionals who value work life balance and sustainability. Salaries are moderate compared to Seattle, but the lower cost of living makes Portland a solid value proposition.
SemiconductorsSportswear & ApparelClean TechnologyCreative ServicesManufacturing
Top 50 salaries in Portland
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $397,000 | $309,000 – $516,000 |
| 2 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $381,000 | $297,000 – $495,000 |
| 3 | Technical Fellow | $377,000 | $294,000 – $490,000 |
| 4 | Distinguished Engineer | $370,000 | $281,000 – $471,000 |
| 5 | Senior VP of Security | $370,000 | $289,000 – $481,000 |
| 6 | Senior VP of Product | $363,000 | $283,000 – $472,000 |
| 7 | Chief Security Officer | $363,000 | $283,000 – $472,000 |
| 8 | SVP of Technology | $360,000 | $281,000 – $469,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $353,000 | $276,000 – $458,000 |
| 10 | Chief Strategy Officer | $351,000 | $274,000 – $457,000 |
| 11 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $348,000 | $272,000 – $452,000 |
| 12 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $347,000 | $271,000 – $451,000 |
| 13 | Principal Cryptographer | $347,000 | $271,000 – $451,000 |
| 14 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $346,000 | $270,000 – $449,000 |
| 15 | Chief AI Officer | $344,000 | $256,000 – $444,000 |
| 16 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $343,000 | $268,000 – $446,000 |
| 17 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $341,000 | $266,000 – $443,000 |
| 18 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $341,000 | $265,000 – $443,000 |
| 19 | Senior VP of Design | $341,000 | $267,000 – $443,000 |
| 20 | Chief Science Officer | $341,000 | $266,000 – $443,000 |
| 21 | Principal Applied Scientist | $340,000 | $266,000 – $442,000 |
| 22 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $338,000 | $263,000 – $438,000 |
| 23 | SVP of Engineering | $338,000 | $264,000 – $439,000 |
| 24 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $337,000 | $252,000 – $440,000 |
| 25 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $336,000 | $262,000 – $437,000 |
| 26 | Senior Head of Security | $334,000 | $261,000 – $434,000 |
| 27 | SVP of Product | $334,000 | $261,000 – $434,000 |
| 28 | L7 Software Engineer | $334,000 | $261,000 – $434,000 |
| 29 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $333,000 | $260,000 – $433,000 |
| 30 | Chief Legal Officer | $333,000 | $260,000 – $433,000 |
| 31 | SVP of Strategy | $333,000 | $260,000 – $433,000 |
| 32 | Principal AI Engineer | $331,000 | $258,000 – $430,000 |
| 33 | Chief Design Officer | $331,000 | $258,000 – $431,000 |
| 34 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $330,000 | $257,000 – $429,000 |
| 35 | CTO | $330,000 | $257,000 – $429,000 |
| 36 | SVP of Sales | $330,000 | $257,000 – $429,000 |
| 37 | Chief Transformation Officer | $329,000 | $256,000 – $427,000 |
| 38 | SVP of Marketing | $329,000 | $256,000 – $427,000 |
| 39 | Chief Commercial Officer | $328,000 | $256,000 – $427,000 |
| 40 | SVP of Data | $328,000 | $256,000 – $427,000 |
| 41 | Principal NLP Engineer | $327,000 | $255,000 – $425,000 |
| 42 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $327,000 | $255,000 – $425,000 |
| 43 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $327,000 | $255,000 – $425,000 |
| 44 | Chief Architect | $327,000 | $255,000 – $425,000 |
| 45 | SVP of AI Innovation | $326,000 | $246,000 – $429,000 |
| 46 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $324,000 | $252,000 – $421,000 |
| 47 | Senior Head of Product | $323,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 48 | Principal LLM Engineer | $321,000 | $250,000 – $417,000 |
| 49 | Chief Innovation Officer | $320,000 | $249,000 – $416,000 |
| 50 | VP of AI | $319,000 | $242,000 – $418,000 |
Tax considerations
Oregon has no sales tax, but state income tax rates climb to 9.9%. Portland adds a local arts tax and metro supportive housing tax. Factor these into your net pay calculations.
Negotiating in Portland
Highlight your willingness to work hybrid in Portland's tech campuses. Intel, Nike, and other major employers reward in person collaboration with higher compensation bands.
Know the number. Get the offer.
Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.
Start free.