Salaries in Princeton.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.15x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$411,000
Technical Fellow
Median of All Roles
$180,000
Senior Spring Boot Developer
Entry Level
$38,000
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.
Princeton, NJ has a cost-of-living index of 1.15x the national average. The highest-paying role is Technical Fellow at $411,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $180,000. Princeton's economy is driven by the university, pharmaceutical companies, and research institutions.
About the Princeton market
Princeton's economy is driven by the university, pharmaceutical companies, and research institutions. Bristol-Myers Squibb, NRG Energy, and numerous biotech firms create strong demand for research and engineering talent. The academic environment fosters a unique mix of research and commercial technology roles.
PharmaceuticalsHigher EducationResearchFinancial ServicesTechnology
Top 50 salaries in Princeton
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Technical Fellow | $411,000 | $320,000 – $534,000 |
| 2 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $407,000 | $317,000 – $528,000 |
| 3 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $394,000 | $308,000 – $513,000 |
| 4 | Senior VP of Product | $391,000 | $305,000 – $508,000 |
| 5 | Chief Security Officer | $391,000 | $304,000 – $508,000 |
| 6 | Distinguished Engineer | $387,000 | $293,000 – $493,000 |
| 7 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $377,000 | $294,000 – $490,000 |
| 8 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $376,000 | $294,000 – $489,000 |
| 9 | SVP of Technology | $373,000 | $291,000 – $486,000 |
| 10 | Senior VP of Security | $368,000 | $287,000 – $478,000 |
| 11 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $367,000 | $287,000 – $477,000 |
| 12 | SVP of Engineering | $367,000 | $287,000 – $477,000 |
| 13 | L7 Software Engineer | $367,000 | $287,000 – $477,000 |
| 14 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $365,000 | $285,000 – $474,000 |
| 15 | Principal Applied Scientist | $362,000 | $283,000 – $471,000 |
| 16 | SVP of Product | $360,000 | $281,000 – $468,000 |
| 17 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $359,000 | $280,000 – $467,000 |
| 18 | CTO | $359,000 | $280,000 – $466,000 |
| 19 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $359,000 | $280,000 – $467,000 |
| 20 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $356,000 | $277,000 – $463,000 |
| 21 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $355,000 | $277,000 – $462,000 |
| 22 | Principal Cryptographer | $355,000 | $278,000 – $462,000 |
| 23 | Chief Legal Officer | $355,000 | $277,000 – $462,000 |
| 24 | Chief AI Officer | $349,000 | $259,000 – $451,000 |
| 25 | Chief Design Officer | $349,000 | $272,000 – $455,000 |
| 26 | Chief Strategy Officer | $349,000 | $273,000 – $454,000 |
| 27 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $348,000 | $272,000 – $453,000 |
| 28 | SVP of Sales | $348,000 | $272,000 – $453,000 |
| 29 | Chief Science Officer | $346,000 | $270,000 – $450,000 |
| 30 | Senior Head of Product | $345,000 | $270,000 – $449,000 |
| 31 | Chief Architect | $345,000 | $269,000 – $448,000 |
| 32 | Senior Head of Security | $343,000 | $268,000 – $445,000 |
| 33 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $342,000 | $266,000 – $444,000 |
| 34 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $342,000 | $267,000 – $444,000 |
| 35 | Senior VP of Design | $342,000 | $268,000 – $445,000 |
| 36 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $342,000 | $267,000 – $445,000 |
| 37 | Chief Digital Officer | $341,000 | $266,000 – $444,000 |
| 38 | SVP of Strategy | $338,000 | $264,000 – $440,000 |
| 39 | Chief Growth Officer | $337,000 | $262,000 – $438,000 |
| 40 | Chief Risk Officer | $337,000 | $262,000 – $438,000 |
| 41 | Principal AI Engineer | $336,000 | $261,000 – $436,000 |
| 42 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $336,000 | $261,000 – $436,000 |
| 43 | SVP of Data | $336,000 | $262,000 – $437,000 |
| 44 | Principal ML Engineer | $335,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 45 | Principal Protocol Engineer | $335,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 46 | General Counsel | $335,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 47 | Staff Quantitative Developer | $334,000 | $261,000 – $434,000 |
| 48 | Chief Transformation Officer | $334,000 | $260,000 – $434,000 |
| 49 | SVP of Marketing | $334,000 | $260,000 – $434,000 |
| 50 | SVP of Business Development | $334,000 | $260,000 – $435,000 |
Tax considerations
New Jersey's 10.75% top rate applies. Princeton has no additional city income tax. The pharma corridor offers competitive compensation that partially offsets the high state tax burden.
Negotiating in Princeton
Highlight research publications and advanced degrees. Princeton-area employers value academic credentials more heavily than most metro areas.
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