Salaries in Providence.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.04x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$364,000
Technical Fellow
Median of All Roles
$163,000
AI Insurance Pricing Engineer
Entry Level
$33,000
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.
Providence, RI has a cost-of-living index of 1.04x the national average. The highest-paying role is Technical Fellow at $364,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $163,000. Providence sits between Boston and New York, benefiting from both labor markets.
About the Providence market
Providence sits between Boston and New York, benefiting from both labor markets. The city's economy is driven by healthcare, higher education, and a growing design and creative sector anchored by RISD. Defense and marine industries also contribute to the local job market.
HealthcareHigher EducationDesign & CreativeDefense & MarineGovernment
Top 50 salaries in Providence
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Technical Fellow | $364,000 | $284,000 – $473,000 |
| 2 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $360,000 | $281,000 – $468,000 |
| 3 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $360,000 | $281,000 – $468,000 |
| 4 | Distinguished Engineer | $353,000 | $268,000 – $450,000 |
| 5 | Senior VP of Product | $350,000 | $273,000 – $455,000 |
| 6 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $344,000 | $268,000 – $447,000 |
| 7 | Chief Security Officer | $340,000 | $265,000 – $442,000 |
| 8 | Senior VP of Security | $339,000 | $265,000 – $441,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $334,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 10 | SVP of Technology | $334,000 | $261,000 – $435,000 |
| 11 | Chief AI Officer | $332,000 | $246,000 – $428,000 |
| 12 | L7 Software Engineer | $332,000 | $259,000 – $432,000 |
| 13 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $330,000 | $258,000 – $429,000 |
| 14 | Chief Strategy Officer | $329,000 | $257,000 – $428,000 |
| 15 | Chief Science Officer | $326,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 16 | SVP of Product | $326,000 | $254,000 – $423,000 |
| 17 | Principal Applied Scientist | $325,000 | $254,000 – $422,000 |
| 18 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $325,000 | $254,000 – $422,000 |
| 19 | Principal LLM Engineer | $322,000 | $251,000 – $419,000 |
| 20 | Chief Legal Officer | $321,000 | $251,000 – $418,000 |
| 21 | SVP of Strategy | $321,000 | $251,000 – $418,000 |
| 22 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 23 | SVP of Engineering | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 24 | Senior Head of Security | $319,000 | $249,000 – $415,000 |
| 25 | Senior VP of Design | $316,000 | $247,000 – $411,000 |
| 26 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $315,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 27 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $314,000 | $246,000 – $409,000 |
| 28 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $314,000 | $246,000 – $409,000 |
| 29 | Principal NLP Engineer | $313,000 | $243,000 – $406,000 |
| 30 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 31 | Chief Commercial Officer | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 32 | Chief Architect | $312,000 | $243,000 – $406,000 |
| 33 | Chief Growth Officer | $311,000 | $242,000 – $404,000 |
| 34 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $310,000 | $242,000 – $402,000 |
| 35 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $310,000 | $242,000 – $402,000 |
| 36 | Chief Design Officer | $310,000 | $242,000 – $403,000 |
| 37 | Principal Cryptographer | $309,000 | $241,000 – $402,000 |
| 38 | SVP of Sales | $309,000 | $241,000 – $402,000 |
| 39 | VP of AI | $308,000 | $233,000 – $403,000 |
| 40 | Principal AI Engineer | $307,000 | $239,000 – $398,000 |
| 41 | Senior Head of Product | $306,000 | $239,000 – $398,000 |
| 42 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $306,000 | $239,000 – $397,000 |
| 43 | Chief Transformation Officer | $305,000 | $237,000 – $396,000 |
| 44 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $304,000 | $236,000 – $394,000 |
| 45 | SVP of Data | $304,000 | $237,000 – $395,000 |
| 46 | CTO | $303,000 | $236,000 – $393,000 |
| 47 | Chief Technology Officer | $302,000 | $224,000 – $395,000 |
| 48 | Senior High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $302,000 | $236,000 – $392,000 |
| 49 | Staff Quantitative Developer | $302,000 | $236,000 – $393,000 |
| 50 | Chief Risk Officer | $302,000 | $235,000 – $392,000 |
Tax considerations
Rhode Island's top income tax rate is 5.99%. Providence has no city income tax. The state rate is moderate for the Northeast, and proximity to Boston creates competitive salary pressure.
Negotiating in Providence
Reference Boston salary benchmarks. Providence employers know they compete for talent with Boston and will often offer 85 to 95% of Boston rates to attract professionals.
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