Salaries in San Antonio.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.91x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$319,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median of All Roles
$142,000
Embedded Finance Engineer
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.
San Antonio, TX has a cost-of-living index of 0.91x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $319,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $142,000. San Antonio has a major military presence with Joint Base San Antonio and a growing cybersecurity hub.
About the San Antonio market
San Antonio has a major military presence with Joint Base San Antonio and a growing cybersecurity hub. The city is home to USAA headquarters and a cluster of healthcare systems. The extremely affordable cost of living and no state income tax make it attractive for professionals seeking purchasing power.
Military & DefenseCybersecurityHealthcareFinancial ServicesTourism
Top 50 salaries in San Antonio
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $319,000 | $248,000 – $414,000 |
| 2 | Technical Fellow | $315,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 3 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $309,000 | $241,000 – $402,000 |
| 4 | Senior VP of Product | $309,000 | $241,000 – $402,000 |
| 5 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $307,000 | $239,000 – $398,000 |
| 6 | Distinguished Engineer | $303,000 | $230,000 – $386,000 |
| 7 | Chief Security Officer | $303,000 | $236,000 – $394,000 |
| 8 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $298,000 | $233,000 – $387,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $298,000 | $233,000 – $388,000 |
| 10 | Senior VP of Security | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 11 | Chief Science Officer | $291,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 12 | Chief AI Officer | $288,000 | $213,000 – $371,000 |
| 13 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $288,000 | $225,000 – $374,000 |
| 14 | SVP of Engineering | $285,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 15 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $285,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 16 | SVP of Product | $285,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 17 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $284,000 | $222,000 – $369,000 |
| 18 | Principal Applied Scientist | $281,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 19 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $281,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 20 | CTO | $281,000 | $219,000 – $366,000 |
| 21 | Chief Architect | $281,000 | $219,000 – $366,000 |
| 22 | SVP of Technology | $281,000 | $219,000 – $366,000 |
| 23 | Principal Cryptographer | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 24 | SVP of Sales | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 25 | SVP of Strategy | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 26 | Senior Head of Security | $277,000 | $216,000 – $359,000 |
| 27 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $276,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 28 | Senior Head of Product | $276,000 | $216,000 – $359,000 |
| 29 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $276,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 30 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $275,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 31 | Principal AI Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $356,000 |
| 32 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 33 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 34 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $274,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 35 | Chief Strategy Officer | $274,000 | $214,000 – $356,000 |
| 36 | SVP of Marketing | $274,000 | $214,000 – $357,000 |
| 37 | Chief Legal Officer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 38 | VP of AI | $272,000 | $206,000 – $356,000 |
| 39 | Chief Growth Officer | $272,000 | $212,000 – $353,000 |
| 40 | Principal NLP Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 41 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 42 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 43 | Senior VP of Design | $271,000 | $212,000 – $352,000 |
| 44 | L7 Software Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 45 | SVP of AI Innovation | $270,000 | $203,000 – $355,000 |
| 46 | Staff AI Agent Architect | $269,000 | $210,000 – $350,000 |
| 47 | Chief Transformation Officer | $269,000 | $210,000 – $350,000 |
| 48 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $268,000 | $200,000 – $350,000 |
| 49 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 50 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $349,000 |
Tax considerations
Texas has no state income tax. San Antonio has no city income tax. The zero tax environment and very affordable housing create exceptional purchasing power relative to most metros.
Negotiating in San Antonio
Leverage the cybersecurity corridor. San Antonio's NSA facility and military cyber operations drive demand for cleared security professionals at premium rates.
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