Salaries in St. Louis.
3,445 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.90x national average. Last updated June 2026.
3,445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$318,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median of All Roles
$140,000
Biotech Security Engineer
Entry Level
$30,000
Home Health Aide
Salary data sourced from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), state pay-transparency job postings, and community submissions. 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 June 2026.
St. Louis, MO has a cost-of-living index of 0.90x the national average. The highest-paying role is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $318,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $140,000. St.
About the St. Louis market
St. Louis offers one of the most affordable major metro areas in the country, with a strong base in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. The region's anchor employers include Boeing, Centene, and Washington University's medical campus. A growing biotech and plant sciences corridor centered on the Cortex Innovation District is attracting new investment and talent.
HealthcareDefense & AerospaceFinancial ServicesPlant Sciences & BiotechManufacturing
Top 50 salaries in St. Louis
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $318,000 | $248,000 – $414,000 |
| 2 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $306,000 | $238,000 – $397,000 |
| 3 | Senior VP of Product | $306,000 | $239,000 – $397,000 |
| 4 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $303,000 | $237,000 – $394,000 |
| 5 | Technical Fellow | $302,000 | $236,000 – $393,000 |
| 6 | Distinguished Engineer | $297,000 | $225,000 – $378,000 |
| 7 | Senior VP of Security | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 8 | Chief Security Officer | $291,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 9 | SVP of Technology | $289,000 | $226,000 – $376,000 |
| 10 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $287,000 | $224,000 – $374,000 |
| 11 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $286,000 | $224,000 – $373,000 |
| 12 | SVP of Engineering | $285,000 | $222,000 – $370,000 |
| 13 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $284,000 | $221,000 – $369,000 |
| 14 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $283,000 | $221,000 – $368,000 |
| 15 | Senior Head of Security | $282,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 16 | SVP of Product | $282,000 | $220,000 – $366,000 |
| 17 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 18 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 19 | CTO | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 20 | Principal Cryptographer | $278,000 | $217,000 – $362,000 |
| 21 | Chief AI Officer | $276,000 | $205,000 – $356,000 |
| 22 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $275,000 | $215,000 – $358,000 |
| 23 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $274,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 24 | Senior VP of Design | $274,000 | $214,000 – $356,000 |
| 25 | Principal Applied Scientist | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 26 | Chief Science Officer | $273,000 | $213,000 – $355,000 |
| 27 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $271,000 | $202,000 – $353,000 |
| 28 | Principal Machine Learning Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 29 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 30 | Principal Quantitative Analyst | $271,000 | $211,000 – $351,000 |
| 31 | Chief Strategy Officer | $271,000 | $211,000 – $352,000 |
| 32 | VP of AI Research | $269,000 | $210,000 – $349,000 |
| 33 | Chief Growth Officer | $269,000 | $210,000 – $349,000 |
| 34 | Principal Distributed Systems Engineer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 35 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 36 | L7 Software Engineer | $268,000 | $209,000 – $348,000 |
| 37 | Chief Legal Officer | $267,000 | $208,000 – $347,000 |
| 38 | SVP of Strategy | $267,000 | $208,000 – $347,000 |
| 39 | Principal AI Engineer | $266,000 | $207,000 – $345,000 |
| 40 | Chief Design Officer | $266,000 | $207,000 – $346,000 |
| 41 | SVP of Sales | $265,000 | $206,000 – $344,000 |
| 42 | Chief Transformation Officer | $264,000 | $205,000 – $343,000 |
| 43 | SVP of Marketing | $264,000 | $205,000 – $343,000 |
| 44 | Principal NLP Engineer | $263,000 | $205,000 – $341,000 |
| 45 | Principal Compiler Engineer | $263,000 | $205,000 – $341,000 |
| 46 | Chief Commercial Officer | $263,000 | $205,000 – $342,000 |
| 47 | SVP of Data | $263,000 | $205,000 – $342,000 |
| 48 | SVP of AI Innovation | $262,000 | $197,000 – $344,000 |
| 49 | Principal Research Engineer | $262,000 | $204,000 – $341,000 |
| 50 | Chief Architect | $262,000 | $204,000 – $340,000 |
Tax considerations
Missouri's top income tax rate is about 4.8%, and St. Louis City adds a 1% earnings tax. The low base cost of living means your after tax salary still stretches further than in most metros.
Negotiating in St. Louis
Emphasize your willingness to work in person at Cortex or the BJC campus. St. Louis employers offer higher packages for candidates who commit to the local innovation hubs.
Know the number. Get the offer.
Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.
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