Salaries in Washington DC.
422 roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 1.25x national average. Last updated April 2026.
422 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$395,000
Chief AI Officer
Median of All Roles
$186,000
AI Data Scientist
Entry Level
$40,000
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.
Washington DC, DC has a cost-of-living index of 1.25x the national average. The highest-paying role is Chief AI Officer at $395,000, while the median across all 422 roles is $186,000. Washington DC's job market is shaped by the federal government, defense contractors, and a growing commercial tech sector.
About the Washington DC market
Washington DC's job market is shaped by the federal government, defense contractors, and a growing commercial tech sector. Cybersecurity, cloud computing, and consulting firms drive demand for cleared professionals. The region's stability, combined with high government pay scales, creates a salary floor that pulls private sector compensation upward.
Federal GovernmentDefense & CybersecurityConsultingTechnologyNonprofit & Policy
Top 50 salaries in Washington DC
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Chief AI Officer | $395,000 | $293,000 – $510,000 |
| 2 | Chief Technology Officer | $366,000 | $271,000 – $480,000 |
| 3 | Chief Data & AI Officer | $358,000 | $267,000 – $467,000 |
| 4 | Chief Product Officer | $348,000 | $258,000 – $457,000 |
| 5 | Chief Revenue Officer | $347,000 | $260,000 – $458,000 |
| 6 | Chief Algorithm Officer | $347,000 | $260,000 – $452,000 |
| 7 | SVP of AI Innovation | $342,000 | $258,000 – $450,000 |
| 8 | Head of AI | $341,000 | $253,000 – $442,000 |
| 9 | CFO | $338,000 | $254,000 – $449,000 |
| 10 | VP of Engineering | $338,000 | $254,000 – $442,000 |
| 11 | Chief Data Officer | $335,000 | $251,000 – $438,000 |
| 12 | Head of AI Research | $331,000 | $245,000 – $435,000 |
| 13 | CEO | $330,000 | $240,000 – $456,000 |
| 14 | Chief Operating Officer | $328,000 | $245,000 – $438,000 |
| 15 | Head of Applied AI | $328,000 | $245,000 – $431,000 |
| 16 | VP of AI Engineering | $325,000 | $245,000 – $423,000 |
| 17 | Chief Marketing Officer | $312,000 | $234,000 – $408,000 |
| 18 | VP of Product | $312,000 | $236,000 – $402,000 |
| 19 | VP of AI Product | $309,000 | $230,000 – $400,000 |
| 20 | Head of AI Partnerships | $306,000 | $228,000 – $403,000 |
| 21 | AI Transformation Officer | $306,000 | $229,000 – $402,000 |
| 22 | VP of Sales | $300,000 | $225,000 – $400,000 |
| 23 | Head of AI Platform | $298,000 | $222,000 – $390,000 |
| 24 | Chief Human Resources Officer | $294,000 | $222,000 – $382,000 |
| 25 | VP of Product Design | $294,000 | $219,000 – $381,000 |
| 26 | VP of Marketing | $285,000 | $212,000 – $376,000 |
| 27 | Director of Generative AI | $284,000 | $214,000 – $374,000 |
| 28 | Director of Engineering | $281,000 | $217,000 – $363,000 |
| 29 | AI Program Director | $276,000 | $208,000 – $361,000 |
| 30 | Director of AI Strategy | $270,000 | $204,000 – $353,000 |
| 31 | AI World Model Engineer | $267,000 | $198,000 – $351,000 |
| 32 | Foundation Model Engineer | $266,000 | $198,000 – $347,000 |
| 33 | Transformer Architecture Engineer | $265,000 | $198,000 – $347,000 |
| 34 | AI Systems Architect | $264,000 | $200,000 – $345,000 |
| 35 | Director of Data Science | $263,000 | $202,000 – $343,000 |
| 36 | AI Research Scientist | $260,000 | $195,000 – $338,000 |
| 37 | Director of Product | $260,000 | $202,000 – $338,000 |
| 38 | Multi-Agent Systems Architect | $260,000 | $192,000 – $344,000 |
| 39 | Deep Learning Engineer | $258,000 | $200,000 – $328,000 |
| 40 | AI Reasoning Specialist | $258,000 | $191,000 – $341,000 |
| 41 | Privacy / Data Counsel | $257,000 | $198,000 – $335,000 |
| 42 | AI Alignment Researcher | $256,000 | $190,000 – $340,000 |
| 43 | Multimodal AI Engineer | $255,000 | $191,000 – $332,000 |
| 44 | Reinforcement Learning Engineer | $255,000 | $191,000 – $332,000 |
| 45 | AI Hardware/Chip Design Engineer | $255,000 | $190,000 – $337,000 |
| 46 | AI Agent Architect | $254,000 | $192,000 – $328,000 |
| 47 | AI Financial Engineer | $252,000 | $186,000 – $324,000 |
| 48 | Responsible AI Lead | $250,000 | $189,000 – $328,000 |
| 49 | AI Solutions Architect | $249,000 | $185,000 – $325,000 |
| 50 | AI Platform Engineer | $247,000 | $189,000 – $319,000 |
Tax considerations
DC income tax rates reach 10.75% for high earners. Maryland and Virginia residents working in DC face their own state taxes. Choose your residence jurisdiction carefully to optimize net pay.
Negotiating in Washington DC
A security clearance is your strongest negotiation asset. Cleared professionals in DC command 20 to 30% premiums, and transferring your clearance to a new employer saves them significant time and cost.
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