Salaries in Washington.
2 metro areas. 3445 roles.
Average cost-of-living index: 1.08x national average. Last updated April 2026.
2 cities tracked3445 roles
Highest Paying
$443,000
Principal Quantitative Researcher
Median Role
$387,000
Principal Quantitative Developer
Entry Level
$377,000
Chief Commercial Officer
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 has 2 major metro areas tracked in our salary database, with an average cost-of-living index of 1.08x the national average. The highest-paying role across the state is Principal Quantitative Researcher at $443,000 in Seattle. The median role pays $387,000.
Metro areas in Washington
Top 30 salaries in Washington
| # | Role | Median | Top City | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $443,000 | Seattle | $345,000 – $575,000 |
| 2 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $434,000 | Seattle | $339,000 – $564,000 |
| 3 | Technical Fellow | $425,000 | Seattle | $332,000 – $553,000 |
| 4 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $418,000 | Seattle | $326,000 – $543,000 |
| 5 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $406,000 | Seattle | $317,000 – $529,000 |
| 6 | SVP of Technology | $402,000 | Seattle | $314,000 – $524,000 |
| 7 | Distinguished Engineer | $401,000 | Seattle | $304,000 – $510,000 |
| 8 | Senior VP of Product | $401,000 | Seattle | $313,000 – $521,000 |
| 9 | Chief Security Officer | $401,000 | Seattle | $312,000 – $521,000 |
| 10 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $398,000 | Seattle | $311,000 – $517,000 |
| 11 | Senior VP of Security | $396,000 | Seattle | $310,000 – $515,000 |
| 12 | SVP of Product | $396,000 | Seattle | $309,000 – $515,000 |
| 13 | Principal Cryptographer | $395,000 | Seattle | $308,000 – $513,000 |
| 14 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $391,000 | Seattle | $305,000 – $508,000 |
| 15 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $391,000 | Seattle | $305,000 – $508,000 |
| 16 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $387,000 | Seattle | $302,000 – $503,000 |
| 17 | SVP of Sales | $387,000 | Seattle | $302,000 – $503,000 |
| 18 | Principal LLM Engineer | $384,000 | Seattle | $299,000 – $499,000 |
| 19 | Chief Science Officer | $384,000 | Seattle | $300,000 – $500,000 |
| 20 | L7 Software Engineer | $384,000 | Seattle | $300,000 – $500,000 |
| 21 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $383,000 | Seattle | $299,000 – $498,000 |
| 22 | Chief Architect | $383,000 | Seattle | $299,000 – $498,000 |
| 23 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $381,000 | Seattle | $296,000 – $494,000 |
| 24 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $381,000 | Seattle | $296,000 – $494,000 |
| 25 | SVP of Data | $380,000 | Seattle | $297,000 – $495,000 |
| 26 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $379,000 | Seattle | $296,000 – $493,000 |
| 27 | SVP of Strategy | $379,000 | Seattle | $296,000 – $493,000 |
| 28 | Chief AI Officer | $377,000 | Seattle | $279,000 – $486,000 |
| 29 | Principal AI Engineer | $377,000 | Seattle | $293,000 – $489,000 |
| 30 | Chief Commercial Officer | $377,000 | Seattle | $294,000 – $490,000 |
Tax considerations in Washington
Washington State has no personal income tax, which significantly boosts take home pay. However, state and local sales taxes are among the highest in the country at roughly 10.25%.
Washington has no state income tax. Spokane has no city income tax. The zero tax environment at a fraction of Seattle's cost of living creates one of the best purchasing power ratios in the Pacific Northwest.
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