What is the entry level AI Analytics Engineer salary in Chicago?

Entry level AI Analytics Engineer positions in Chicago start near $116,000. Candidates with strong backgrounds negotiate toward $152,000.

How does company size affect AI Analytics Engineer pay in Chicago?

Large enterprises in Chicago pay AI Analytics Engineers 10 to 20% more in base, but startups compensate with equity. The range of $116,000 to $198,000 spans both.

What does total compensation look like for a AI Analytics Engineer in Chicago?

Equity grants typically represent 10 to 20% of base salary at growth-stage companies. Base salaries in Chicago range from $116,000 to $198,000.

AI Analytics Engineer.

Chicago.

$152,000

median salary, 7% above the national average

$116,000 to $198,000. Updated for 2026.

Get your playbook

The numbers.

Everything you need to negotiate with confidence.

If you are evaluating a AI Analytics Engineer offer in Chicago, IL, here is the reality: $116,000 to $198,000, with $152,000 as the midpoint. 7% above the national average. AI analytics engineers who build data models and dashboards for ML performance monitoring earn salaries driven by business impact and technical depth. Do not accept the first number.

Salary range

25th Percentile

$116,000

per year

Median

$152,000

per year

75th Percentile

$198,000

per year

Tap to place your salary

$116,000$198,000

How Chicago compares

Chicago, IL

$152,000

Cost of living: 7% above average

National Average

$142,000

Chicago is $10,000 above

What you should know

Here is what the AI Analytics Engineer market actually looks like in Chicago. Chicago's economy is anchored by finance, manufacturing, and a rapidly expanding tech sector. The city has become a major hub for fintech, enterprise SaaS, and e-commerce. With lower living costs than coastal cities and a deep talent pool from top universities, Chicago offers strong salary to cost of living ratios for professionals across industries. AI analytics engineers who build data models and dashboards for ML performance monitoring earn salaries driven by business impact and technical depth. Experience with experiment tracking, model monitoring, and A/B testing frameworks adds 10 to 15% to compensation. Companies in fintech and healthcare pay above-market rates for this role.

Junior AI analytics engineers start at $108,000 to $125,000. Mid-level engineers with 3 to 5 years reach $142,000 to $185,000. Senior analytics engineers earn $190,000 to $240,000, while analytics engineering managers and directors of ML analytics can command $250,000 to $320,000. In Chicago, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.

Base salary is not the full picture. Equity grants typically represent 10 to 20% of base salary at growth-stage companies. Annual bonuses range from 8 to 15%. Some firms offer profit-sharing arrangements, and remote work flexibility is common, though Bay Area-based roles pay 20 to 30% more. And on the tax side: illinois has a flat 4.95% state income tax. Chicago does not levy a separate city income tax, making the overall burden moderate compared to coastal metros. When someone quotes you $152,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.

On negotiation: Reference the Bay Area or NYC salary band for your role, then negotiate a modest discount. Chicago employers routinely offer 85 to 90% of coastal pay. The range for AI Analytics Engineers in Chicago runs from $116,000 to $198,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.

Top industries in Chicago

Financial ServicesManufacturingTechnologyHealthcareTransportation & Logistics

Negotiating in Chicago

Reference the Bay Area or NYC salary band for your role, then negotiate a modest discount. Chicago employers routinely offer 85 to 90% of coastal pay.

Common questions.

AI analytics engineers earn 8 to 15% more than general analytics engineers due to their specialized focus on ML metrics, model performance tracking, and experiment analysis. The premium reflects the additional technical knowledge required to work effectively with data science teams.

Proficiency in dbt, Looker, and Snowflake forms the foundation, but experience with ML-specific tools like Weights and Biases, MLflow, and Great Expectations commands salary premiums. Python proficiency for custom analytics on model performance data is increasingly expected.

Entry level AI Analytics Engineer positions in Chicago typically start near $116,000. Candidates with relevant internships, certifications, or portfolio work often negotiate closer to the median of $152,000. Junior AI analytics engineers start at $108,000 to $125,000.

In Chicago, large enterprises typically pay AI Analytics Engineers 10 to 20% more in base salary than small companies, but startups often compensate with equity that can exceed base salary value. Equity grants typically represent 10 to 20% of base salary at growth-stage companies. The $116,000 to $198,000 range reflects this entire spectrum.

AI analytics engineers who build data models and dashboards for ML performance monitoring earn salaries driven by business impact and technical depth. Experience with experiment tracking, model monitoring, and A/B testing frameworks adds 10 to 15% to compensation. Companies in fintech and healthcare pay above-market rates for this role. In Chicago, these factors can push compensation from the 25th percentile of $116,000 to the 75th percentile of $198,000 or beyond.

Equity grants typically represent 10 to 20% of base salary at growth-stage companies. Annual bonuses range from 8 to 15%. Some firms offer profit-sharing arrangements, and remote work flexibility is common, though Bay Area-based roles pay 20 to 30% more. In Chicago's market, the base range of $116,000 to $198,000 is just the starting point for negotiation.