Chief Data & AI Officer.
Minneapolis.
$310,000
median salary, 5% above the national average
$231,000 to $404,000. Updated for 2026.
The numbers.
Everything you need to negotiate with confidence.
If you are evaluating a Chief Data & AI Officer offer in Minneapolis, MN, here is the reality: $231,000 to $404,000, with $310,000 as the midpoint. 5% above the national average. Compensation scales with the breadth of the AI and data portfolio under management. Do not accept the first number.
Salary range
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How Minneapolis compares
Minneapolis, MN
$310,000
Cost of living: 5% above average
National Average
$295,000
Minneapolis is $15,000 above
What you should know
The Chief Data & AI Officer landscape in Minneapolis is not what most salary sites will tell you. Minneapolis is a Fortune 500 powerhouse with Target, UnitedHealth Group, Best Buy, and 3M headquartered in the metro. The city's strong corporate base creates consistent demand across finance, healthcare, retail tech, and supply chain roles. Quality of life is high, and employers offer competitive salaries to offset the cold winters. Compensation scales with the breadth of the AI and data portfolio under management. Officers overseeing both revenue-generating AI products and enterprise data governance at Fortune 500 companies command premium packages. Industry vertical matters significantly, with financial services and healthcare paying 15 to 25% above median.
Most CDAIOs advance from VP of Data Science or VP of AI Engineering roles earning $200,000 to $270,000. The CDAIO role itself ranges from $220,000 to $385,000 base. Some transition to CEO or board director positions with total compensation exceeding $1,500,000 annually. In Minneapolis, 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. Total compensation typically reaches $600,000 to $1,200,000 including equity grants, performance bonuses of 40 to 60% of base, and retention packages. Board observer seats and advisory equity in portfolio companies are increasingly common. And on the tax side: minnesota's top income tax rate is 9.85%, one of the highest state rates. There is no city income tax in Minneapolis, but the state burden significantly reduces take home pay. When someone quotes you $310,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Emphasize retention risk when negotiating. Minneapolis employers know that remote opportunities from warmer, lower tax states are a constant competitive threat. The range for Chief Data & AI Officers in Minneapolis runs from $231,000 to $404,000. 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 Minneapolis
Negotiating in Minneapolis
Emphasize retention risk when negotiating. Minneapolis employers know that remote opportunities from warmer, lower tax states are a constant competitive threat.