AI Financial Engineer.
Houston.
$202,000
median salary, 4% below the national average
$149,000 to $259,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median AI Financial Engineer salary in Houston is $202,000, 4% below the national average. Entry level starts near $149,000. Experienced professionals push past $259,000. Houston's economy is deeply rooted in energy, with a growing presence in healthcare, aerospace, and technology. That spread is your negotiation window. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for AI Financial Engineer in Houston, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $101,660 for Financial and Investment Analysts (SOC 13-2051) in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area, based on 6,510 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$66,730
25th percentile
$79,990
Median
$101,660
75th percentile
$129,260
90th percentile
$174,220
Workers surveyed
6,510
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $202,000 is 99% higher than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Financial and Investment Analysts covers a different population than the AI Financial Engineer title as it is typically advertised. Both are shown, unreconciled, so you can judge which one describes the job you mean.
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Financial and Investment Analysts (SOC 13-2051) rather than AI Financial Engineer specifically. The Houston range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 13-2051Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $182,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$131,000
to $162,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$172,000
to $212,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$222,000
to $263,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$253,000
to $313,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $99,000 to the total package.
Base
$202,000
Equity
$61,000
Bonus
$26,000
Signing
$12,000
Estimated total: $301,000
How Houston compares.
Houston, TX
$202,000
Cost of living: 3% below average
National Average
$210,000
Houston is $8,000 below
AI Financial Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Houston.
What you should know.
If you are interviewing for AI Financial Engineer roles in Houston, here is what you are walking into. Houston's economy is deeply rooted in energy, with a growing presence in healthcare, aerospace, and technology. The Texas Medical Center is the world's largest, driving massive demand for clinical and research roles. Houston's low cost of living and no state income tax make it an attractive destination for professionals seeking strong purchasing power. Pay depends on ability to apply ML models to quantitative finance problems like risk modeling, algorithmic trading, and fraud detection. Engineers combining deep finance domain expertise with advanced ML skills earn top-band compensation. Experience with real-time inference for trading systems and regulatory-compliant model development adds 20 to 30% to base salaries.
Junior quant ML engineers start at $120,000 to $150,000. AI financial engineers earn $155,000 to $210,000. Senior roles at top funds reach $250,000 to $350,000 base, and portfolio managers or heads of AI strategy at major firms command $500,000 to $1,000,000 or more in total compensation. In Houston, 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. Performance bonuses at hedge funds and trading firms can range from 50 to 200% of base salary. Equity is less common in finance but deferred compensation plans are standard. Banks offer structured bonus pools tied to desk profitability. And on the tax side: texas has no state income tax, giving Houston workers strong take home pay. The city's overall cost of living is below the national average, further stretching your salary. When someone quotes you $202,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Emphasize industry specialization in energy or healthcare. Houston employers pay significant premiums for domain expertise in these sectors over generalist candidates. The range for AI Financial Engineers in Houston runs from $149,000 to $259,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- A Supply Chain AI Optimization Engineer in Houston earns $203,000 (0% more)
- The highest-paying role in Houston is CTO at $285,000
- See all ai finance roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
AI Financial Engineer salary in other cities.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"AI Financial Engineer Salary in Houston, TX." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/ai-financial-engineer/houston
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