AI Research Scientist.
Miami.
$156,000
median salary, 11% above the national average
$108,000 to $207,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
An AI Research Scientist in Miami earns a median of $156,000 in 2026. That is 11% above the national average. The range runs from $108,000 to $207,000, and where you land depends on your experience, your skills, and how well you negotiate. Publication record at top venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR), novelty of research contributions, and ability to translate research into product impact are the primary factors. 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 Research Scientist in Miami, 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 $132,680 for Computer and Information Research Scientists (SOC 15-1221) in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metropolitan area, based on 110 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$69,540
25th percentile
$93,320
Median
$132,680
75th percentile
$188,030
90th percentile
$215,580
Workers surveyed
110
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Computer and Information Research Scientists (SOC 15-1221) rather than AI Research Scientist specifically. The Miami 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 15-1221Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $141,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$101,000
to $125,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$133,000
to $164,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$172,000
to $203,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$195,000
to $242,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $76,000 to the total package.
Base
$156,000
Equity
$47,000
Bonus
$20,000
Signing
$9,000
Estimated total: $232,000
AI Research Scientist salary by company.
Total compensation estimates include base, equity, bonus, and signing. Ranges reflect mid to senior level. Derived from public H-1B LCA filings (DOL).
How Miami compares.
Miami, FL
$156,000
Cost of living: 12% above average
National Average
$141,000
Miami is $15,000 above
AI Research Scientist salary by city.
Salary by role in Miami.
What you should know.
Here is what the AI Research Scientist market actually looks like in Miami. Miami has rapidly evolved from a tourism and real estate center into a legitimate tech and finance hub. The city's crypto, fintech, and Latin American trade connections have drawn significant venture investment. Cost of living has surged recently, but the absence of state income tax keeps take home pay competitive with larger metros. Publication record at top venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR), novelty of research contributions, and ability to translate research into product impact are the primary factors. Scientists with foundational contributions to active areas like alignment, scaling laws, or multimodal learning are exceptionally sought after. The scarcity of qualified researchers keeps competition for talent intense.
Research scientists (with PhD) start at $150,000 to $200,000, reaching senior scientist at $220,000 to $300,000 in three to five years. Staff research scientists earn $300,000 to $450,000. Distinguished scientists and research directors at leading labs can exceed $600,000 to $1,000,000+ in total compensation. In Miami, 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 at AI labs can represent 40 to 60% of total compensation, with grants of $100,000 to $300,000+ annually at top labs. Bonuses of 20 to 30% are common. Benefits include generous compute budgets, sabbatical programs, publication incentives, and funding for personal research agendas. And on the tax side: florida has no state income tax, which is a major draw for high earners. Overall tax burden is low, though property insurance costs and rising housing prices offset some savings. When someone quotes you $156,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Use the no income tax benefit to frame your ask. Show employers that accepting 90 to 95% of a New York salary in Miami yields equivalent or better take home pay. The range for AI Research Scientists in Miami runs from $108,000 to $207,000. 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?
- An NLP Engineer in Miami earns $155,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Miami is CTO at $333,000
- See all ai research roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
AI Research Scientist salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Miami.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to AI Research Scientists in Miami.
Related tools.
Do you work as an ai research scientist in Miami?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"AI Research Scientist Salary in Miami, FL." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/ai-research-scientist/miami
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools