Salaries

AI UX Researcher Salary.

Across 81 U.S. cities.

$138,000

estimated national base salary

$105,000 to $182,000. Last updated September 2026.

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Government benchmark for this occupation

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $104,000 for Web and Digital Interface Designers (SOC 15-1255) across the United States, based on 113,330 employed workers (May 2025 release).

10th percentile

$53,750

25th percentile

$73,290

Median

$104,000

75th percentile

$158,820

90th percentile

$201,550

Workers surveyed

113,330

What BLS published in each release

May 2024 release

$98,090

May 2025 release

$104,000

These are two separate published estimates, not a time series. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not encourage the use of OEWS data for time-series analysis. Differences between releases reflect changes in occupational classification, survey methodology, and the three-year pooled sample as well as any change in pay, so the two figures should not be read as a rate of wage growth.

Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $138,000 is 33% higher than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Web and Digital Interface Designers covers a different population than the AI UX Researcher 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 Web and Digital Interface Designers (SOC 15-1255) rather than AI UX Researcher specifically. The national 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 15-1255

Highest Paying

$198,000

San Jose, CA

Best Purchasing Power

$144,000

Honolulu, HI

Lowest Paying

$104,000

Charleston, WV

The salary figures on this page are computed estimates, not observed wages. Each one is a national role baseline scaled by a Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity cost-of-living multiplier (2025 index) and rounded to the nearest $1,000. No published wage percentile is consulted and no wage survey response enters the calculation, so an Orbyt estimate must not be cited as a Bureau of Labor Statistics figure or as measured pay. The published wage data Orbyt holds is Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings, which record a filed minimum visa base wage rather than market pay. Where BLS publishes a wage for the occupation a role maps to, it is shown on that role's page as a separate benchmark, labelled with its occupation code, metro area and the number of employed workers it covers. Last updated September 2026. This role maps to BLS occupation code 15-1255. Full methodology.

Orbyt estimates the average AI UX Researcher salary in the United States at $138,000 in 2026, within a range of $105,000 to $182,000. 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. San Jose is the highest of the 81 cities at $198,000, while Honolulu offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Compensation scales with the complexity of AI systems being studied and the employer's research investment.

AI UX Researcher salary by city.

Salary comparison across 81 cities
CityMedianRangeCOLAdjustedRank
San Jose, CA$198,000$151,000 to $261,0001.38x$143,000#1628 of 3445
San Francisco, CA$190,000$145,000 to $251,0001.35x$141,000#1666 of 3445
Honolulu, HI$187,000$142,000 to $246,0001.30x$144,000#1625 of 3445
Seattle, WA$176,000$134,000 to $232,0001.24x$142,000#1640 of 3445
Arlington, VA$175,000$133,000 to $231,0001.22x$143,000#1630 of 3445
Boston, MA$173,000$132,000 to $229,0001.22x$142,000#1643 of 3445
Washington DC, DC$171,000$130,000 to $225,0001.25x$137,000#1819 of 3445
New York, NY$170,000$129,000 to $224,0001.28x$133,000#2131 of 3445
Jersey City, NJ$169,000$129,000 to $223,0001.20x$141,000#1658 of 3445
Boulder, CO$162,000$123,000 to $213,0001.15x$141,000#1659 of 3445
Newark, NJ$161,000$123,000 to $213,0001.18x$136,000#1872 of 3445
Los Angeles, CA$160,000$121,000 to $210,0001.18x$136,000#1872 of 3445
San Diego, CA$158,000$120,000 to $209,0001.17x$135,000#1963 of 3445
Anchorage, AK$157,000$120,000 to $208,0001.13x$139,000#1679 of 3445
Princeton, NJ$157,000$120,000 to $207,0001.15x$137,000#1875 of 3445
Philadelphia, PA$156,000$119,000 to $206,0001.09x$143,000#1640 of 3445
Denver, CO$155,000$118,000 to $204,0001.08x$144,000#1628 of 3445
Baltimore, MD$155,000$118,000 to $204,0001.08x$144,000#1633 of 3445
Miami, FL$153,000$116,000 to $202,0001.12x$137,000#1804 of 3445
Chicago, IL$152,000$116,000 to $201,0001.07x$142,000#1643 of 3445
Portland, OR$149,000$113,000 to $196,0001.10x$135,000#1892 of 3445
Hartford, CT$148,000$112,000 to $195,0001.08x$137,000#1793 of 3445
Portland, ME$148,000$112,000 to $195,0001.05x$141,000#1667 of 3445
Burlington, VT$148,000$112,000 to $195,0001.06x$140,000#1660 of 3445
Sacramento, CA$147,000$112,000 to $194,0001.10x$134,000#2103 of 3445
Manchester, NH$146,000$111,000 to $193,0001.06x$138,000#1790 of 3445
Ann Arbor, MI$146,000$111,000 to $193,0001.02x$143,000#1634 of 3445
Austin, TX$145,000$110,000 to $191,0001.03x$141,000#1658 of 3445
Atlanta, GA$145,000$110,000 to $191,0001.02x$142,000#1643 of 3445
Dallas, TX$144,000$109,000 to $189,0001.01x$143,000#1638 of 3445
Providence, RI$144,000$109,000 to $189,0001.04x$138,000#1693 of 3445
Richmond, VA$142,000$108,000 to $187,0001.01x$141,000#1657 of 3445
Raleigh, NC$141,000$107,000 to $186,0000.99x$142,000#1638 of 3445
Salt Lake City, UT$141,000$107,000 to $185,0000.98x$144,000#1630 of 3445
Minneapolis, MN$139,000$106,000 to $183,0001.05x$132,000#2178 of 3445
Nashville, TN$139,000$106,000 to $184,0001.00x$139,000#1681 of 3445
Houston, TX$138,000$105,000 to $182,0000.97x$142,000#1638 of 3445
Wilmington, DE$138,000$105,000 to $182,0001.02x$135,000#1903 of 3445
Virginia Beach, VA$138,000$105,000 to $182,0000.98x$141,000#1666 of 3445
Boise, ID$136,000$104,000 to $180,0000.95x$143,000#1638 of 3445
Phoenix, AZ$135,000$103,000 to $178,0000.96x$141,000#1658 of 3445
Charleston, SC$135,000$103,000 to $178,0000.98x$138,000#1793 of 3445
Madison, WI$135,000$103,000 to $178,0000.95x$142,000#1638 of 3445
North Charleston, SC$135,000$103,000 to $178,0000.94x$144,000#1627 of 3445
Charlotte, NC$133,000$101,000 to $175,0000.97x$137,000#1784 of 3445
Columbus, OH$133,000$102,000 to $176,0000.93x$143,000#1634 of 3445
Kansas City, MO$133,000$102,000 to $176,0000.93x$143,000#1640 of 3445
Albany, NY$132,000$101,000 to $175,0000.96x$138,000#1774 of 3445
Columbus, OH$132,000$101,000 to $174,0000.93x$142,000#1646 of 3445
Reno, NV$132,000$101,000 to $175,0000.96x$138,000#1785 of 3445
Las Vegas, NV$130,000$99,000 to $171,0000.96x$135,000#1899 of 3445
Orlando, FL$130,000$99,000 to $171,0000.95x$137,000#1782 of 3445
Spokane, WA$129,000$99,000 to $171,0000.92x$140,000#1667 of 3445
Detroit, MI$128,000$97,000 to $169,0000.90x$142,000#1639 of 3445
Tampa, FL$127,000$97,000 to $168,0000.96x$132,000#2207 of 3445
Pittsburgh, PA$126,000$96,000 to $166,0000.92x$137,000#1783 of 3445
Albuquerque, NM$126,000$96,000 to $167,0000.88x$143,000#1638 of 3445
Knoxville, TN$124,000$94,000 to $164,0000.89x$139,000#1676 of 3445
Indianapolis, IN$123,000$94,000 to $162,0000.91x$135,000#1899 of 3445
New Orleans, LA$123,000$94,000 to $162,0000.92x$134,000#2128 of 3445
Omaha, NE$123,000$93,000 to $162,0000.88x$140,000#1669 of 3445
Columbia, SC$123,000$94,000 to $162,0000.90x$137,000#1804 of 3445
Cheyenne, WY$122,000$93,000 to $162,0000.87x$140,000#1660 of 3445
Cincinnati, OH$122,000$93,000 to $161,0000.90x$136,000#1892 of 3445
San Antonio, TX$122,000$93,000 to $161,0000.91x$134,000#2027 of 3445
Lexington, KY$122,000$93,000 to $161,0000.86x$142,000#1645 of 3445
Milwaukee, WI$121,000$92,000 to $159,0000.91x$133,000#2076 of 3445
St. Louis, MO$119,000$91,000 to $157,0000.90x$132,000#2212 of 3445
Oklahoma City, OK$119,000$91,000 to $157,0000.84x$142,000#1649 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$119,000$90,000 to $157,0000.86x$138,000#1695 of 3445
Birmingham, AL$118,000$90,000 to $156,0000.84x$140,000#1656 of 3445
Louisville, KY$118,000$90,000 to $155,0000.88x$134,000#1994 of 3445
Fargo, ND$118,000$90,000 to $156,0000.85x$139,000#1683 of 3445
Baton Rouge, LA$118,000$90,000 to $155,0000.88x$134,000#1993 of 3445
Sioux Falls, SD$117,000$89,000 to $155,0000.85x$138,000#1781 of 3445
Tulsa, OK$115,000$87,000 to $151,0000.83x$139,000#1690 of 3445
Des Moines, IA$114,000$87,000 to $150,0000.86x$133,000#2101 of 3445
Wichita, KS$113,000$86,000 to $149,0000.82x$138,000#1705 of 3445
Little Rock, AR$110,000$84,000 to $145,0000.82x$134,000#1976 of 3445
Jackson, MS$105,000$80,000 to $138,0000.79x$133,000#2086 of 3445
Charleston, WV$104,000$79,000 to $138,0000.78x$133,000#2101 of 3445

Skills that increase AI UX Researcher pay.

The premiums below are Orbyt's modelled scenarios for AI UX Researchers, not effects measured from job postings: each is a fixed percentage applied to the estimated base. At the top premium that works out to $19,320 a year.

LLM Fine-Tuning+14%

≈ +$19,320 per year

Reinforcement Learning+13%

≈ +$17,940 per year

CUDA+12%

≈ +$16,560 per year

RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)+11%

≈ +$15,180 per year

Transformers+10%

≈ +$13,800 per year

Rust+10%

≈ +$13,800 per year

Vector Databases+10%

≈ +$13,800 per year

PyTorch+9%

≈ +$12,420 per year

What you should know.

Compensation scales with the complexity of AI systems being studied and the employer's research investment. Researchers at major AI labs and tech companies earn the most. Expertise in measuring trust, explainability, and human-AI collaboration effectiveness commands premium salaries.

Junior UX researchers on AI teams start around $82,000. Senior AI UX researchers earn $130,000 to $155,000. Research directors or heads of human-AI interaction research reach $200,000 to $260,000 at major tech companies.

Tech company RSUs add significant value to total compensation packages. Research-focused roles often include generous conference travel budgets and publication bonuses. Some companies offer sabbatical programs for extended research projects.

Total compensation breakdown.

Base Salary
$138,000
Equity / Year
$35,000
Annual Bonus
15%
$21,000
Signing Bonus
$14,000
Total Comp
$194,000

Salary by company size

Startup
< 50 employees
$124,000
Growth
50-500 employees
$131,000
Scale-up
500-5K employees
$138,000
Public
5K+ employees
$166,000

Remote salary adjustment

Remote AI UX Researchers typically earn $128,000 (7% less than on-site). This reflects location-adjusted pay policies at companies using geographic salary bands. Some companies pay flat national rates regardless of location.

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Related.

Common questions about AI UX Researcher pay.

Orbyt estimates the national median AI UX Researcher salary at $138,000 in 2026, within a range of $105,000 to $182,000. This is a computed estimate, not a measured wage. Where you land depends on your experience, skills, the company's size, and your location.

Entry level AI UX Researchers (0 to 2 years) typically earn $90,000 to $110,000. Mid level (3 to 5 years) run $117,000 to $145,000. Senior (6 to 9 years) reach $152,000 to $179,000, and lead level (10 plus years) $173,000 to $214,000.

Anchor your ask near the top of the range at $182,000 so you have room to settle around the $138,000 median. Bring specific data about your impact, and never accept the first number without a conversation.

Junior UX researchers on AI teams start around $82,000. Senior AI UX researchers earn $130,000 to $155,000. Research directors or heads of human-AI interaction research reach $200,000 to $260,000 at major tech companies.

Compensation scales with the complexity of AI systems being studied and the employer's research investment. Researchers at major AI labs and tech companies earn the most. Expertise in measuring trust, explainability, and human-AI collaboration effectiveness commands premium salaries.

Tech company RSUs add significant value to total compensation packages. Research-focused roles often include generous conference travel budgets and publication bonuses. Some companies offer sabbatical programs for extended research projects.

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