Salaries in Columbus.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 0.93x national average. Last updated August 2026.

3,445 roles tracked

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Highest Paying

$319,000

Senior VP of Security

Median of All Roles

$129,000

Real Estate Software Engineer

Entry Level

$31,000

Hotel Clerk / Front Desk

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 August 2026.

Columbus, OH has a cost-of-living index of 0.93x the national average. The highest-paying role is Senior VP of Security at $319,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $129,000. Columbus is Ohio's largest city and a growing technology and logistics hub, home to companies like Nationwide Insurance and a major Intel semiconductor fab under construction.

About the Columbus market

Columbus is Ohio's largest city and a growing technology and logistics hub, home to companies like Nationwide Insurance and a major Intel semiconductor fab under construction. The city's large university system and low cost of living attract both startups and corporate expansions. Tech salaries have been climbing as national employers establish Midwest offices.

Insurance & Financial ServicesTechnologyLogisticsHealthcareHigher Education

Top 50 salaries in Columbus

#	Role	Median	Range
1	Senior VP of Security	$319,000	$271,000 – $415,000
2	Senior VP of Product	$313,000	$244,000 – $407,000
3	Chief Security Officer	$313,000	$244,000 – $407,000
4	SVP of Data	$310,000	$263,000 – $403,000
5	SVP of AI Innovation	$304,000	$258,000 – $395,000
6	SVP of Engineering	$304,000	$258,000 – $395,000
7	SVP of Product	$301,000	$256,000 – $392,000
8	SVP of Finance	$299,000	$254,000 – $388,000
9	Chief AI Officer	$297,000	$220,000 – $383,000
10	Senior VP of Design	$294,000	$230,000 – $382,000
11	VP of AI Product	$293,000	$250,000 – $381,000
12	VP of Cloud	$293,000	$250,000 – $381,000
13	VP of Partner Engineering	$293,000	$250,000 – $381,000
14	VP of Reliability Engineering	$293,000	$250,000 – $381,000
15	VP of Site Reliability Engineering	$293,000	$250,000 – $381,000
16	SVP of Technology	$292,000	$248,000 – $380,000
17	VP of Machine Learning	$290,000	$247,000 – $377,000
18	VP of Infrastructure	$290,000	$247,000 – $377,000
19	VP of Information Security	$290,000	$247,000 – $377,000
20	VP of Data	$290,000	$247,000 – $377,000
21	Senior Head of Security	$288,000	$245,000 – $375,000
22	VP of Core Engineering	$287,000	$245,000 – $374,000
23	Chief Machine Learning Officer	$285,000	$222,000 – $370,000
24	CTO	$285,000	$222,000 – $370,000
25	VP of Privacy	$285,000	$242,000 – $370,000
26	VP of Security	$285,000	$242,000 – $370,000
27	Chief Design Officer	$285,000	$222,000 – $371,000
28	VP of Security Engineering	$285,000	$242,000 – $370,000
29	SVP of Sales	$285,000	$222,000 – $370,000
30	VP of Data Engineering	$282,000	$240,000 – $366,000
31	VP of Platform Engineering	$282,000	$240,000 – $366,000
32	VP of Developer Experience	$282,000	$240,000 – $366,000
33	Chief Architect	$282,000	$240,000 – $366,000
34	VP of Network Engineering	$282,000	$240,000 – $366,000
35	Chief Science Officer	$280,000	$218,000 – $364,000
36	VP of Data Science	$279,000	$238,000 – $363,000
37	VP of IT	$279,000	$238,000 – $363,000
38	VP of Mobile	$279,000	$238,000 – $363,000
39	VP of Risk	$279,000	$237,000 – $363,000
40	VP of Solutions Engineering	$279,000	$238,000 – $363,000
41	VP of Field Engineering	$279,000	$238,000 – $363,000
42	VP of Technical Support	$279,000	$238,000 – $363,000
43	VP of Quality	$279,000	$238,000 – $363,000
44	Chief Data & AI Officer	$277,000	$207,000 – $362,000
45	Chief Strategy Officer	$277,000	$216,000 – $360,000
46	VP of AI Research	$276,000	$235,000 – $359,000
47	VP of Application Engineering	$276,000	$235,000 – $359,000
48	VP of Engineering	$273,000	$233,000 – $355,000
49	VP of AI Engineering	$273,000	$233,000 – $355,000
50	VP of AI	$273,000	$233,000 – $355,000

Tax considerations

Ohio's income tax tops out around 3.5%, and Columbus adds a city income tax of 2.5%. The combined rate is moderate, but the city tax applies to all who work within city limits.

Negotiating in Columbus

Mention Intel's new fab investment when negotiating. The semiconductor megaproject is driving salaries upward across the entire Columbus tech and engineering market.

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