Salaries

Salaries in Washington DC.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 1.25x national average. Last updated August 2026.

3,445 roles tracked
Get your playbook.

Highest Paying

$429,000

Chief Security Officer

Median of All Roles

$173,000

Junior Data Product Manager

Entry Level

$41,000

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.

Washington DC, DC has a cost-of-living index of 1.25x the national average. The highest-paying role is Chief Security Officer at $429,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $173,000. Washington DC's job market is shaped by the federal government, defense contractors, and a growing commercial tech sector.

About the Washington DC market

Washington DC's job market is shaped by the federal government, defense contractors, and a growing commercial tech sector. Cybersecurity, cloud computing, and consulting firms drive demand for cleared professionals. The region's stability, combined with high government pay scales, creates a salary floor that pulls private sector compensation upward.

Federal GovernmentDefense & CybersecurityConsultingTechnologyNonprofit & Policy

Top 50 salaries in Washington DC

#RoleMedianRange
1Chief Security Officer$429,000$334,000 – $558,000
2Senior VP of Product$425,000$332,000 – $552,000
3SVP of Product$413,000$351,000 – $537,000
4Senior VP of Security$404,000$343,000 – $525,000
5SVP of Engineering$397,000$337,000 – $516,000
6Chief AI Officer$395,000$293,000 – $510,000
7VP of Engineering$394,000$335,000 – $512,000
8VP of Platform Engineering$394,000$335,000 – $512,000
9VP of Information Security$394,000$335,000 – $512,000
10SVP of Technology$393,000$333,000 – $510,000
11Senior VP of Design$391,000$306,000 – $509,000
12Chief Strategy Officer$391,000$306,000 – $509,000
13VP of Developer Experience$390,000$332,000 – $507,000
14SVP of AI Innovation$389,000$330,000 – $505,000
15SVP of Data$389,000$330,000 – $505,000
16VP of Machine Learning$386,000$329,000 – $502,000
17VP of Site Reliability Engineering$386,000$329,000 – $502,000
18VP of Cybersecurity$386,000$329,000 – $502,000
19SVP of Finance$385,000$328,000 – $500,000
20VP of AI$383,000$326,000 – $497,000
21Senior Head of Security$380,000$323,000 – $494,000
22CTO$379,000$295,000 – $492,000
23VP of Mobile$379,000$323,000 – $493,000
24VP of Partner Engineering$379,000$323,000 – $493,000
25VP of Field Engineering$379,000$323,000 – $493,000
26VP of Support Engineering$379,000$323,000 – $493,000
27VP of Technical Support$379,000$323,000 – $493,000
28VP of Security Engineering$379,000$323,000 – $493,000
29SVP of Sales$379,000$295,000 – $492,000
30VP of Quality$379,000$323,000 – $493,000
31Chief Risk Officer$377,000$294,000 – $490,000
32VP of Data Science$375,000$319,000 – $488,000
33Chief Machine Learning Officer$375,000$293,000 – $488,000
34Senior Head of Product$375,000$293,000 – $488,000
35VP of IT$375,000$319,000 – $488,000
36VP of Privacy$375,000$319,000 – $488,000
37VP of Risk$375,000$319,000 – $488,000
38Chief Architect$375,000$319,000 – $488,000
39VP of Application Engineering$375,000$319,000 – $488,000
40Chief Science Officer$372,000$290,000 – $484,000
41VP of AI Engineering$371,000$316,000 – $483,000
42VP of Analytics$371,000$316,000 – $483,000
43VP of Information Technology$371,000$316,000 – $483,000
44VP of Reliability Engineering$371,000$316,000 – $483,000
45SVP of Design$371,000$289,000 – $482,000
46SVP of Strategy$368,000$287,000 – $478,000
47VP of AI Product$367,000$313,000 – $478,000
48VP of Security$367,000$313,000 – $478,000
49Chief Digital Officer$367,000$286,000 – $478,000
50VP of Data$367,000$313,000 – $478,000

Tax considerations

DC income tax rates reach 10.75% for high earners. Maryland and Virginia residents working in DC face their own state taxes. Choose your residence jurisdiction carefully to optimize net pay.

Negotiating in Washington DC

A security clearance is your strongest negotiation asset. Cleared professionals in DC command 20 to 30% premiums, and transferring your clearance to a new employer saves them significant time and cost.

Other cities

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