CTO.
Raleigh.
$291,000
median salary, 3% below the national average
$227,000 to $378,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median CTO salary in Raleigh is $291,000, 3% below the national average. Entry level starts near $227,000. Experienced professionals push past $378,000. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. 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 CTO in Raleigh, 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 $286,050 for Chief Executives (SOC 11-1011) in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metropolitan area, based on 360 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$114,160
25th percentile
$171,810
Median
$286,050
75th percentile
$417,820
90th percentile
$664,790
Workers surveyed
360
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Chief Executives (SOC 11-1011) rather than CTO specifically. The Raleigh 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 11-1011Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $262,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$189,000
to $233,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$247,000
to $306,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$320,000
to $378,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$364,000
to $451,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $78,000 to the total package.
Base
$291,000
Equity
$44,000
Bonus
$28,000
Signing
$6,000
Estimated total: $369,000
How Raleigh compares.
Raleigh, NC
$291,000
Cost of living: 1% below average
National Average
$300,000
Raleigh is $9,000 below
CTO salary by city.
Salary by role in Raleigh.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate a CTO offer in Raleigh, understand the terrain. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. Cisco, Red Hat, Epic Games, and numerous biotech firms drive strong demand for engineering, research, and product roles. The combination of top tier universities and moderate living costs creates an exceptionally favorable salary to expense ratio. Years of experience, technology specialization, and system scale are the primary differentiators. CTOs who have built and maintained systems at scale, handled complex distributed systems challenges, or contributed to widely used open source projects command higher compensation. Company stage and funding level create additional variance.
Entry-level CTOs start near $234,000. Mid-career professionals with three to five years of experience reach $300,000 to $390,000. Senior-level roles command $384,000 to $465,000. Management transitions to director-level positions offer $495,000 and above. In Raleigh, 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 top-tier companies adds 30% to 60% above base salary. Annual bonuses of 15% to 25% are standard. Signing bonuses of $25,000 to $75,000 are common when changing roles. Refresher equity grants vest annually. Relocation packages and executive benefits like financial planning are typical. And on the tax side: north Carolina's flat 4.5% income tax keeps the burden low. Raleigh has no city income tax, and the Triangle's affordable housing amplifies your take home purchasing power. When someone quotes you $291,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Cite Research Triangle talent competition in your negotiation. Employers here compete directly with each other and with remote offers, creating favorable leverage for candidates. The range for CTOs in Raleigh runs from $227,000 to $378,000. 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 General Counsel in Raleigh earns $283,000 (3% less)
- The highest-paying role in Raleigh is General Counsel at $283,000
Common questions.
CTO salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Raleigh.
Related salary pages
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"CTO Salary in Raleigh, NC." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/cto/raleigh
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