Deep Learning Engineer.
Fargo.
$95,000
median salary, 16% below the national average
$66,000 to $136,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median Deep Learning Engineer salary in Fargo is $95,000, 16% below the national average. Entry level starts near $66,000. Experienced professionals push past $136,000. Fargo has a surprisingly strong technology sector, home to companies like Microsoft's campus and a growing startup ecosystem tied to North Dakota State University. 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 Deep Learning Engineer in Fargo, 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 $92,050 for Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051) in the Fargo, ND-MN metropolitan area, based on 100 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$66,280
25th percentile
$76,530
Median
$92,050
75th percentile
$116,860
90th percentile
$136,620
Workers surveyed
100
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051) rather than Deep Learning Engineer specifically. The Fargo 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 15-2051Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $85,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$62,000
to $76,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$81,000
to $100,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$105,000
to $124,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$119,000
to $147,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $48,000 to the total package.
Base
$95,000
Equity
$29,000
Bonus
$13,000
Signing
$6,000
Estimated total: $143,000
Deep Learning Engineer 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 Fargo compares.
Fargo, ND
$95,000
Cost of living: 15% below average
National Average
$113,000
Fargo is $18,000 below
Deep Learning Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Fargo.
What you should know.
If you are interviewing for Deep Learning Engineer roles in Fargo, here is what you are walking into. Fargo has a surprisingly strong technology sector, home to companies like Microsoft's campus and a growing startup ecosystem tied to North Dakota State University. The city's extremely low cost of living and emerging tech scene make it an increasingly attractive option for professionals seeking affordability. Pay hinges on expertise with transformer architectures, large-scale training pipelines, and GPU optimization. Engineers who have shipped production models at scale earn top-band salaries. Publications at NeurIPS or ICML and familiarity with distributed training frameworks like DeepSpeed further boost compensation.
Junior deep learning roles start at $120,000 to $145,000. Mid-level engineers earn $155,000 to $200,000. Senior and staff-level positions reach $220,000 to $300,000 base, with principal engineers at top labs exceeding $400,000 in total compensation. In Fargo, your dollars stretch further. Cost of living runs 15% below the national average, which means even a median salary buys a stronger lifestyle.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity is a major component at AI-focused companies, often representing 30 to 50% of total compensation. Annual bonuses range from 10 to 20% of base, with signing bonuses of $30,000 to $75,000 common for experienced hires. And on the tax side: north Dakota has a very low income tax with a top rate of just 2.5%. Fargo has no city income tax. The minimal tax burden combined with low living costs creates excellent take home pay. When someone quotes you $95,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Highlight willingness to work on site. Fargo tech employers struggle to recruit talent to the region and reward candidates who commit to living locally. The range for Deep Learning Engineers in Fargo runs from $66,000 to $136,000. 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 AI Data Scientist in Fargo earns $93,000 (2% less)
- The highest-paying role in Fargo is CTO at $258,000
- See all ai engineering roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Deep Learning Engineer Salary in Fargo, ND." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/deep-learning-engineer/fargo
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