Executive & Leadership is the highest-paying industry in 2026 at $256,145 average median, paying -1% more than the cross-industry average of $137,141.
Industry Salary Rankings (15 Sectors, 2026)
Published data held: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings (a filed minimum visa base wage, not market pay). Cost-of-living adjusted via BEA Regional Price Parities.
#
Industry
Roles
Top Role
Avg Median
vs Q2 2026
Range
1
Executive & Leadership
325
Chief Security Officer
$256,145
+12.4% (+$28,167)
$115,000 - $330,000
2
Product Management
12
Chief Product Officer
$185,167
-1.7% ($-3,250)
$101,000 - $270,000
3
Legal
24
AI Compliance Director
$140,792
-5.1% ($-7,625)
$61,000 - $229,000
4
Cybersecurity
19
Cybersecurity Director
$136,632
-14.0% ($-22,210)
$38,000 - $267,000
5
Artificial Intelligence
448
Chief AI Officer
$135,371
-16.6% ($-26,892)
$40,000 - $310,000
6
Data & Analytics
26
Data Engineering Director
$135,115
-6.4% ($-9,308)
$101,000 - $267,000
7
Software Engineering
25
Site Reliability Manager
$135,080
-3.7% ($-5,200)
$45,000 - $171,000
8
Fintech & Financial Services
38
CFO
$133,921
-9.8% ($-14,579)
$82,000 - $260,000
9
Cloud & Infrastructure
41
AI Infrastructure Director
$130,293
-15.2% ($-23,341)
$60,000 - $267,000
10
Human Resources
10
Chief Human Resources Officer
$128,900
+0.2% (+$200)
$66,000 - $245,000
11
Consulting & Strategy
13
AI Strategist
$120,077
-22.5% ($-34,769)
$77,000 - $185,000
12
Design & Creative
38
AI Creative Director
$109,842
-8.4% ($-10,105)
$38,000 - $185,000
13
Healthcare
43
Healthcare AI Researcher
$107,093
-2.6% ($-2,884)
$35,000 - $210,000
14
Sales
9
AI Business Development Manager
$106,444
-4.5% ($-5,000)
$43,000 - $196,000
15
Marketing
16
AI Growth Manager
$96,250
-8.6% ($-9,063)
$62,000 - $158,000
Methodology
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.
The AI Salary Premium: AI vs Every Industry (2026)
Published data held: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and Department of Labor H-1B Labor Condition Application filings (a filed minimum visa base wage, not market pay). Cost-of-living adjusted via BEA Regional Price Parities.
#
Industry
Avg Median
vs AI Industry
1
Executive & Leadership
$256,145
+89%
2
Product Management
$185,167
+37%
3
Legal
$140,792
+4%
4
Cybersecurity
$136,632
+1%
5
Data & Analytics
$135,115
0%
6
Software Engineering
$135,080
0%
7
Fintech & Financial Services
$133,921
-1%
8
Cloud & Infrastructure
$130,293
-4%
9
Human Resources
$128,900
-5%
10
Consulting & Strategy
$120,077
-11%
11
Design & Creative
$109,842
-19%
12
Healthcare
$107,093
-21%
13
Sales
$106,444
-21%
14
Marketing
$96,250
-29%
Methodology
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.
Executive & Leadership is the highest-paying industry in 2026, with an average median salary of $256,145. The top-paying role in this sector is Chief Security Officer at $330,000. Product Management ranks second at $185,167.
AI roles pay an average median of $135,371, compared to $135,080 for software engineering. That is a 0% premium for AI specialization. The gap is widest in research and safety roles.
Artificial Intelligence has seen the fastest salary growth, driven by intense competition for ML engineers, AI safety researchers, and LLM specialists. The demand for AI talent continues to outstrip supply across all major metro areas, pushing compensation higher each year.
Healthcare salaries average $107,093, which is 26% below the AI industry average of $135,371. However, specialized healthcare AI roles like AI Healthcare Engineer bridge this gap significantly.
For the highest starting salary, target Artificial Intelligence or Executive and Leadership roles. AI entry-level positions like junior ML Engineer or AI Product Manager start significantly above the national average. Cloud and Infrastructure roles also offer strong entry-level compensation due to high demand for DevOps and platform engineers.
The AI salary premium is -1% above the all-industry average. AI roles average $135,371 compared to the cross-industry average of $137,141. This gap of $-1,770 represents the largest premium of any industry sector tracked in 2026.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
AI and Tech Salary Data by Industry (2024). Orbyt. Retrieved May 2024, from https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/industries