Salaries

Executive & Leadership Salaries.

325 roles. 81 cities.

National salary data. Last updated April 2026.

325 roles trackedSan FranciscoNew YorkSeattleBoston
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Highest Paying

$330,000

Chief Security Officer

Industry Median

$267,000

Head of Engineering

Entry Level

$115,000

Founder / Entrepreneur

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.

The executive & leadership industry includes 325 tracked roles with national median salaries ranging from $115,000 to $330,000. The highest-paying role is Chief Security Officer at $330,000 national median. Executive and leadership roles carry the highest base salaries and total compensation packages in most organizations.

About executive & leadership salaries

Executive and leadership roles carry the highest base salaries and total compensation packages in most organizations. These positions require proven track records of strategic decision-making, team building, and revenue generation. The emergence of AI-focused C-suite roles like Chief AI Officer reflects the growing strategic importance of technology leadership.

All executive & leadership roles by salary

#RoleMedianRange
1Chief Security Officer$330,000$257,000 to $429,000
2SVP of AI Innovation$324,000$275,000 to $421,000
3SVP of Engineering$324,000$275,000 to $421,000
4SVP of Product$324,000$275,000 to $421,000
5SVP of Data$324,000$275,000 to $421,000
6SVP of Technology$324,000$275,000 to $421,000
7SVP of Finance$321,000$273,000 to $417,000
8Chief AI Officer$310,000$230,000 to $400,000
9Chief Strategy Officer$310,000$242,000 to $403,000
10Chief Science Officer$310,000$242,000 to $403,000
11VP of Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
12VP of AI Product$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
13VP of AI Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
14VP of AI$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
15VP of Machine Learning$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
16VP of Data Science$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
17VP of AI Research$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
18VP of IT$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
19VP of Data Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
20VP of Platform Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
21VP of Cloud$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
22VP of Infrastructure$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
23VP of Mobile$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
24VP of Analytics$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
25VP of Developer Experience$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
26VP of Privacy$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
27VP of Security$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
28VP of Information Security$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
29VP of Data$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
30VP of Partner Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
31VP of Information Technology$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
32VP of Solutions Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
33VP of Field Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
34VP of Support Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
35VP of Technical Support$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
36VP of Security Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
37VP of Network Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
38VP of Database Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
39VP of Reliability Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
40VP of Application Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
41VP of Core Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
42VP of Quality$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
43VP of Site Reliability Engineering$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
44VP of Cybersecurity$303,000$258,000 to $394,000
45Chief Machine Learning Officer$300,000$234,000 to $390,000
46VP of Finance$300,000$255,000 to $390,000
47Chief Legal Officer$300,000$234,000 to $390,000
48VP of Risk$300,000$255,000 to $390,000
49Chief Architect$300,000$255,000 to $390,000
50SVP of Sales$300,000$234,000 to $390,000
51SVP of Strategy$300,000$234,000 to $390,000
52Chief Data & AI Officer$295,000$220,000 to $385,000
53Chief Design Officer$295,000$230,000 to $384,000
54Chief Commercial Officer$295,000$230,000 to $384,000
55Chief Technology Officer$290,000$215,000 to $380,000
56Chief Growth Officer$290,000$226,000 to $377,000
57Chief Transformation Officer$290,000$226,000 to $377,000
58Chief Risk Officer$290,000$226,000 to $377,000
59SVP of Marketing$290,000$226,000 to $377,000
60Chief Digital Officer$285,000$222,000 to $371,000
61SVP of People$285,000$242,000 to $371,000
62SVP of Design$285,000$222,000 to $371,000
63SVP of Business Development$285,000$222,000 to $371,000
64Chief Cloud Officer$285,000$222,000 to $371,000
65Chief Revenue Officer$280,000$210,000 to $370,000
66Chief Innovation Officer$280,000$218,000 to $364,000
67Chief Trust Officer$280,000$218,000 to $364,000
68SVP of Operations$280,000$218,000 to $364,000
69Chief Analytics Officer$280,000$218,000 to $364,000
70Chief Platform Officer$280,000$218,000 to $364,000
71Director of Finance$276,000$235,000 to $359,000
72Director of Risk$276,000$235,000 to $359,000
73Head of Risk$276,000$235,000 to $359,000
74Director of Payments$276,000$235,000 to $359,000
75Head of Finance$276,000$235,000 to $359,000
76Head of Payments$276,000$235,000 to $359,000
77CEO$275,000$200,000 to $380,000
78Chief Financial Officer$275,000$215,000 to $358,000
79Chief Experience Officer$275,000$215,000 to $358,000
80Chief Privacy Officer$275,000$215,000 to $358,000
81Head of AI$270,000$230,000 to $351,000
82Chief Product Officer$270,000$200,000 to $355,000
83Head of AI Research$270,000$230,000 to $351,000
84Chief Information Security Officer$270,000$211,000 to $351,000
85Chief Customer Officer$270,000$211,000 to $351,000
86SVP of Customer Success$270,000$211,000 to $351,000
87Chief Accounting Officer$270,000$211,000 to $351,000
88Director of Product$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
89Director of Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
90Director of Data Science$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
91Head of Applied AI$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
92Director of AI Strategy$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
93Head of AI Platform$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
94Director of Generative AI$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
95Director of AI$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
96Director of Machine Learning$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
97Director of AI Research$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
98Director of AI Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
99Director of AI Safety$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
100Director of AI Platform$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
101Director of NLP$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
102Director of Computer Vision$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
103Head of Machine Learning$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
104Head of Data Science$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
105Head of AI Safety$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
106Director of Technical Programs$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
107Director of IT$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
108Director of Platform Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
109Director of Cloud Infrastructure$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
110Director of Data Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
111Director of DevOps$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
112Director of Mobile Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
113Director of Frontend Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
114Director of Backend Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
115Director of Quality Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
116Director of Site Reliability$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
117Director of Application Security$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
118Director of Privacy Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
119Director of Developer Experience$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
120Director of Technical Operations$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
121Director of Analytics$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
122Head of Platform Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
123Head of Developer Experience$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
124Head of Analytics$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
125Head of Engineering (Startup)$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
126Director of Security$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
127Head of Security$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
128Director of Information Security$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
129Head of Information Security$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
130Director of Data$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
131Head of Data$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
132Director of Partner Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
133Head of Partner Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
134Director of Information Technology$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
135Head of Information Technology$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
136Director of Solutions Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
137Head of Solutions Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
138Director of Field Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
139Head of Field Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
140Director of Support Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
141Head of Support Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
142Director of Technical Support$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
143Head of Technical Support$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
144Head of Quality Assurance$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
145Director of Security Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
146Head of Security Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
147Director of Network Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
148Head of Network Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
149Director of Database Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
150Head of Database Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
151Director of Reliability Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
152Head of Reliability Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
153Director of Cybersecurity$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
154Head of Cybersecurity$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
155Director of Application Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
156Director of Systems Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
157Director of Test Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
158Director of Automation$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
159Director of Cloud Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
160Director of AI Governance$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
161Director of AI Operations$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
162Director of AI Product$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
163Head of Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
164Head of Product$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
165Head of Data Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
166Head of Cloud$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
167Head of Infrastructure$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
168Head of DevOps$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
169Head of Mobile$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
170Head of Frontend$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
171Head of Backend$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
172Head of QA$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
173Head of AI Engineering$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
174Head of AI Product$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
175Head of AI Operations$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
176Head of AI Governance$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
177Head of Generative AI$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
178Head of IT$267,000$227,000 to $347,000
179VP of HR$266,000$226,000 to $346,000
180VP of Diversity$266,000$226,000 to $346,000
181VP of People$266,000$226,000 to $346,000
182VP of Talent Acquisition$266,000$226,000 to $346,000
183VP of Talent$266,000$226,000 to $346,000
184Chief Ethics Officer$265,000$207,000 to $345,000
185Chief AI Ethics Officer$265,000$207,000 to $345,000
186CFO$260,000$195,000 to $345,000
187Chief Marketing Officer$260,000$195,000 to $340,000
188Chief Data Officer$260,000$195,000 to $340,000
189Chief Data Scientist$260,000$221,000 to $338,000
190VP of Strategy$260,000$221,000 to $338,000
191Chief Communications Officer$260,000$203,000 to $338,000
192Chief Procurement Officer$260,000$203,000 to $338,000
193Chief Information Technology Officer$260,000$203,000 to $338,000
194Chief Operating Officer$255,000$190,000 to $340,000
195VP of Legal$255,000$199,000 to $332,000
196Chief Diversity Officer$255,000$199,000 to $332,000
197VP of Research and Development$255,000$199,000 to $332,000
198Chief Audit Officer$255,000$199,000 to $332,000
199VP of Trust and Safety$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
200VP of Sustainability$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
201VP of Innovation$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
202VP of Transformation$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
203VP of Customer$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
204VP of Trust$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
205VP of Ethics$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
206VP of Compliance$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
207VP of Customer Success$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
208VP of Customer Experience$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
209VP of Corporate Strategy$251,000$213,000 to $326,000
210Director of HR$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
211Chief Sustainability Officer$250,000$195,000 to $325,000
212VP of Commercial$250,000$195,000 to $325,000
213Director of Diversity$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
214Head of Diversity$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
215VP of Revenue$250,000$195,000 to $325,000
216Director of People$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
217Head of People$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
218Director of Talent Acquisition$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
219Head of Talent Acquisition$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
220Director of Technical Recruiting$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
221Head of Technical Recruiting$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
222Director of Recruiting$250,000$213,000 to $325,000
223VP of Procurement$246,000$209,000 to $320,000
224Chief Human Resources Officer$245,000$185,000 to $318,000
225VP of Product$245,000$185,000 to $315,000
226VP of Design$245,000$191,000 to $319,000
227VP of Sales$240,000$180,000 to $320,000
228Chief People Officer$240,000$187,000 to $312,000
229VP of Growth$240,000$187,000 to $312,000
230VP of Digital$240,000$187,000 to $312,000
231VP of Research$240,000$187,000 to $312,000
232VP of Learning and Development$237,000$201,000 to $308,000
233VP of Product Design$235,000$175,000 to $305,000
234VP of Marketing$235,000$175,000 to $310,000
235Head of AI Partnerships$235,000$175,000 to $310,000
236Head of Strategy$235,000$200,000 to $306,000
237VP of Experience$235,000$183,000 to $306,000
238Head of Research and Development$235,000$183,000 to $306,000
239Chief Compliance Officer$230,000$179,000 to $299,000
240Head of Trust and Safety$230,000$196,000 to $299,000
241Head of Legal$230,000$179,000 to $299,000
242VP of Business Development$230,000$179,000 to $299,000
243Head of Corporate Strategy$230,000$196,000 to $299,000
244Director of Strategy$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
245Head of Experience$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
246Director of Sustainability$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
247Head of Sustainability$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
248Director of Innovation$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
249Head of Innovation$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
250Director of Transformation$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
251Head of Transformation$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
252Director of Customer$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
253Head of Customer$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
254Director of Privacy$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
255Head of Privacy$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
256Director of Trust$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
257Head of Trust$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
258Director of Ethics$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
259Head of Ethics$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
260Director of Compliance$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
261Head of Compliance$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
262Director of Customer Success$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
263Head of Customer Success$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
264Director of Customer Experience$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
265Head of Customer Experience$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
266Director of Corporate Strategy$229,000$195,000 to $298,000
267Head of Commercial$225,000$176,000 to $293,000
268Head of Revenue$225,000$176,000 to $293,000
269VP of Supply Chain$225,000$191,000 to $293,000
270VP of Operations$220,000$172,000 to $286,000
271Head of Growth$220,000$172,000 to $286,000
272Head of Design$220,000$172,000 to $286,000
273VP of Communications$220,000$172,000 to $286,000
274Head of Research$220,000$172,000 to $286,000
275VP of Professional Services$220,000$172,000 to $286,000
276Director of Learning and Development$219,000$186,000 to $285,000
277Head of Learning and Development$219,000$186,000 to $285,000
278Director of Procurement$216,000$184,000 to $281,000
279Head of Procurement$216,000$184,000 to $281,000
280Head of Digital$215,000$168,000 to $280,000
281Director of Research and Development$215,000$168,000 to $280,000
282Head of Sales$215,000$168,000 to $280,000
283Head of Partnerships$210,000$164,000 to $273,000
284Director of Legal$210,000$164,000 to $273,000
285Director of Commercial$210,000$164,000 to $273,000
286Head of Product Design$210,000$164,000 to $273,000
287Head of Business Development$210,000$164,000 to $273,000
288Head of Supply Chain$210,000$179,000 to $273,000
289VP of Brand$210,000$164,000 to $273,000
290Head of Marketing$210,000$164,000 to $273,000
291Director of Design$205,000$160,000 to $267,000
292Head of Communications$205,000$160,000 to $267,000
293Director of Revenue$205,000$160,000 to $267,000
294VP of Real Estate$205,000$160,000 to $267,000
295VP of Digital Marketing$205,000$160,000 to $267,000
296Head of Professional Services$205,000$160,000 to $267,000
297Director of Growth$200,000$156,000 to $260,000
298Director of Digital$200,000$156,000 to $260,000
299Director of Research$200,000$156,000 to $260,000
300VP of Content$200,000$156,000 to $260,000
301VP of Demand Generation$200,000$156,000 to $260,000
302Head of Operations$200,000$156,000 to $260,000
303Director of Product Design$195,000$150,000 to $250,000
304Director of Sales$195,000$152,000 to $254,000
305Director of Experience$195,000$152,000 to $254,000
306Director of Business Development$195,000$152,000 to $254,000
307Head of Real Estate$195,000$152,000 to $254,000
308Head of Brand$195,000$152,000 to $254,000
309Director of Communications$190,000$148,000 to $247,000
310Director of Supply Chain$190,000$162,000 to $247,000
311Head of Content$190,000$148,000 to $247,000
312Head of Demand Generation$190,000$148,000 to $247,000
313Head of Digital Marketing$190,000$148,000 to $247,000
314Director of Marketing$185,000$140,000 to $240,000
315Director of Professional Services$185,000$144,000 to $241,000
316Director of Brand$180,000$140,000 to $234,000
317Head of SEO$180,000$140,000 to $234,000
318Director of Operations$175,000$137,000 to $228,000
319Director of Real Estate$175,000$137,000 to $228,000
320Director of Content$175,000$137,000 to $228,000
321Director of Demand Generation$175,000$137,000 to $228,000
322Director of Digital Marketing$175,000$137,000 to $228,000
323Director of SEO$165,000$129,000 to $215,000
324Chief of Staff$165,000$129,000 to $215,000
325Founder / Entrepreneur$115,000$55,000 to $245,000

Top cities for executive & leadership

Cities ranked by average median salary across all 325 executive & leadership roles.

#CityAvg MedianCOL Index
1San Jose, CA$353,7751.38x
2San Francisco, CA$346,7021.35x
3Honolulu, HI$333,0431.30x
4New York, NY$327,2771.28x
5Washington DC, DC$319,6621.25x
6Seattle, WA$317,6091.24x
7Arlington, VA$312,1171.22x
8Boston, MA$311,8951.22x

Related industries

Artificial IntelligenceSoftware EngineeringCybersecurityFintech & Financial ServicesHealthcareData & AnalyticsProduct ManagementDesign & CreativeMarketingSalesCloud & InfrastructureLegalHuman ResourcesConsulting & Strategy

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