Machine Learning Researcher.
Wilmington.
$140,000
median salary, 1% below the national average
$96,000 to $185,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
The median Machine Learning Researcher salary in Wilmington is $140,000, 1% below the national average. Entry level starts near $96,000. Experienced professionals push past $185,000. Wilmington is a corporate law and financial services hub, home to most U. 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 Machine Learning Researcher in Wilmington, 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 $125,320 for Computer and Information Research Scientists (SOC 15-1221) in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area, based on 350 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$79,160
25th percentile
$101,040
Median
$125,320
75th percentile
$142,130
90th percentile
$175,420
Workers surveyed
350
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Computer and Information Research Scientists (SOC 15-1221) rather than Machine Learning Researcher specifically. The Wilmington range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such. Wilmington is reported by BLS within the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area.
View the BLS source for SOC 15-1221Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $126,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$91,000
to $112,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$119,000
to $147,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$154,000
to $182,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$175,000
to $217,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $58,000 to the total package.
Base
$140,000
Equity
$35,000
Bonus
$15,000
Signing
$8,000
Estimated total: $198,000
How Wilmington compares.
Wilmington, DE
$140,000
Cost of living: 2% above average
National Average
$141,000
Wilmington is $1,000 below
Machine Learning Researcher salary by city.
Salary by role in Wilmington.
What you should know.
If you are interviewing for Machine Learning Researcher roles in Wilmington, here is what you are walking into. Wilmington is a corporate law and financial services hub, home to most U.S. credit card companies thanks to Delaware's favorable incorporation laws. The city's compact size belies its outsized role in banking, legal services, and corporate governance. Chemical and pharmaceutical companies also maintain a strong presence. Publication record in top-tier venues like NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR is the strongest salary differentiator. Researchers with first-author papers at these conferences command 15 to 25% premiums. Industry labs at major tech firms pay significantly more than academic positions or smaller startups.
Research interns start at $45,000 to $65,000 for summer positions. Junior researchers earn $140,000 to $170,000, while senior researchers reach $200,000 to $280,000. Principal researchers and research directors at major labs can exceed $400,000 in base salary alone. In Wilmington, 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. Total compensation at top labs often doubles base salary through equity grants and annual bonuses of 20 to 40%. Many positions include conference travel budgets, compute credits, and sabbatical programs for independent research. And on the tax side: delaware has a top income tax rate of 6.6% but no state sales tax. Wilmington has a city wage tax of 1.25%. The no sales tax benefit partially offsets the income tax burden. When someone quotes you $140,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Leverage Delaware's corporate density. Banks and legal firms here pay competitively to retain talent that might otherwise commute to Philadelphia or New York. The range for Machine Learning Researchers in Wilmington runs from $96,000 to $185,000. 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
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Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Machine Learning Researcher Salary in Wilmington, DE." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/machine-learning-researcher/wilmington
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