ML Engineer.
Denver.
$142,000
median salary, 7% above the national average
$106,000 to $186,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
An ML Engineer in Denver earns a median of $142,000 in 2026. That is 7% above the national average. The range runs from $106,000 to $186,000, and where you land depends on your experience, your skills, and how well you negotiate. Model training expertise at scale, infrastructure optimization skills, and publication record in top venues are the strongest differentiators. 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 ML Engineer in Denver, 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 $137,610 for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area, based on 27,010 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$99,700
25th percentile
$123,640
Median
$137,610
75th percentile
$171,350
90th percentile
$209,300
Workers surveyed
27,010
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) rather than ML Engineer specifically. The Denver 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 15-1252Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $128,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$92,000
to $114,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$121,000
to $149,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$156,000
to $185,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$178,000
to $220,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $62,000 to the total package.
Base
$142,000
Equity
$37,000
Bonus
$16,000
Signing
$9,000
Estimated total: $204,000
ML 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 Denver compares.
Denver, CO
$142,000
Cost of living: 8% above average
National Average
$133,000
Denver is $9,000 above
ML Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Denver.
What you should know.
The ML Engineer landscape in Denver is not what most salary sites will tell you. Denver has emerged as a secondary tech hub with strong aerospace, telecom, and outdoor industry employers. The city attracts remote workers and relocating companies seeking lower costs than the coasts. Salaries have climbed steadily as national employers open satellite offices and compete for Denver's growing talent pool. Model training expertise at scale, infrastructure optimization skills, and publication record in top venues are the strongest differentiators. ML engineers who can reduce training costs by 50% or improve model latency by an order of magnitude are exceptionally valuable. Specialization in transformer architectures, reinforcement learning, or generative models commands the highest premiums.
Entry level ML engineers (with MS/PhD) start at $130,000 to $165,000, reaching mid level at $170,000 to $220,000 in two to three years. Senior ML engineers earn $220,000 to $300,000. Staff and principal level engineers at leading AI labs can exceed $500,000 in total compensation. In Denver, 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 AI labs and top tech companies often doubles total compensation, with RSU grants of $50,000 to $200,000+ annually at senior levels. Bonuses of 15 to 25% are standard. Signing bonuses of $40,000 to $100,000 are common. Compute budgets for personal research projects are a growing perk. And on the tax side: colorado has a flat 4.4% state income tax. Denver has no additional city income tax, making the overall tax burden lighter than most coastal metros. When someone quotes you $142,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Position yourself as a remote talent anchor. Many companies pay near coastal rates for Denver based employees to save on office costs while retaining top performers. The range for ML Engineers in Denver runs from $106,000 to $186,000. 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 Engineer in Denver earns $141,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Denver is CTO at $311,000
- See all ai engineering roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
ML Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Denver.
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Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"ML Engineer Salary in Denver, CO." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/ml-engineer/denver
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