ML Engineer Salary.
Across 81 U.S. cities.
$133,000
estimated national base salary
$99,000 to $174,000. Last updated September 2026.
Orbyt prices 294 titles at this same figure, including Machine Learning Engineer, AI Engineer, and ML Engineer. Orbyt does not hold title-level wage data that would separate them.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $135,980 for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) across the United States, based on 1,687,890 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$82,460
25th percentile
$105,210
Median
$135,980
75th percentile
$171,980
90th percentile
$214,670
Workers surveyed
1,687,890
What BLS published in each release
May 2024 release
$133,080
May 2025 release
$135,980
These are two separate published estimates, not a time series. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not encourage the use of OEWS data for time-series analysis. Differences between releases reflect changes in occupational classification, survey methodology, and the three-year pooled sample as well as any change in pay, so the two figures should not be read as a rate of wage growth.
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 national 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 15-1252Highest Paying
$183,000
San Francisco, CA
Best Purchasing Power
$139,000
Manchester, NH
Lowest Paying
$104,000
Jackson, MS
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 September 2026. This role maps to BLS occupation code 15-1252. Full methodology.
Orbyt estimates the average ML Engineer salary in the United States at $133,000 in 2026, within a range of $99,000 to $174,000. 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. This figure is not specific to this title: Orbyt prices 294 titles at the same estimate. San Francisco is the highest of the 81 cities at $183,000, while Manchester offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Model training expertise at scale, infrastructure optimization skills, and publication record in top venues are the strongest differentiators.
ML Engineer salary by city.
Skills that increase ML Engineer pay.
The premiums below are Orbyt's modelled scenarios for ML Engineers, not effects measured from job postings: each is a fixed percentage applied to the estimated base. At the top premium that works out to $18,620 a year.
≈ +$18,620 per year
≈ +$17,290 per year
≈ +$15,960 per year
≈ +$14,630 per year
≈ +$13,300 per year
≈ +$13,300 per year
≈ +$13,300 per year
≈ +$11,970 per year
What you should know.
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.
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.
Total compensation breakdown.
Salary by company size
Remote salary adjustment
Remote ML Engineers typically earn $124,000 (7% less than on-site). This reflects location-adjusted pay policies at companies using geographic salary bands. Some companies pay flat national rates regardless of location.
Are you an ML Engineer?
Share your real compensation anonymously. Help build the most accurate salary dataset for this role. Your data is never individually exposed.
Common questions about ML Engineer pay.
Related tools