Optical Character Recognition Engineer Salary.
Across 81 U.S. cities.
$133,000
estimated national base salary
$103,000 to $169,000. Last updated September 2026.
Orbyt prices 394 titles at this same figure, including Software Engineer, Frontend Developer, and Backend Developer. 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 Optical Character Recognition 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
$176,000
San Jose, CA
Best Purchasing Power
$139,000
Reno, NV
Lowest Paying
$101,000
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 Optical Character Recognition Engineer salary in the United States at $133,000 in 2026, within a range of $103,000 to $169,000. 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 394 titles at the same estimate. San Jose is the highest of the 81 cities at $176,000, while Reno offers the best purchasing power after cost-of-living adjustments. Expertise in document understanding, layout analysis, and handwriting recognition drives compensation.
Optical Character Recognition Engineer salary by city.
Skills that increase Optical Character Recognition Engineer pay.
The premiums below are Orbyt's modelled scenarios for Optical Character Recognition 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
≈ +$14,630 per year
≈ +$13,300 per year
≈ +$13,300 per year
≈ +$11,970 per year
What you should know.
Expertise in document understanding, layout analysis, and handwriting recognition drives compensation. Engineers who can build end to end document processing pipelines handling diverse formats and languages are valued. Experience with table extraction, form parsing, and integration with downstream NLP systems for information extraction adds significant salary premiums.
Junior OCR engineers start at $90,000 to $120,000. Mid level engineers with production document pipelines earn $135,000 to $175,000. Senior engineers reach $180,000 to $225,000. Lead engineers at document AI companies can exceed $280,000 in total compensation with equity.
Performance bonuses of 10 to 20% are standard at document intelligence companies. Equity adds 15 to 25% of total compensation at startups. Signing bonuses of $10,000 to $35,000 are typical. Benefits often include professional development budgets and patent filing bonuses.
Total compensation breakdown.
Salary by company size
Remote salary adjustment
Remote Optical Character Recognition Engineers typically earn $120,000 (10% 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.
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Common questions about Optical Character Recognition Engineer pay.
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