How much does a machine learning engineer make in 2026?

The median base salary in certified US wage filings for the title is $170,300, with the middle half between $140,000 and $204,142. In California the median is $185,752.

What do senior and staff machine learning engineers make?

Senior machine learning engineers have a median base salary of $186,500 across 548 filings, and staff machine learning engineers $199,767 across 172.

For engineers and founders

Machine learning engineer salary in 2026

What 1,695 US wage filings show about machine learning engineer pay by state, seniority and employer

Zelcast · October 2026

Machine learning engineers in the US earn a median base salary of $170,300, based on 1,695 certified H-1B wage filings from fiscal 2024 and 2025, with the middle half between $140,000 and $204,142. California, with more than half the filings, has a median of $185,752. Senior machine learning engineers have a median of $186,500 and staff machine learning engineers $199,767.

We used the Labor Condition Applications employers file with the Department of Labor for H-1B hires, which record the job title, the worksite and the base wage the company commits to. The figures below cover every certified, full-time filing from fiscal 2024 and 2025 with the exact title Machine Learning Engineer, along with its senior and staff versions.

By state

California. Median $185,752, middle half $156,672 to $219,600, across 971 filings.
Washington. Median $182,312, across 197 filings.
New York. Median $151,819, across 164 filings.
Massachusetts. Median $141,856, across 57 filings.
Texas. Median $112,100, across 100 filings.

By seniority

Machine learning engineer. Median $170,300, across 1,695 filings.
Senior machine learning engineer. Median $186,500, across 548 filings.
Staff machine learning engineer. Median $199,767, across 172 filings.

Who files them

Apple filed the most, 307, with a median of $190,486, followed by Adobe with 189 at $190,000. ByteDance had the highest median among large filers, $233,900 across 72 filings, followed by Netflix at $226,158 across 22 and Meta at $214,000 across 52. Filings for the title grew from 733 in fiscal 2024 to 962 in fiscal 2025.

How it compares

The machine learning engineer median of $170,300 is about $33,000 above the $137,000 median for the plain title Software Engineer in the same filings, and about $50,000 above the $120,000 median for AI engineer titles, a newer label that several consulting firms file in volume. What is an AI engineer covers the difference between the two roles. These are base salaries only, and at the large companies here stock is often a large part of the total.

Common questions

How much does a machine learning engineer make in 2026?: The median base salary in certified US wage filings for the title is $170,300, with the middle half between $140,000 and $204,142. In California the median is $185,752.
Do machine learning engineers make more than software engineers?: In the same filings, the machine learning engineer median of $170,300 is about $33,000 above the $137,000 median for software engineers.
What do senior and staff machine learning engineers make?: Senior machine learning engineers have a median base salary of $186,500 across 548 filings, and staff machine learning engineers $199,767 across 172.