Housing
Housing dominates Chicago's monthly budget at $2,230, with a city center one-bedroom averaging $1,969. Basic utilities add $164 monthly, while internet runs $64 for high-speed service.
Machine Learning Engineer Salary in Chicago
Market ranges & how to evaluate your offer
$146k – $255k/yr
Most offers in Chicago fall between $213k–$405k depending on seniority, location, and role scope.
Last updated: March 2026Self-reported salaries + labor statisticsChicagoConfidence: High
10th
percentile$156.360
percentile$156.360
Median$188.000
90th
percentile$231.950
percentile$231.950
Local vs National
Chicago$188k
National Average$283k
Chicago pays 33.5% less than the national typical
Salary data is self-reported and varies by scope, company, and location. Use ranges, not single numbers.
Offer sanity-check
Compare your total comp for Machine Learning Engineer — pick seniority, enter an offer, and preview the layout. Percentiles use your selected seniority when market data is available.
Salary Range for Machine Learning Engineer
Seniority-level breakdown for this market.
Cost of Living in Chicago, IL
Cost of living breakdown for Chicago, IL market.
110avg = 100
Estimated monthly costs for this basket run about 110% of our comparable national baseline—plan for higher everyday spend than typical US markets.
Overall COL Index
HOUSING+59%
National avg (100)
FOOD-43%
National avg (100)
TRANSPORT-74%
National avg (100)
LIFESTYLE-51%
National avg (100)
Monthly cost breakdown
How the estimated monthly cost bundle splits across categories for a typical Machine Learning Engineer earner.
$2,693.81/ mo
HOUSING
$2,229.83 USD (82.8% of est. monthly costs)
FOOD
$237.34 USD (8.8% of est. monthly costs)
TRANSPORT
$90.00 USD (3.3% of est. monthly costs)
LIFESTYLE
$136.64 USD (5.1% of est. monthly costs)
+59%
Food & dining
Food costs total $237 monthly in Chicago, with restaurant meals averaging $20 and grocery staples like milk ($0.84/liter) and chicken ($10.47/kg) priced competitively for a major US metro. Dining and grocery expenses remain moderate relative to housing costs.
Transportation
Chicago's CTA monthly pass costs $90, providing comprehensive access to the city's extensive rail and bus network. The robust public transit system makes car-free living viable for most professionals working downtown or in transit-connected neighborhoods.
Lifestyle & leisure
Leisure spending totals $137 monthly, with gym memberships at $60 and movie tickets at $15. Coffee culture runs about $5 per cappuccino, creating reasonable discretionary costs compared to the city's housing expenses.
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Top-Paying Cities for Machine Learning Engineer
Location-specific ranges with optional cost-of-living adjustment.
Top Employers in Chicago
Median compensation, hiring momentum, and pay mix for Machine Learning Engineers in this market.
Workday
-100% YoY Hiring$255k
CashStock
Mostly hires: P3
McDonald's
-100% YoY Hiring$197k
CashStock
Mostly hires: L4
Nvidia
Stable Hiring$188k
CashStock
Mostly hires: IC2
Amazon
+100% YoY Hiring$173k
CashStock
Mostly hires: SDE I
Expedia Group
-100% YoY Hiring$146k
CashStock
Mostly hires: K
Remote Pay Bands Explained
Machine Learning Engineer remote compensation varies significantly based on company pay philosophy and location adjustments. Tech giants like Google and Meta typically offer location-adjusted salaries, paying SF/NYC rates around $180-250K base while adjusting Austin or Denver roles to $150-200K base. However, many AI startups and remote-first companies like Hugging Face or Weights & Biases offer national pay bands, providing equal compensation regardless of location to attract top ML talent.
The hybrid work trend has created tiered compensation structures for Machine Learning Engineers, with many companies offering 90-100% of office pay for hybrid roles and 80-95% for fully remote positions. When negotiating, emphasize your ability to collaborate on distributed ML teams and experience with remote model development workflows. Companies value ML engineers who can effectively communicate complex technical concepts across time zones and manage distributed training experiments.
Moving from high-cost metros like San Francisco ($200K+ typical) to lower-cost areas while maintaining remote ML work can dramatically improve purchasing power. A $180K remote ML engineer salary in Austin or Raleigh provides equivalent lifestyle to $250K+ in the Bay Area, while cities like Denver or Nashville offer strong tech communities with 30-40% lower living costs than coastal hubs.
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Related Roles
How adjacent roles compare in pay and scope.
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High overlap in software-engineer roles
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$117k-$402k
High overlap in software-engineer roles
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DetailsNetworking Engineer
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High overlap in software-engineer roles
DetailsProduction Software Engineer
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DetailsHow to Negotiate Your Offer
Practical steps that move the number without damaging the relationship.
Start your ask above the median. You'll rarely be offered more than you ask, so anchor high and let the employer negotiate you down.
Stronger approach:
- Start your ask above the median
- You'll rarely be offered more than you ask, so anchor high and let the employer negotiate you down
Say 'market data puts this role at $X–$Y' — not 'I was hoping for more'. External benchmarks are harder to argue against than personal expectations.
Stronger approach:
- Say 'market data puts this role at $X–$Y' — not 'I was hoping for more'
- External benchmarks are harder to argue against than personal expectations
When base is stuck, negotiate equity vesting schedule, signing bonus, or accelerated refresh grants. Total comp has more levers than base alone.
Stronger approach:
- When base is stuck, negotiate equity vesting schedule, signing bonus, or accelerated refresh grants
- Total comp has more levers than base alone
Ask for 48 hours to review. This creates time to counter and signals that you take offers seriously — not that you are uncertain.
Stronger approach:
- Ask for 48 hours to review
- This creates time to counter and signals that you take offers seriously — not that you are uncertain
Negotiate Salary
Generate an aware negotiation email using Google market positioning data.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Machine Learning Engineer compensation.
Machine Learning Engineer salaries typically range from $120-160K for early career, $160-220K for mid-level, and $220-350K+ for senior roles at major tech companies. Total compensation including equity can reach $400-600K+ at top-tier firms.
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