How Much Do AI Engineer Jobs Pay in Chicago? (November 2026)
As of November 2026, the median AI Engineer salary in Chicago is $166,425 a year. Most roles pay between $132,634 and $233,090 (the 10th–90th percentile), drawn from 40 live salaried listings across 20 companies. All figures are converted to annual US dollars so different sources compare like-for-like.
How pay has moved
Median base salary by month, from our monthly salary snapshots.
Highest-paying employers
- Tax Innovation - AI Engineer - DirectorAI Engineering Lead- Director- Commercial Technology & InnovationTax Innovation - AI Engineer - Senior ManagerAI Engineer / Data Scientist, AI Sr. ManagerCTIO - AI Engineer- Senior ManagerAll Pwc roles →
- All Hartford Financial Services Group roles →
- Full Stack Engineer 4- People Tech- GenAI & Agentic Systems (LangChain, LangGraph)Manager, Product Management - AI/MLAll Capital One roles →
- All Vizient roles →
- All Heinz roles →
Employers ranked by median advertised base among those with at least two salaried listings in Chicago; each one’s best-paying open roles are listed beneath it.
Methodology: AI Engineer listings in Chicago with a published salary, updated daily. Figures come from roles that are open right now. Ranges and single figures are converted to an annual US-dollar midpoint; hourly rates are annualised and out-of-band values dropped. Salary data is self-reported by employers and covers the roles that disclose pay — treat it as a directional guide, not a guarantee.