Salaries in Washington DC.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 1.25x national average. Last updated August 2026.

3,445 roles tracked

Get your playbook.

Highest Paying

$429,000

Chief Security Officer

Median of All Roles

$173,000

Junior Data Product Manager

Entry Level

$41,000

Hotel Clerk / Front Desk

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 August 2026.

Washington DC, DC has a cost-of-living index of 1.25x the national average. The highest-paying role is Chief Security Officer at $429,000, while the median across all 3,445 roles is $173,000. Washington DC's job market is shaped by the federal government, defense contractors, and a growing commercial tech sector.

About the Washington DC market

Washington DC's job market is shaped by the federal government, defense contractors, and a growing commercial tech sector. Cybersecurity, cloud computing, and consulting firms drive demand for cleared professionals. The region's stability, combined with high government pay scales, creates a salary floor that pulls private sector compensation upward.

Federal GovernmentDefense & CybersecurityConsultingTechnologyNonprofit & Policy

Top 50 salaries in Washington DC

#	Role	Median	Range
1	Chief Security Officer	$429,000	$334,000 – $558,000
2	Senior VP of Product	$425,000	$332,000 – $552,000
3	SVP of Product	$413,000	$351,000 – $537,000
4	Senior VP of Security	$404,000	$343,000 – $525,000
5	SVP of Engineering	$397,000	$337,000 – $516,000
6	Chief AI Officer	$395,000	$293,000 – $510,000
7	VP of Engineering	$394,000	$335,000 – $512,000
8	VP of Platform Engineering	$394,000	$335,000 – $512,000
9	VP of Information Security	$394,000	$335,000 – $512,000
10	SVP of Technology	$393,000	$333,000 – $510,000
11	Senior VP of Design	$391,000	$306,000 – $509,000
12	Chief Strategy Officer	$391,000	$306,000 – $509,000
13	VP of Developer Experience	$390,000	$332,000 – $507,000
14	SVP of AI Innovation	$389,000	$330,000 – $505,000
15	SVP of Data	$389,000	$330,000 – $505,000
16	VP of Machine Learning	$386,000	$329,000 – $502,000
17	VP of Site Reliability Engineering	$386,000	$329,000 – $502,000
18	VP of Cybersecurity	$386,000	$329,000 – $502,000
19	SVP of Finance	$385,000	$328,000 – $500,000
20	VP of AI	$383,000	$326,000 – $497,000
21	Senior Head of Security	$380,000	$323,000 – $494,000
22	CTO	$379,000	$295,000 – $492,000
23	VP of Mobile	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
24	VP of Partner Engineering	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
25	VP of Field Engineering	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
26	VP of Support Engineering	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
27	VP of Technical Support	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
28	VP of Security Engineering	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
29	SVP of Sales	$379,000	$295,000 – $492,000
30	VP of Quality	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
31	Chief Risk Officer	$377,000	$294,000 – $490,000
32	VP of Data Science	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
33	Chief Machine Learning Officer	$375,000	$293,000 – $488,000
34	Senior Head of Product	$375,000	$293,000 – $488,000
35	VP of IT	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
36	VP of Privacy	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
37	VP of Risk	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
38	Chief Architect	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
39	VP of Application Engineering	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
40	Chief Science Officer	$372,000	$290,000 – $484,000
41	VP of AI Engineering	$371,000	$316,000 – $483,000
42	VP of Analytics	$371,000	$316,000 – $483,000
43	VP of Information Technology	$371,000	$316,000 – $483,000
44	VP of Reliability Engineering	$371,000	$316,000 – $483,000
45	SVP of Design	$371,000	$289,000 – $482,000
46	SVP of Strategy	$368,000	$287,000 – $478,000
47	VP of AI Product	$367,000	$313,000 – $478,000
48	VP of Security	$367,000	$313,000 – $478,000
49	Chief Digital Officer	$367,000	$286,000 – $478,000
50	VP of Data	$367,000	$313,000 – $478,000

Tax considerations

DC income tax rates reach 10.75% for high earners. Maryland and Virginia residents working in DC face their own state taxes. Choose your residence jurisdiction carefully to optimize net pay.

Negotiating in Washington DC

A security clearance is your strongest negotiation asset. Cleared professionals in DC command 20 to 30% premiums, and transferring your clearance to a new employer saves them significant time and cost.

Other cities

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Salaries

Salaries in Washington DC.

3,445 roles. One city.

Cost-of-living index: 1.25x national average. Last updated August 2026.

3,445 roles tracked

Get your playbook.

Highest Paying

$429,000

Chief Security Officer

Median of All Roles

$173,000

Junior Data Product Manager

Entry Level

$41,000

Hotel Clerk / Front Desk

About the Washington DC market

Federal GovernmentDefense & CybersecurityConsultingTechnologyNonprofit & Policy

Top 50 salaries in Washington DC

#	Role	Median	Range
1	Chief Security Officer	$429,000	$334,000 – $558,000
2	Senior VP of Product	$425,000	$332,000 – $552,000
3	SVP of Product	$413,000	$351,000 – $537,000
4	Senior VP of Security	$404,000	$343,000 – $525,000
5	SVP of Engineering	$397,000	$337,000 – $516,000
6	Chief AI Officer	$395,000	$293,000 – $510,000
7	VP of Engineering	$394,000	$335,000 – $512,000
8	VP of Platform Engineering	$394,000	$335,000 – $512,000
9	VP of Information Security	$394,000	$335,000 – $512,000
10	SVP of Technology	$393,000	$333,000 – $510,000
11	Senior VP of Design	$391,000	$306,000 – $509,000
12	Chief Strategy Officer	$391,000	$306,000 – $509,000
13	VP of Developer Experience	$390,000	$332,000 – $507,000
14	SVP of AI Innovation	$389,000	$330,000 – $505,000
15	SVP of Data	$389,000	$330,000 – $505,000
16	VP of Machine Learning	$386,000	$329,000 – $502,000
17	VP of Site Reliability Engineering	$386,000	$329,000 – $502,000
18	VP of Cybersecurity	$386,000	$329,000 – $502,000
19	SVP of Finance	$385,000	$328,000 – $500,000
20	VP of AI	$383,000	$326,000 – $497,000
21	Senior Head of Security	$380,000	$323,000 – $494,000
22	CTO	$379,000	$295,000 – $492,000
23	VP of Mobile	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
24	VP of Partner Engineering	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
25	VP of Field Engineering	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
26	VP of Support Engineering	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
27	VP of Technical Support	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
28	VP of Security Engineering	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
29	SVP of Sales	$379,000	$295,000 – $492,000
30	VP of Quality	$379,000	$323,000 – $493,000
31	Chief Risk Officer	$377,000	$294,000 – $490,000
32	VP of Data Science	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
33	Chief Machine Learning Officer	$375,000	$293,000 – $488,000
34	Senior Head of Product	$375,000	$293,000 – $488,000
35	VP of IT	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
36	VP of Privacy	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
37	VP of Risk	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
38	Chief Architect	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
39	VP of Application Engineering	$375,000	$319,000 – $488,000
40	Chief Science Officer	$372,000	$290,000 – $484,000
41	VP of AI Engineering	$371,000	$316,000 – $483,000
42	VP of Analytics	$371,000	$316,000 – $483,000
43	VP of Information Technology	$371,000	$316,000 – $483,000
44	VP of Reliability Engineering	$371,000	$316,000 – $483,000
45	SVP of Design	$371,000	$289,000 – $482,000
46	SVP of Strategy	$368,000	$287,000 – $478,000
47	VP of AI Product	$367,000	$313,000 – $478,000
48	VP of Security	$367,000	$313,000 – $478,000
49	Chief Digital Officer	$367,000	$286,000 – $478,000
50	VP of Data	$367,000	$313,000 – $478,000

Tax considerations

DC income tax rates reach 10.75% for high earners. Maryland and Virginia residents working in DC face their own state taxes. Choose your residence jurisdiction carefully to optimize net pay.

Negotiating in Washington DC

Other cities

New York San Francisco Los Angeles Chicago Seattle Austin Boston Denver Dallas Atlanta Miami Houston

All Roles Interview Prep Resume Score Job Search Guide

Know the number. Get the offer.

Orbyt gives you the salary data, interview prep, and pipeline tools to negotiate from a position of strength.

Start

Salaries in Washington DC.

About the Washington DC market

Top 50 salaries in Washington DC

Tax considerations

Negotiating in Washington DC

Other cities

Related

Know the number. Get the offer.

Salaries in Washington DC.

About the Washington DC market

Top 50 salaries in Washington DC

Tax considerations

Negotiating in Washington DC

Other cities

Related

Know the number. Get the offer.