Machine Learning Researcher.
Indianapolis.
$127,000
median salary, 10% below the national average
$87,000 to $168,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
The median Machine Learning Researcher salary in Indianapolis is $127,000, 10% below the national average. Entry level starts near $87,000. Experienced professionals push past $168,000. Indianapolis has a diversified economy led by healthcare, life sciences, and motorsports engineering. That spread is your negotiation window. 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.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Machine Learning Researcher in Indianapolis, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $86,800 for Computer and Information Research Scientists (SOC 15-1221) in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metropolitan area, based on 120 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$68,840
25th percentile
$68,840
Median
$86,800
75th percentile
$108,080
90th percentile
$137,460
Workers surveyed
120
Why this differs from the estimate above. The Orbyt estimate of $127,000 is 46% higher than this published figure. That is usually not an error in either number: BLS reports by occupation code, and Computer and Information Research Scientists covers a different population than the Machine Learning Researcher title as it is typically advertised. Both are shown, unreconciled, so you can judge which one describes the job you mean.
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Computer and Information Research Scientists (SOC 15-1221) rather than Machine Learning Researcher specifically. The Indianapolisrange 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 15-1221Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $114,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$83,000
to $102,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$108,000
to $133,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$140,000
to $165,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$159,000
to $197,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $53,000 to the total package.
Base
$127,000
Equity
$32,000
Bonus
$13,000
Signing
$8,000
Estimated total: $180,000
How Indianapolis compares.
Indianapolis, IN
$127,000
Cost of living: 9% below average
National Average
$141,000
Indianapolis is $14,000 below
Machine Learning Researcher salary by city.
Salary by role in Indianapolis.
What you should know.
If you are interviewing for Machine Learning Researcher roles in Indianapolis, here is what you are walking into. Indianapolis has a diversified economy led by healthcare, life sciences, and motorsports engineering. Eli Lilly's headquarters drives a major pharmaceutical and biotech cluster. The city's extremely affordable cost of living means that even moderate salaries deliver strong purchasing power, making it an underrated destination for professionals seeking financial stability. Publication record in top-tier venues like NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR is the strongest salary differentiator. Researchers with first-author papers at these conferences command 15 to 25% premiums. Industry labs at major tech firms pay significantly more than academic positions or smaller startups.
Research interns start at $45,000 to $65,000 for summer positions. Junior researchers earn $140,000 to $170,000, while senior researchers reach $200,000 to $280,000. Principal researchers and research directors at major labs can exceed $400,000 in base salary alone. In Indianapolis, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Total compensation at top labs often doubles base salary through equity grants and annual bonuses of 20 to 40%. Many positions include conference travel budgets, compute credits, and sabbatical programs for independent research. And on the tax side: indiana has a flat 3.05% state income tax, one of the lowest in the country. Marion County adds about 2.02% in local taxes. The combined rate remains well below most major metros. When someone quotes you $127,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Benchmark against pharmaceutical industry pay scales. Eli Lilly and the biotech cluster set high compensation floors that ripple across all professional roles in Indianapolis. The range for Machine Learning Researchers in Indianapolis runs from $87,000 to $168,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- An AI Research Scientist in Indianapolis earns $126,000 (1% less)
- The highest-paying role in Indianapolis is CTO at $270,000
- See all ai research roles tracked in Orbyt Intelligence
Common questions.
Machine Learning Researcher salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Indianapolis.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Machine Learning Researchers in Indianapolis.
Related tools.
Do you work as a machine learning researcher in Indianapolis?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools