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Machine Learning Engineer Salary and Equity in Chicago 2026
How much does a Machine Learning Engineer expect to make at Chicago-based startups? The average expected salary for Machine Learning Engineers in Chicago-based startups is 144k per year, with a range from 40k to 250k. These amounts were gathered from Wellfound self-reported data and represent the median salary range. The salary range for Machine Learning Engineers in Chicago startups varies depending on factors such as industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
143.5k
Average Salary
3 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average salary for a Machine Learning Engineer in Chicago is $143,500, which is 14.2% higher than the average Chicago startup salary of$125,625. Machine Learning Engineer salaries in Chicago are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: years of experience, title, size of company, skill-set, and industry.
Top of market
$215,714/yr
Range $180k - $250k
Average
$143,500/yr
Range $123k - $195k
Below Average
$105,214/yr
Range $40k - $145k
Industries
The highest average salary a Machine Learning Engineer in Chicago can get in Fin Tech, that is $237,500. This pay is 35.8% higher than the average Machine Learning Engineer salary in Chicago, which is $174,850. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Fin Tech (avg $237,500 per year), Financial Services (avg $237,500 per year), B2B · SaaS · Mobile · Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (avg $178,500 per year).
Tech Stack
The highest average salary a Machine Learning Engineer in Chicago can get with AWS, that is $240,000. This pay is 91.0% higher than the average salary in Chicago startups, which is $125,625. Salary range for specific skills will vary based on the supply and demand in the current market.
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying Machine Learning Engineer skills in Chicago of 2026 are:
1. AWS
$240k
2. Kubernetes
$240k
3. PyTorch
$160k
4. C++
$140k
5. Python
$100k
6. Machine Learning
$100k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a Machine Learning Engineer in Chicago can get with 4-6 years of experience, that is $140,000. This pay is 11.4% higher than the average salary in Chicago startups, which is $125,625. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
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