A new study has found the top skills and states that offer the biggest salary bumps in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Being able to program using Rust or Golang increases the likelihood of a pay boost by $20,000-$30,000. Meanwhile, AI specialists have the highest average salaries in California and Washington.
This is according to new research from content operations software StoryChief.io, which analyzed 12,634 US job listings on Glassdoor that mention artificial intelligence and display any salary information. US employers published them up until and including March 8th, 2024.
The research identified the most common keywords found across all the evaluated job openings and estimated their individual value relative to how much employers are prepared to pay for these attributes in every state. Certain keywords have negative values, which does not mean fulfilling those requirements was a disadvantage. Rather, it means that jobs with descriptions that contain those keywords tend to pay less.
The study’s model makes it possible to combine various skills, experience length, education levels and location factors to estimate a final average salary worth pursuing.
Top-paying skills for AI jobs
The ability to program in Rust gives candidates the highest pay bump. AI job adverts containing Rust as a requirement offer a salary increase of $29,480, on average. Google’s open-source programming language, called Go or Golang, can boost salaries by $21,080. Other pay-boosting skills include deep learning, Python, PyTorch, Scala, JavaScript and NLP.
Some skills have negative values, which does not mean that having them decreases one’s salary. Instead, job listings that mention these skills tend to have lower-than-average salaries. For example, adverts containing MATLAB, Keras and clustering are usually associated with salaries that are around $8,826-12,990 below average.
Top Salary Boosting Skills for AI Jobs
| # | Requirement | Salary bump ($) |
| 1 | Rust | 29,480 |
| 2 | Golang | 21,080 |
| 3 | Deep learning | 15,660 |
| 4 | Python | 13,100 |
| 5 | PyTorch | 7,223 |
| 6 | Scala | 7,134 |
| 7 | JavaScript | 5,952 |
| 8 | NLP | 3,452 |
| 9 | SQL | -2,426 |
| 10 | Java | -2,767 |
| 11 | Computer vision | -5,882 |
| 12 | R | -6,004 |
| 13 | Regression | -6,314 |
| 14 | Tree methods | -6,852 |
| 15 | Clustering | -8,826 |
| 16 | Keras | -10,180 |
| 17 | MATLAB | -12,990 |
Top-paying states for AI jobs
California has the highest salaries for AI jobs, averaging $150,110 per year. Surprisingly, the second best-paying state for AI specialists is Washington, where average AI salaries are not far off Californian levels. People working in the AI field in Washington state can expect to earn $143,570 per annum.
Storychief.io’s model has found that the average salary in America for AI jobs is $101,816. Washington DC and another 19 states have a salary above the national level. Alaska, West Virginia and North Dakota have the lowest-paying AI jobs.
The highest concentration of AI jobs is in Washington state (841), California (830), New York state (826), Washington DC (763), Massachusetts (735) and Texas (718). Not all of these necessarily have the highest pay levels. States with the scarcest AI vacancies include Wyoming (8), West Virginia (10), South Dakota (13), Idaho (18) and Vermont (18).
Best paying US states and DC for AI jobs
| # | State/DC | Average AI salary ($) |
| 1 | California | 150,110 |
| 2 | Washington state | 143,570 |
| 3 | New York state | 136,800 |
| 4 | Oregon | 134,190 |
| 5 | Nevada | 123,200 |
| 6 | Colorado | 119,920 |
| 7 | Montana | 117,710 |
| 8 | New Hampshire | 117,410 |
| 9 | Connecticut | 116,100 |
| 10 | New Jersey | 115,600 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | 111,440 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | 111,350 |
| 13 | Arizona | 110,650 |
| 14 | District of Columbia | 105,781 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 105,424 |
| 16 | Minnesota | 104,992 |
| 17 | Delaware | 104,802 |
| 18 | Maryland | 102,869 |
| 19 | Georgia | 102,575 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 102,356 |
| 21 | Texas | 101,305 |
| 22 | Vermont | 101,174 |
| 23 | Illinois | 100,675 |
| 24 | Idaho | 99,996 |
| 25 | Hawaii | 98,906 |
| 26 | Virginia | 98,715 |
| 28 | North Carolina | 97,873 |
| 29 | Alabama | 97,170 |
| 30 | Missouri | 96,355 |
Value of AI experience
Having over 15 years of relevant experience gives AI jobs the biggest salary bump, estimated at $56,790. Experience in the AI field ranging from ten up to 15 years is worth an extra $41,430 above average. Applicants with five up to ten years’ worth of relevant experience should expect a $19,700 salary increase compared to their state average. Those with less than five years’ experience in AI can expect to see a salary below average. Even one year’s experience, up to five, generally see openings that are around $2,086 below the state average.
How much experience impacts AI job salaries
| # | Experience (years) | Salary bump ($) |
| 1 | Over 15 | 56,790 |
| 2 | 10 up to 15 | 41,430 |
| 3 | 5 up to 10 | 19,700 |
| 4 | 1 up to 5 | -2,086 |
Value of education level for AI jobs
AI job listings that mention a bachelor’s degree as a requirement tend to pay $8,756 less than average. Having a master’s degree earns AI specialists an extra $1,534 per year, while PhDs tend to boost average salaries by $3,951.
How much education impacts AI job salaries
| # | Education level (years) | Salary bump ($) |
| 1 | PhD | 3,951 |
| 2 | Master’s degree | 1,534 |
| 3 | Bachelor’s degree | -8,756 |
Valeri Potchekailov, CEO of StoryChief.io, commented on the findings: “While having relevant experience is the clearest factor dictating pay, it is unfair on younger talent keen to see their abilities rewarded appropriately. We wanted to identify the skills an AI enthusiast could specialize in today and not require years to master, in order to see their chances of a better pay increase instantly.
“Surprisingly, even the highest level of education is currently valued about 7.5 times less than knowing how to code in Rust, for example. AI is an incredibly fast-paced environment. While higher education is always valuable, the fact that employers appreciate certain specific skills sometimes more than having a particular degree evens out the playing field for those who cannot access higher education or have limited experience. This is refreshing news and opens the door to AI enthusiasts from all walks of life.
“Our salary estimate model allows you to combine various factors to have a better understanding of what pay one could expect. For example, someone in a relatively rich state, like Florida, with a relevant bachelor’s degree and three years’ experience in AI, who can code in Golang, Python and JavaScript finds a job requiring all of the above and no other factors mentioned in this study. To estimate their salary, they should start from the state’s average AI salary, which is $93,859 in Florida, and add or subtract how much the other factors are worth: add $21,080 for Golang, $13,100 –for Python, $5,952 – for JavaScript; subtract $8,756 for having less than five years’ experience. Their final salary estimate is thus $125,235.
“While the skills we analyzed are geographically weighed based on how much employers in each state value them, an identical job listing in a state with better AI salaries is still a useful fact to know, especially when someone is not tied down geographically or the job is largely remote.
“We hope our findings encourage those who are passionate about AI and have a knack for coding to be more confident and make more informed choices when looking for a job in AI.”
The study was carried out by StoryChief.io, a leading content operations platform specializing in centralized collaborative social media content creation, distribution and metrics.
