Machine learning engineer salary in Boston, MA
Employers in the Boston metro offered machine learning engineers a median of $156,558 a year on approved H-1B applications. That is 12.2% below the US median for machine learning engineers, and 1.3% above offers to software engineers in Boston.
Median offer
$156,558
US median offer: $178,350
The middle half
$138,224 – $178,388
25th to 75th percentile
After cost of living
$144,600
Boston prices: 8.3% above US average
Open machine learning engineer jobs
26
In Boston, from 17 companies
Pay range
The top 10% of machine learning engineer offers in Boston were above $201,750 a year. The bottom 10% were below $114,795.
10th percentile $114,795, 25th $138,224, 75th $178,388, 90th $201,750.
10th percentile $113,000, 25th $142,105, 75th $220,000, 90th $264,514.
10th percentile $102,950, 25th $131,880, 75th $183,740, 90th $214,100.
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Box: the middle half (25th to 75th). Dark mark: the median. Machine learning engineers: salaries offered on H-1B applications. All software engineers: salaries paid, from the BLS.
How far the pay goes in Boston
Prices in Boston are 8.3% above the US average, which makes the median offer worth $144,600 in US-average dollars. Housing costs 48.4% more than the US average.
Black line: US average = 100. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024.
Machine learning engineers and other engineering jobs in Boston
Median salary offered on approved H-1B applications in the Boston metro, for every engineering job type with at least 30 applications.
| Job | Applications | Median offer |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering managers | 219 | $169,400 |
| Machine learning engineers | 102 | $156,558 |
| AI engineers | 43 | $154,606 |
| All software engineers | 2,590 | $154,606 |
| DevOps engineers | 31 | $140,733 |
| Data engineers | 209 | $131,868 |
| Support engineers | 45 | $110,000 |
All software engineers: every application filed under the BLS software developer job code, whatever its title. Backend and full-stack engineers: left out, since a plain "Software Engineer" title counts as both.
Experience level of these offers
From October 2025 to June 2026, the Department of Labor approved 102 H-1B applications for machine learning engineers in the Boston metro, from 61 employers. Level II offers were the most common.
Applications
102
Employers
61
Most experienced (Level IV)
12.7%
Applications by wage level
- Level I (entry): 19
- Level II: 36
- Level III: 32
- Level IV (most experienced): 13
- Not stated: 2
These are salaries offered on approved applications, not salaries paid. Each application lists only its main work site.
26 open machine learning engineer jobs in Boston right now
From 17 companies.
What counts as a machine learning engineer
The BLS has no machine learning engineer category, so these figures come from job titles. An H-1B application or a job on hiredaemon counts as a machine learning engineer job when its title names machine learning work, such as "Machine Learning Engineer", "ML Engineer" or "MLOps Engineer". AI engineers are counted separately.
Sources and notes
- Machine learning engineer offers: US Department of Labor, H-1B application data, October 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Approved H-1B applications whose job title names machine learning work and whose work site is in one of the metro area's 7 counties.
- Software engineer pay: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published May 15, 2026), Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro.
- Cost of living: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
- Open jobs: counted on hiredaemon as this page loads.