AI labs pay $300K+ in base salary alone

Horizontal bar chart showing median base salaries for US job postings: OpenAI $325K, Anthropic $322K, xAI $310K, Airbnb $212K, NY Times $130K

Key Takeaways

Frontier AI labs cluster above $300K median base salary, with OpenAI ($325K) and Anthropic ($322K) in tight competition at the top
For context: Airbnb positions show $212K median base, while NY Times posts $130K
These figures exclude equity which could potentially double or triple total compensation packages
Unlike peers with narrow ranges, xAI posts $180K-$440K for most technical roles—a remarkably wide negotiation window

Methodology

Analysis of 457 OpenAI, 320 Anthropic, 173 xAI, 146 Airbnb, and 145 NY Times job postings scraped December 2025 – January 2026. Limited to US positions based on reported job location. xAI has 67% salary data coverage, others have 90-99%. Salary estimated as midpoint of posted range. xAI posts a $180K-$440K range for most technical roles.

James Riso

Founder, Riso Group

James is a data and AI strategy consultant who helps companies build scalable analytics infrastructure and data-driven growth strategies. Connect on LinkedIn.