Contract Machine Learning Engineer

Contract Machine Learning Engineer Salary

$31.5K

$130K

$193K

$128,769

/year

$61.91

/hour

Contract Machine Learning Engineer Salary Comparison by Location

Nationwide

United States

$128,769

Columbus

Ohio

$124,378

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    How much does a Contract Machine Learning Engineer make?

    As of Jun 8, 2026, the average annual pay for a Contract Machine Learning Engineer in the United States is $128,769 a year.

    Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $61.91 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,476/week or $10,730/month.

    While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $193,000 and as low as $31,500, the majority of Contract Machine Learning Engineer salaries currently range between $101,500 (25th percentile) to $155,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $178,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Contract Machine Learning Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 53500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.

    A Contract Machine Learning Engineer in your area makes on average $124,378 per year, or $4,391 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $128,769. Ohio ranks number 41 out of 50 states nationwide for Contract Machine Learning Engineer salaries.

    To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Contract Machine Learning Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.

    Find your next high paying job as a Contract Machine Learning Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.

    What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Contract Machine Learning Engineer Jobs

    We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Contract Machine Learning Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Pennington County, SD, , with Wellesley, MA, and Babson Park, MA, close behind in the second and third positions. Babson Park, MA, beats the national average by $31,530 (24.5%), and Pennington County, SD, furthers that trend with another $34,070 (26.5%) above the $128,769 average.

    With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Contract Machine Learning Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.

    Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 4% between Pennington County, SD, and Sitka, AK, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Contract Machine Learning Engineer role.

    City

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Pennington County, SD

    $162,839

    $78.29

    Wellesley, MA

    $160,494

    $77.16

    Babson Park, MA

    $160,299

    $77.07

    Cupertino, CA

    $158,868

    $76.38

    Kailua-Kona, HI

    $157,868

    $75.90

    Berkeley, CA

    $157,670

    $75.80

    Redwood City, CA

    $157,659

    $75.80

    Headquarters, WA

    $156,060

    $75.03

    San Carlos, CA

    $155,487

    $74.75

    Sitka, AK

    $155,125

    $74.58

    What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Contract Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in the U.S.

    Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Contract Machine Learning Engineer job category, we found that Machine Learning Software Engineer jobs have average salaries greater than Contract Machine Learning Engineer jobs.

    Significantly, Machine Learning Software Engineer jobs pay $18,755 (14.6%) more than the average Contract Machine Learning Engineer salary of $128,769. If you're qualified, finding work as a Machine Learning Software Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Contract Machine Learning Engineer position.

    Job Title

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Machine Learning Software Engineer

    $147,524

    $70.92

    Machine Learning Engineer

    $128,769

    $61.91

    Machine Learning Finance

    $92,631

    $44.53

    Machine Learning Developer

    $79,911

    $38.42

    Red Panda

    $34,775

    $16.72

    About Our Data

    ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.

    Infographic detailing Contract Machine Learning Engineer salary across the United States as of June 2026. Displays a bar chart with salary percentiles, a national average salary of $128,769 per year or $61.91 an hour, and a color-coded map showing state-by-state salary variations.