Inventor Salary
$51K - $57.5K
4% of jobs
$57.5K - $64K
4% of jobs
$64K - $70.5K
7% of jobs
$70.5K - $77K
7% of jobs
$78.3K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$77K - $83.5K
18% of jobs
The median wage is $89.1K / yr.
$83.5K - $90K
13% of jobs
$90K - $96.5K
20% of jobs
$97.7K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$96.5K - $103K
16% of jobs
$103K - $109.5K
5% of jobs
$109.5K - $116K
3% of jobs
$116K - $122.5K
4% of jobs
$51K
$91.5K
$124.5K
$91,283
/year
$43.89
/hour
Inventor Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$91,283
Columbus
Ohio
$88,170
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How much does an Inventor make?
As of Aug 3, 2026, the average annual pay for an Inventor in the United States is $91,283 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $43.89 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,755/week or $7,606/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $124,500 and as low as $51,000, the majority of Inventor salaries currently range between $80,000 (25th percentile) to $99,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $113,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for an Inventor varies little (about 19500), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.
An Inventor in your area makes on average $88,170 per year, or $3,113 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $91,283. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Inventor salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Inventor jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as an Inventor on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Inventor Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for an Inventor job is above the national average. Topping the list is Pennington County, SD, , with Waterloo, WI, and Ashippun, WI, close behind in the second and third positions. Ashippun, WI, beats the national average by $45,045 (49.3%), and Pennington County, SD, furthers that trend with another $54,410 (59.6%) above the $91,283 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as an Inventor appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 14% between Pennington County, SD, and Warren, MI, , 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 an Inventor role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Pennington County, SD | $145,693 | $70.04 |
Waterloo, WI | $136,522 | $65.64 |
Ashippun, WI | $136,328 | $65.54 |
Wood Dale, IL | $134,408 | $64.62 |
King of Prussia, PA | $131,625 | $63.28 |
Juneau, WI | $130,285 | $62.64 |
Temple, TX | $128,222 | $61.65 |
La Vergne, TN | $128,121 | $61.60 |
Media, PA | $127,925 | $61.50 |
Warren, MI | $126,375 | $60.76 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Inventor Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Inventor job category, we found that Cad Cam Engineer jobs have average salaries greater than Inventor jobs.
Significantly, Cad Cam Engineer jobs pay $1,847 (2.0%) more than the average Inventor salary of $91,283. If you're qualified, finding work as an Cad Cam Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Inventor position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Cad Cam Engineer | $93,130 | $44.77 |
Fluid Mechanics Engineer | $79,812 | $38.37 |
Mechanical Designer | $74,480 | $35.81 |
Junior Cad Engineer | $71,799 | $34.52 |
Cad Coordinator | $56,453 | $27.14 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
