Machine Learning Engineer Salary in Raleigh-Cary, NC
This is what we do all day: recruit technology and IT professionals.
Technology Headhunters uses BLS OEWS data to answer this pay question. For Machine Learning Engineer, this guide uses Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in Raleigh-Cary, NC. BLS estimates the median wage for that occupation at $132,770 a year, and the middle half of workers earned between $103,480 and $166,650 (BLS OEWS May 2025). BLS does not measure this exact title separately.
Broader occupation
BLS does not report this exact title. The figures shown are for SOC 15-1252, Software Developers. BLS reports Software Developers as a broader occupation. It does not separate Machine Learning Engineer, technology stack, seniority, certifications or employer sector. These figures are not a title-specific offer range.
BLS publishes one set of figures for SOC 15-1252. Other titles in our taxonomy map to it and show the same numbers. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation. They are not experience levels.
The Raleigh-Cary, NC median is $3,210 below the national median of $135,980 (2.4%).
Role median / all-occupation median2.55x$132,770 / $51,990
Location quotient (employment concentration)1.56Not a pay adjustment
Machine Learning Engineer, North Carolina: Software Developers, SOC 15-1252
Measure
Per year
10th percentile
$83,840
25th percentile
$104,530
Median
$134,710
75th percentile
$164,750
90th percentile
$179,310
Mean
$136,940
Machine Learning Engineer, United States: Software Developers, SOC 15-1252
Measure
Per year
10th percentile
$82,460
25th percentile
$105,210
Median
$135,980
75th percentile
$171,980
90th percentile
$214,670
Mean
$148,100
Only a cell carrying the source's # marker is displayed as "or more." The May 2025 release notes define that marker as $239,200 a year or $115.00 an hour or greater. This is a lower bound for marked cells, not a universal wage ceiling. Published numeric values, including values above those amounts, are retained unchanged. Suppressed or unavailable cells are not assigned a wage.
Relative pay is the role's annual median divided by the BLS all-occupations (SOC 00-0000) annual median for Raleigh-Cary, NC. Location quotient compares this occupation's share of local jobs with its national share. It measures concentration, not pay.
What these figures leave out for technology hires
BLS OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay. They include base rate, guaranteed pay, incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses, and cost-of-living allowances. They exclude overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, severance and employer-paid benefits.
Our interpretation, not a BLS statement: the BLS definition does not name stock or equity grants, so we treat them as outside these figures and add nothing for them. If a technology offer leans on discretionary bonus or equity, we read the published figure as describing only the cash pay inside the BLS definition.
BLS definition: Wages for the OEWS survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; and tips are included. Excluded are overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.
May 2024 and May 2025 medians
Machine Learning Engineer, Raleigh-Cary, NC median by BLS reference period
Period
Median
May 2024
$131,390
May 2025
$132,770
The median moved up $1,380 (+1.1%), from $131,390 in May 2024 to $132,770 in May 2025. Survey estimates carry sampling error, so small moves may not be meaningful.
These are published government statistical wage estimates, not observed individual offers or a separate technology-title survey. A broader occupation or proxy is not separate pay data for your job title.
What do these figures mean for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh?
For Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh, the May 2025 median is $132,770 per year for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252); it describes workers in that BLS occupation and geography, not an independent survey of this recruiting title or a quote for a candidate with a particular background.
The middle half of the occupation behind Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh runs from $103,480 to $166,650, a $63,170 band; compare responsibilities before using those endpoints in an offer, because the distribution does not identify junior, senior or management pay grades.
For Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh, the outer published markers are $80,080 at P10 and $185,110 at P90; an amount between those points has no exact percentile assigned here, while a source-marked lower bound stays open and an unavailable wage stays unavailable rather than becoming zero.
The Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh occupation median compares with $135,980 nationally, a difference of -$3,210; both cells use SOC 15-1252, and the difference is neither a cost-of-living adjustment nor a premium every local candidate receives for doing the job.
Area comparisons for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh include Goldsboro, NC at $96,140 and Rocky Mount, NC at $130,600; these metros are selected by Census reference-point distance, not commuting time, and each figure remains tied to its own BLS area rather than replacing an unpublished local estimate.
No comparable May 2024 median is available for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh, so no release-to-release change is calculated; the $132,770 May 2025 median stands on its own reference period, and the missing earlier cell establishes neither growth nor decline in wages for the occupation or this opening.
When discussing an offer for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh, keep equity and RSUs separate from the $132,770 occupation median; OEWS includes commissions and production bonuses but excludes overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer benefits, making it neither pure base salary nor total compensation for the person you hire.
BLS employment for the occupation behind Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh is 12,580; this describes employment in Software Developers (SOC 15-1252), not available applicants, so use it to understand the occupation's presence while keeping the search for a person with your required systems knowledge and ownership scope separate.
Which national industries report pay for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh?
The table below gives released national industry medians for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252), selected for this Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh discussion. These Machine Learning Engineer industry rows are national cuts, not industry-specific wages for Raleigh.
National industry rows for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh, BLS May 2025
BLS industry
NAICS
Published median
Employment
Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians)
621330
$241,610
100
Offices of Other Health Practitioners
621300
$166,710
630
Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists
621340
$166,670
Not published by BLS
Software Publishers
513200
$164,550
173,080
Offices of All Other Health Practitioners
621390
$163,630
Not published by BLS
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities
523000
$163,290
34,940
Questions about Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh
Which occupation prices Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh?
The Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh figures use Software Developers, SOC 15-1252. BLS does not release an exact rate for an employer's particular Machine Learning Engineer opening in Raleigh.
Does the Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh band price seniority?
The $103,480 to $166,650 band describes the published occupation distribution for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh. It is not a junior-to-senior ladder for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh.
Can I treat the May 2025 Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh median as a complete offer?
The $132,770 wage cell for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh starts a cash-pay comparison. Benefits and equity for Machine Learning Engineer in Raleigh need a separate discussion from this BLS cell.