2026 Salary — Hawaii
Updated April 29, 2026
Machine Learning Engineer Salary in Hawaii: $170K Median
Machine Learning Engineers in Hawaii earn between $116K and $310K per year.
That's +5% above the US national median.
Quick Answer
As of April 2026, the median Machine Learning Engineer salary in Hawaii is $170,100 per year — +5% above the US national median of $162,000. Salaries range from $115,500 (entry, 25th percentile) to $309,750 (90th percentile). Hawaii's cost-of-living index is 190. State income tax applies.
Median
$170,100
+520.0% YoY
Entry
$136,500
Experienced
$262,500
Top 10%
$309,750
About Machine Learning Engineers in Hawaii
ML engineers design, build, and deploy machine learning models at scale, bridging research and production engineering.
Hot 2026 Skills
LLMsPyTorchRAG/fine-tuningDistributed trainingMLOps
ATS Keywords
PythonPyTorchTensorFlowscikit-learnMLOpsKubernetesfeature engineeringdistributed trainingLLMs
How to Negotiate Your Machine Learning Engineer Salary in Hawaii
Walk-away anchor: $147,913.
Leverage Points
- Reference levels.fyi total compensation data for your level (L4/L5/etc.) at comparable companies
- Quantify recent shipped impact: latency reduced, revenue driven, on-call incidents resolved
- Hold a competing offer (or credible interview pipeline) before the salary conversation
- Highlight in-demand skill premiums: LLMs, Kubernetes, Rust, distributed systems
Negotiate Beyond Base
Sign-on bonus ($25K-$100K is standard at Big Tech)RSU refreshers and accelerated vesting cliffsRemote/hybrid flexibility and home-office stipendAnnual learning budget and conference allowanceSabbatical eligibility after 4-5 years
Machine Learning Engineer Salary FAQ — Hawaii
What is the average Machine Learning Engineer salary in Hawaii?
The average Machine Learning Engineer salary in Hawaii is $170,100 per year as of April 2026. Salaries range from $115,500 (entry, 25th percentile) up to $309,750 (90th percentile). State income tax applies.
How does Machine Learning Engineer pay in Hawaii compare to the US average?
Machine Learning Engineers in Hawaii earn approximately 5% more than the US national median ($162,000 nationally vs $170,100 in Hawaii). Hawaii's cost-of-living index of 190 partially offsets the higher salary.
Did Machine Learning Engineer salaries in Hawaii increase in 2026?
Yes — Machine Learning Engineer salaries in Hawaii grew approximately 520.0% year-over-year, from $27,435 in 2025 to $170,100 in 2026. This reflects the broader Technology sector's wage growth, driven by LLMs and PyTorch demand.
Which Hawaii cities pay Machine Learning Engineers the most?
Hawaii has no major metros in our database — fallback to the closest tracked city for detailed breakdowns.
What's the job outlook for Machine Learning Engineers in Hawaii?
ML engineering demand exploded 40%+ in 2025-2026 with the GenAI boom. Frontier labs paying $500K+ for senior roles. Hawaii's top industries include Tourism, Military/Defense, Agriculture, and the state's unemployment rate is 2.9% — a tight labor market favoring candidates.
Does Hawaii have state income tax?
Yes, Hawaii has state income tax. This affects take-home pay — at $170,100, expect 4-7% effective state tax depending on filing status. See city pages for detailed take-home calculations.
What skills are most in demand for Machine Learning Engineers in 2026?
Hottest 2026 skills: LLMs, PyTorch, RAG/fine-tuning, Distributed training, MLOps. ATS systems specifically scan for these. Adding them to your resume — naturally and in context — improves your match rate with Hawaii employers.
How can I increase my Machine Learning Engineer salary in Hawaii?
Based on levels.fyi data and what I'm seeing from comparable offers, total compensation for this level is closer to $X base plus equity. Can we close the gap on base or front-load the RSU grant? Beyond base, negotiate: Sign-on bonus ($25K-$100K is standard at Big Tech), RSU refreshers and accelerated vesting cliffs, Remote/hybrid flexibility and home-office stipend, Annual learning budget and conference allowance. Walk-away anchor for Hawaii: $147,913.
Methodology
Hawaii Machine Learning Engineer salary is the BLS national median ($162,000) adjusted by Hawaii's state multiplier (1.05×). YoY rate from BLS Employment Cost Index. Last reviewed April 29, 2026.
Machine Learning Engineer Salary in Other States
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