MEAN BASE SALARY
Title
Under $1B
$1B–$10B
$10B+
Chief Data Officer
$270,185
$355,835
$465,407
VP of Data / Analytics / AI
$289,167
$279,826
$298,600
CIO / CTO
$320,333
$405,143
—
MEAN TOTAL CASH
Title
Under $1B
$1B–$10B
$10B+
Chief Data Officer
$362,489
$517,576
$836,715
VP of Data / Analytics / AI
$369,384
$361,550
$424,085
CIO / CTO
$383,810
$670,034
—
The same chief data officer title is worth $270,185 at a company below $1B and $465,407 above $10B. On total cash the gap is wider still: $362,489 against $836,715. The VP of data title climbs far less steeply over the same range. Company scale is doing more of the work than the title is.
47%
Target a bonus of 31% of base or more
67%
Have equity — median grant $210K at hire, $500K at the 75th percentile
+43%
Total cash over base at the SVP/EVP level
Title — total cash (OTE)
Mean
25%
Median
75%
Chief Data Officer (CDO, CDAO, CDAIO)
$548,456
$336,208
$450,000
$655,550
CIO / CTO
$517,244
$393,143
$473,000
$660,050
Chief AI or Analytics Officer (CAIO, CAO)
$459,645
$363,750
$445,000
$516,250
SVP / EVP of Data / Analytics / AI
$427,062
$309,029
$400,000
$500,000
VP of Data / Analytics / AI
$385,323
$295,000
$366,000
$462,500
Head of Data Science / Engineering / Analytics
$375,000
$350,000
$350,000
$387,500
Director of Data / Analytics / AI
$279,932
$244,286
$280,313
$317,050
All VP+ (executive cohort)
$458,828
$300,000
$400,000
$522,500
Base + target annual bonus. OTE below base or above 3× base excluded; see the methodology for validated response counts.
Target bonus as % of base
Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals / Life Sciences Consulting / Professional Services Retail / E-Commerce / Consumer Goods Financial Services / Banking / Insurance Real Estate / Construction Telecommunications / Media Technology / Software / SaaS Manufacturing / Industrial Transportation / Logistics Government / Public Sector Financial Services / Banking / Insurance
$316,484
$246,250
$317,500
$383,000
Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals / Life Sciences
$371,985
$295,000
$317,647
$400,000
Consulting / Professional Services
$341,850
$200,000
$252,500
$352,500
Retail / E-Commerce / Consumer Goods
$340,450
$247,500
$329,000
$424,500
Technology / Software / SaaS
$283,734
$210,000
$315,000
$350,000
Manufacturing / Industrial
$281,556
$250,000
$280,000
$303,750
Education / Nonprofit
$260,083
$202,500
$235,000
$303,750
Other
$368,167
$250,000
$305,000
$377,500
Government / Public Sector
$214,769
$159,675
$175,725
$233,500
Telecommunications / Media
$292,143
$267,500
$295,000
$325,000
Transportation / Logistics
$250,857
$195,500
$250,000
$312,500
Energy / Utilities
$325,099
$302,599
$335,000
$357,500
Real Estate / Construction
$308,250
$286,250
$309,000
$331,000
All VP+ (executive cohort)
$316,995
$243,500
$300,000
$365,000
U.S. Census region
Mean
25%
Median
75%
Northeast
$338,559
$270,750
$318,500
$375,000
Midwest
$321,719
$222,000
$300,000
$350,000
South
$309,841
$248,750
$310,000
$364,000
West
$376,719
$253,750
$310,000
$378,750
Outside U.S.
$254,110
$170,000
$235,000
$324,000
All VP+ (executive cohort)
$316,995
$243,500
$300,000
$365,000
Organization headcount
Mean
25%
Median
75%
Under 1,000 employees
$265,565
$202,250
$250,000
$310,000
1,001–10,000 employees
$309,715
$225,000
$300,000
$350,000
10,001–50,000 employees
$365,795
$276,000
$327,500
$411,250
50,001+ employees
$338,534
$275,000
$310,000
$368,776
All VP+ (executive cohort)
$316,995
$243,500
$300,000
$365,000
Work arrangement
Mean
25%
Median
75%
Fully in-office / on-site
$340,426
$200,000
$325,000
$400,000
Hybrid (mix of remote and in-office)
$312,750
$241,638
$300,000
$357,500
Fully remote
$305,442
$253,750
$300,000
$352,500
All VP+ (executive cohort)
$316,995
$243,500
$300,000
$365,000
Company stage
Mean
25%
Median
75%
Public company
$326,451
$250,000
$312,500
$370,000
Late-stage private
$291,379
$220,000
$300,000
$350,000
Government / Nonprofit / Education
$302,950
$203,000
$270,000
$330,000
Not applicable
$397,625
$250,000
$350,000
$405,000
Growth-stage startup (Series C+)
$297,143
$220,000
$275,000
$375,000
Early-stage startup (Series A–B)
$252,500
$226,250
$270,000
$296,250
Pre-seed / Seed
$237,500
$212,500
$275,000
$300,000
All VP+ (executive cohort)
$316,995
$243,500
$300,000
$365,000
The survey captured company stage rather than ownership directly, so private-equity backing is inferred from the late-stage private segment rather than reported. Future editions will ask about ownership explicitly.
76%
Negotiated their compensation package
62%
Negotiated and received a higher offer
41%
Had at least one competing offer in hand
Only 24% of executives accepted the initial number — and most (59%) negotiated without a competing offer behind them. Asked to rank the package at time of hire, executives put base salary first (average rank 1.32 of 6), then annual bonus, then equity, then title. For employers the implication is straightforward: win on base and bonus structure; use equity and title to close, not to compensate for a below-market base.
$515K
Mean total cash, executives with equity
$394K
Mean total cash, executives without equity
67%
Of the cohort hold equity — $500K at the 75th percentile
Equity status — total cash (OTE)
Mean
25%
Median
75%
Has equity
$514,784
$354,774
$450,000
$584,571
No equity
$394,364
$225,000
$320,000
$450,000
All VP+ (executive cohort)
$458,828
$300,000
$400,000
$522,500
Organization headcount — equity at hire
Mean
25%
Median
75%
Under 1,000 employees
$395,977
$0
$56,466
$300,000
1,001–10,000 employees
$340,478
$0
$25,000
$222,500
10,001–50,000 employees
$389,290
$43,750
$200,000
$425,000
50,001+ employees
$326,834
$60,766
$200,000
$412,500
All VP+ (executive cohort)
$365,860
$0
$100,000
$357,500
Equity tables cover executives who reported holding equity. Grant value is the full award at the time of hire as reported by the respondent, not an annual slice of a multi-year vest. Equity is additive here rather than a substitute for cash: the executives who hold it also report the higher total cash. For a private employer competing with a public one, the grant as a multiple of base — 0.93× at late-stage private against 0.58× at public companies — is the argument to make out loud.
MEDIAN GRANT AS A MULTIPLE OF BASE
Company stage
n
Median grant ÷ base
Late-stage private
31
0.93×
Equity holders only. Every startup-stage cell is too small to report. A private company competing for an enterprise executive is not usually winning on base; it wins on the multiple.
