Salario de Ingeniero de IA / ML en Texas (2026)
El salario promedio de un Ingeniero de IA / ML en Texas es de $190,000/año. Después de impuestos, tu sueldo neto estimado es de $141,472/año ($11,789/mes).✓ Sin impuesto estatal
Desglose del Sueldo Neto
| Categoría | Cantidad |
|---|---|
Sueldo Neto Anual | $141,472 |
Sueldo Neto Mensual | $11,789 |
Sueldo Neto Quincenal | $5,441 |
Sueldo Neto por Hora basado en 2,080 hrs/año | $68/hr |
Impuesto Federal | $34,334 |
Impuesto Estatal | $0 |
Impuestos FICA | $14,194 |
Tasa Efectiva de Impuesto impuestos totales ÷ salario bruto | 25.54% |
¿Compensación con acciones? Usa la calculadora correcta.
RSU, ISO y ventas de acciones se gravan diferente. Elige la herramienta que corresponde a tu evento.
Calculadora RSU
Ingreso al vest + déficit de sell-to-cover + proyección de ganancia de capital.
Calcular vest RSUCalculadora ISO/AMT
Exposición a AMT federal, phaseout de exención y tu punto de crossover.
Calcular AMTGuía de Stock Comp
RSU vs NSO vs ISO vs ganancias de capital — cómo se grava cada uno.
Leer la guíaRangos de Salario de Ingeniero de IA / ML en Texas
No todas las Ingeniero de IA / MLs ganan lo mismo — ni de cerca
Texas AI/ML compensation is anchored by the Austin tech-hub buildout: Tesla AI Austin (Optimus + FSD + Dojo), Apple Austin campus (massive 2023-2026 ML expansion), Meta Austin, Oracle Austin HQ + Oracle AI, Indeed, Dell Austin, AT&T AI Lab (Plano DFW), USAA San Antonio AI. Plus University of Texas Austin AI Lab (Allen School-tier CS PhD program), Cerebras Austin office, Mavenlink, and growing AI startup cluster. Texas is no-state-income-tax, which means vesting, bonus, and base all hit at 0% state. Real comp ranges for the Texas market in 2026:
Junior MLE / New-Grad PhD
$155K base + $70K-$120K RSU/yr
0-2 yrs · TC $225K-$275K · 0% state
Mid-Level MLE (FAANG TX equiv)
$185K base + $120K-$200K RSU/yr
3-6 yrs · TC $305K-$425K · 0% state
Senior MLE (FAANG TX L5/L6)
$225K base + $200K-$340K RSU/yr
7-12 yrs · TC $425K-$565K · 0% state
Tesla AI / Apple Austin ML Premium
+10-20% above standard FAANG TX ladder
Tesla AI Optimus / FSD / Dojo · Apple Austin $4B campus expansion
Staff / Principal MLE
$295K base + $360K-$580K RSU/yr
12+ yrs · TC $655K-$875K · 0% state
AT&T AI Lab Plano (DFW)
$185K-$285K base + RSU + bonus
Telco AI · network optimization · 5G/6G ML · government adjacency
AI Startup (Austin / Houston cluster)
$165K-$255K base + ISO/RSU + QSBS-eligible
Austin AI cluster · pre-IPO equity · TX QSBS conformity
UT Austin AI Lab Researcher
$155K-$240K base + research grant
Academic comp · PhD pipeline · industry collaboration
Vale la pena saber: Texas has the fastest-growing US AI/ML headcount 2022-2026. Tesla AI Austin (Optimus humanoid robot + FSD + Dojo training cluster) doubled engineering headcount 2023-2025. Apple announced $4B Austin campus expansion through 2026 with massive ML hiring. Oracle moved HQ to Austin 2020. Combined with 0% state tax + lower COL than Bay Area, the TX AI/ML market is accelerating.
The Texas AI/ML market: Tesla AI + Apple Austin + Oracle + 0% state + housing arbitrage
$0
TX state income tax — 0% on base + bonus + RSU vest
$4B
Apple Austin campus expansion through 2026 — massive ML hiring
2.0-2.3%
TX effective property tax — high vs national but offset by 0% income tax
Texas's AI/ML market acceleration 2022-2026 is one of the largest US tech-geography shifts in decades. Tesla AI Austin (Giga Texas Optimus humanoid + FSD V12+ + Dojo training cluster) plus the broader Tesla Austin engineering campus (~25K employees) — Tesla AI is the highest-paying TX AI/ML employer at senior tier. Apple announced a $4B Austin campus expansion through 2026 with ML hiring at scale. Oracle moved HQ from Redwood Shores to Austin 2020 and built out Oracle AI org 2023-2026.
Beyond the Austin cluster: AT&T AI Lab Plano (DFW telco AI + 5G/6G network optimization + government-adjacency clearance work), Meta Austin (Reality Labs subset + Instagram engineering), Indeed Austin, Dell Austin (PowerScale + AI infra), Cerebras Austin office, USAA San Antonio AI (insurtech ML at scale). University of Texas Austin AI Lab is one of the top-15 US CS PhD programs for ML, with strong industry pipeline to Tesla AI / Apple / Meta Austin.
Texas 0% state income tax + Austin/Dallas housing 30-50% below Bay Area = the structural arbitrage. A senior MLE earning $565K TC in Austin at 0% state on a $700K-$1.1M house pays roughly $35K/year property tax (Texas effective property tax 2.0-2.3%) + 0% state income = ~32% total tax + housing burden. Same comp + same housing in Bay Area at $2M+ on the house + 13.3% CA + 1.1% CA = ~50% total burden. Net delta $80K-$120K/year free cash flow at senior MLE tier.
The Tesla AI Austin premium is real and worth understanding. Tesla doesn't follow standard FAANG L5/L6/L7 leveling — it uses an internal 'Senior Engineer / Staff Engineer / Principal Engineer / Distinguished Engineer' track. Tesla AI senior comp typically $250K-$340K base + $250K-$500K (Tesla stock dependent — RSUs valued at grant but vest at then-current price). Tesla RSU 4-year vest 25/25/25/25 annual. Equity heavy + Elon-volatility-tolerance required — many Tesla AI engineers have realized $5M-$30M+ on 2019-2022 grants but seen 50% drawdowns mid-cycle.
Texas as a place to live — the honest take for AI/ML engineers
Texas AI/ML housing is dominated by Austin metro pricing dynamics. Austin proper SFH $750K-$1.6M (Tarrytown, Hyde Park, Mueller, East Austin, Westlake Hills $2M+). Round Rock / Cedar Park / Pflugerville (north Austin suburbs) SFH $550K-$900K. Lakeway / Bee Cave (west Austin Hill Country) SFH $900K-$1.8M. Austin priced up dramatically 2020-2024 driven by Tesla / Apple / Oracle in-migration; some 2024-2025 cooling but remains expensive.
Dallas-Fort Worth AI/ML housing is materially below Austin. Plano / Frisco / McKinney (DFW north) SFH $500K-$800K with top ISDs and AT&T AI Lab + American Airlines + Toyota North America employer base. Dallas proper urban $600K-$1.2M (M Streets, Lakewood, Bishop Arts).
Property tax 2.0-2.3% effective is the Texas caveat — typical $700K Austin home pays $14K-$16K/year property tax. The over-65 frozen-assessed-value protection (county-by-county, but most TX counties offer it for primary residence) is meaningful for retirement-stage planning. Climate is Texas's secondary caveat — Austin June-September runs 95-101°F + lower humidity than Houston, daily highs in the 90s for 4-5 months. Air-conditioned indoor work is the norm.
How Texas taxes AI/ML compensation (RSU + 0% state + property tax + QSBS conformity)
TX 0% state income tax on base + bonus + vest + ordinary-income portion. A $305K mid-level Tesla AI MLE pays only federal + + Medicare + Additional Medicare = ~30% effective. Same comp in CA pays ~38-39% effective. Annual delta $25K-$30K at mid-level, $45K-$70K at senior, $80K-$150K at staff/principal.
vest at FAANG TX is treated as ordinary wage income — federal + only, 0% state. At Tesla / Apple Austin / Meta Austin / Oracle senior tier, $200K-$580K of annual RSU vest at marginal ~37% federal + 1.45% Medicare + 0.9% Additional Medicare + 6.2% Social Security (until $184,500 wage base cap) = ~38-40% combined marginal vs ~51% in CA. Quarterly estimated tax or W-4 step 4(c) supplemental to avoid April-15 underpayment.
Tesla specific structure — 4-year graded vest 25/25/25/25 annual. RSU valued at grant (pre-vest), vest at then-current FMV (taxable as ordinary income). Tesla stock volatility (50%+ drawdowns historical) creates concentration + tax timing complexity. Many Tesla AI engineers sell-on-vest to lock value + diversify, others diamond-hand for continued upside.
Apple Austin structure — standard Apple 4-year graded 25/25/25/25 with refresher grants annually. Apple 15% discount (6-month lookback) plus standard Apple comp ladder. Apple Austin engineers receive full Apple comp + benefits stack — no Austin-discount despite TX 0% state.
Oracle AI Austin structure — Oracle moved HQ to Austin 2020 + built Oracle AI org 2023-2026. Oracle RSU typically 4-year vest with refresher grants every 1-2 years. Oracle available. Oracle senior MLE TC $400K-$580K, lower than Apple/Meta but with TX 0% state advantage.
Meta Austin structure — full Meta comp ladder + 25/25/25/25 graded vest. Meta Austin is smaller than Bay Area HQ but growing — engineers receive Meta comp + benefits + 0% TX state.
Section 1202 conformity — TX has no state income tax, so QSBS qualification (5-year hold + ≤$50M aggregate gross assets at issuance + C-corp) results in $10M federal-tax-free + automatic 0% TX state. TX is one of the strongest US states for pre-Series B AI startup equity alongside WA / FL / NV.
() at Apple / Meta / Oracle TX offices — full Apple/Meta MBR available ($47.5K/year of after-tax → in-plan Roth conversion). Tesla 401(k) plan does NOT offer after-tax 401(k) (no MBR available at Tesla as of 2025). Oracle 401(k) plan offers limited MBR depending on plan tier.
Backdoor Roth IRA $7,500/year. Phase-out at $146K/$236K ; AI/ML at FAANG TX immediately exceeds → backdoor only path.
if eligible. Texas conforms to federal HSA treatment + automatic 0% state. Triple-tax-advantaged works perfectly.
Property tax 2.0-2.3% effective is the TX caveat — typical $700K Austin home pays $14K-$16K/year property tax. Apply for homestead exemption + over-65 frozen-assessed-value at primary residence. The 2026 Texas homestead exemption is $100K assessed value + 10% annual cap on homestead-exempt assessed-value increases (vs unlimited reassessment for non-homestead).
No CA → TX retirement relocation pressure since TX already 0% — TX nurses, engineers, retirees stay in TX. Some senior TX MLEs do relocate within TX for retirement (Austin → Boerne / Fredericksburg / Marble Falls Hill Country, or Austin → Padre Island gulf coast).
Travel / consulting income — rare for AI/ML (most are ) but some senior MLEs pivot to consulting/advisory (board seats, expert witness, LLM consulting). TX domicile + W-2 → 1099 transition + Solo ($72K limit) + election at $300K+ net SE income = significant additional shelter.
Mid-career CA/NY → TX relocation arbitrage — home-sale exclusion + Prop 13 long-tenure freeze realization (CA) + vesting moved to 0% state + Austin housing 50% below Bay Area = $80K-$200K/year free cash flow improvement at senior MLE tier. Document residency carefully (TX driver license, voter registration, primary residence).
- →Max at Apple Austin / Meta Austin — $47.5K/year of after-tax → Roth. Tesla does NOT offer MBR; Oracle limited tier-dependent.
- →Sell Tesla on vest — locks 0% TX tax, avoids Tesla concentration + volatility risk on long-term hold.
- →Pursue Section 1202 at pre-Series B AI startups — TX 0% state + federal $10M tax-free at 5-year hold = strong US tax treatment.
- →File homestead exemption + over-65 protection at TX primary residence within 1 year of purchase. $100K homestead exemption + 10% annual cap on assessed-value increases.
- →Quarterly estimated tax or W-4 step 4(c) to avoid April-15 underpayment on vest income.
- →Backdoor Roth IRA $7K/year — phase-out exceeds at AI/ML salary; backdoor only path.
- → max — TX conforms federal, triple-tax-advantaged works perfectly.
- →Apple Austin 15% discount — max contribution + sell same-day for liquidity (or hold for treatment on post-purchase appreciation).
- →CA / NY → TX mid-career relocation — saves $80K-$200K/year at senior MLE tier ( vest 0% state + housing 50% below Bay Area). Document residency carefully.
- →Tesla concentration management — sell-on-vest to fund tax + diversify, or set automated quarterly sales (10b5-1 plan) to avoid blackout periods + insider-trading exposure.
- →Solo + election at $300K+ net SE income for senior MLEs pivoting to consulting/advisory.
- →Consulting/advisory side income — board seats, expert witness, LLM consulting at $400-$1,500/hour. TX 0% state on side income. 1099 + Schedule C structure.
Three TX AI/ML submarkets — Austin Tesla/Apple/Oracle, DFW AT&T AI Lab, and Houston / San Antonio
Texas AI/ML is dominated by Austin (Tesla AI + Apple + Oracle + Meta), with secondary clusters in DFW (AT&T AI Lab + American Airlines + Toyota) and Houston / San Antonio (USAA + healthcare AI + energy AI).
Austin — Tesla AI / Apple / Oracle / Meta / UT Austin AI Lab
Senior MLE base $225K-$280K + RSU $200K-$340K/yr · TC $425K-$620K · staff $655K-$875KTesla Giga Texas (Optimus + FSD + Dojo, ~25K total Austin employees with ~3K AI/ML), Apple Austin campus ($4B expansion through 2026, MLE + supply chain ML + Siri ML offshoot), Oracle HQ Austin (Oracle AI + Oracle Cloud Infrastructure ML), Meta Austin (Reality Labs subset + Instagram engineering), Indeed Austin, Dell Austin, Cerebras Austin office, AMD Austin (Instinct AI accelerator team subset). University of Texas Austin AI Lab (top-15 US CS PhD ML program). Workforce housing in Round Rock / Cedar Park / Pflugerville ($550K-$900K SFH) or Austin proper ($750K-$1.6M SFH).
Austin is the fastest-growing US AI/ML metro 2022-2026. Tesla AI Optimus + FSD + Dojo doubled engineering headcount 2023-2025. Apple $4B campus expansion through 2026 = massive ML hiring. UT Austin AI Lab PhD pipeline. 0% state + housing 50% below Bay Area = structural arbitrage.
DFW — AT&T AI Lab Plano + American Airlines + Toyota NA + Children's Health Dallas
Senior MLE base $215K-$265K + RSU $160K-$280K/yr · TC $375K-$545KAT&T AI Lab Plano (telco AI + 5G/6G network optimization + government clearance work), American Airlines Fort Worth (operations ML + revenue management), Toyota North America Plano (autonomous + manufacturing ML), Children's Health Dallas (clinical AI), Texas Health Resources (healthcare AI), HCA Healthcare DFW (clinical AI), JCPenney AI, Walmart Bentonville-adjacent. Workforce housing in Plano / Frisco / McKinney / Allen ($500K-$800K SFH, top ISDs).
DFW AI/ML is smaller than Austin but growing. AT&T AI Lab government-adjacency creates clearance-eligible ML work valuable for engineers with clearance. American Airlines + Toyota North America operational ML at scale.
Houston + San Antonio — USAA AI + Healthcare ML + Energy AI
Senior MLE base $185K-$245K + RSU $120K-$220K/yr · TC $305K-$465KUSAA San Antonio AI (insurtech ML at scale, ~35K total USAA employees, AI org subset), Houston Methodist + MD Anderson AI (clinical AI + medical imaging), ExxonMobil Houston AI Lab (energy + reservoir ML), Schlumberger / SLB Houston (oilfield AI), Halliburton Houston (drilling + exploration ML), JPMorgan Houston AI subset. Workforce housing in Sugar Land / Pearland / Katy (Houston, $380K-$550K SFH) or Stone Oak / Alamo Ranch (San Antonio, $300K-$420K SFH).
Houston + San Antonio AI/ML is domain-specialized — healthcare AI (TMC), energy AI (ExxonMobil + SLB + Halliburton), insurtech (USAA). Smaller absolute market than Austin but genuinely deep domain expertise + 0% state tax.
The Texas AI/ML career arc — Austin entry, Tesla/Apple senior, mid-career CA→TX migrations
Year 0 (PhD entry / new-grad MLE): $155K base + $70K-$120K /yr + $20K-$35K signing. UT Austin AI Lab + Stanford + CMU + Berkeley + Texas A&M typical PhD pipelines. New-grad PhD at Tesla AI typically $175K-$210K base + RSU $150K-$220K/yr. Apple Austin new-grad $170K-$200K base + RSU $130K-$200K/yr. Oracle AI Austin new-grad $155K-$185K base + RSU.
Year 1-3 (Mid-Level / FAANG TX equiv): $185K-$225K base + $120K-$200K/yr · TC $305K-$425K. First refresher RSU grant year 1-2. Mid-career CA MLE relocation to Austin/DFW peaks at this stage — home-sale exclusion not yet relevant but RSU vesting at 0% state immediately captures $25K-$45K/year CA-vs-TX delta + housing 50% below Bay Area.
Year 3-7 (Senior MLE / FAANG TX L5/L6 + Tesla AI senior): $225K-$280K base + $200K-$340K/yr · TC $425K-$620K. Tesla AI premium 10-20% above standard FAANG TX ladder for Optimus/FSD/Dojo work. Apple Austin senior MLE benefits from full Apple comp + benefits stack + TX 0% state. maxing at Apple/Meta Austin (Tesla doesn't offer MBR, Oracle limited).
Year 7-15 (Staff / Principal MLE / Tesla AI senior research): $295K base + $360K-$580K/yr · TC $655K-$875K. Tesla AI Distinguished Engineer / Principal Engineer tier for Optimus/FSD/Dojo leads $1M-$2M+ TC depending on Tesla stock performance. Apple Austin Principal $900K-$1.2M.
Year 15+ (Director / VP / Founder / Investor): Tesla AI Director $1.2M-$2.5M (stock dependent). Apple Director $1.2M-$1.8M. Oracle VP $1M-$1.5M. Founder route — pre-Series B AI startup founding with TX conformity = strong post-exit tax treatment. Most senior TX MLEs retire in-state — 0% state tax + 0% retirement tax + lower COL than Bay Area.
Where Texas AI/ML engineers live
Texas AI/ML housing patterns favor Austin north suburbs (Round Rock / Cedar Park / Pflugerville) for Tesla / Apple / Oracle commute, or DFW north suburbs (Plano / Frisco) for AT&T AI Lab.
Round Rock / Cedar Park / Pflugerville (Austin N)
Tesla / Apple / Oracle commute · $550K-$900K SFH · top ISDs
Lakeway / Bee Cave / Westlake Hills (Austin W)
Tesla / Apple commute · $900K-$1.8M SFH · Hill Country lifestyle
Mueller / Hyde Park / East Austin (Austin proper)
Tesla Giga Texas commute 20-30 min · $750K-$1.6M SFH · urban density
Plano / Frisco / McKinney (DFW N)
AT&T AI Lab / American Airlines · $500K-$800K SFH · top ISDs
Sugar Land / Pearland / Katy (Houston SW/S/W)
TMC AI / Methodist · $380K-$550K SFH · cheapest TX major-metro AI/ML housing
Stone Oak / Alamo Ranch (San Antonio)
USAA AI · $300K-$420K SFH · cheapest TX major-metro · low COL
Texas summer heat (95-101°F + 4-5 months Jun-Sep) is real — most engineers cluster errands early/evening + air-conditioned indoor work + indoor exercise.
¿Es la decisión correcta?
Texas AI/ML — who it's best for
A tu favor
- +0% state income tax on base + bonus + RSU vest + ESPP
- +$80K-$200K/year free cash flow improvement vs Bay Area at senior MLE tier (tax + housing combined)
- +Tesla AI Austin + Apple Austin $4B expansion + Oracle AI HQ + Meta Austin = fastest-growing US AI/ML metro
- +TX conforms to federal QSBS + HSA + 0% state on capital gains = strongest US tax treatment for AI startup equity
- +Austin housing 30-50% below Bay Area + DFW / Houston / San Antonio further below
- +TX participates in NLC compact + property over-65 freeze + homestead exemption $100K
- +No CA-style FTB residency audit aggression on retirement relocation
Vale la pena saber antes de firmar
- −Frontier-lab cluster is CA — staying TX means accepting FAANG-tier comp ceiling (no OpenAI/Anthropic Austin yet)
- −TX summer heat (95-101°F + 4-5 months) is genuinely difficult Jun-Sep
- −TX effective property tax 2.0-2.3% — high vs national, but offset by 0% income tax
- −Tesla equity volatility (50%+ drawdowns historical) creates concentration + tax timing complexity
- −Tesla 401(k) does NOT offer MBR (vs Apple/Meta full MBR)
- −Hurricane exposure in Houston / Galveston is real (Harvey 2017)
- −Austin metro housing has priced up dramatically 2020-2024 — not the bargain it was
Mercado Laboral en Texas
Growing job market fueled by tech migration, energy, and healthcare sectors.
Perspectivas de crecimiento: BLS projects 23% growth through 2032 for computer/info-research scientists (which AI/ML engineers fall under) — among the fastest-growing tech roles. Frontier-lab demand uniquely strong — OpenAI / Anthropic / xAI / Mistral / DeepMind hiring at premium tiers $300K-$700K base alone for senior MLE, plus equity 1.5x-3x base.
Puestos relacionados:
Costo de Vida en Texas
Housing is more affordable than coastal states. Median 1BR rent: $1,200–$1,800.
💰 Sueldo neto mensual: $11,789
🏠 Renta típica: $1,500/mo
📊 Después de renta: $10,289/mo
Calcula Tu Sueldo Neto Exacto
Agrega contribuciones al 401(k), HSA, dependientes y más para ver tu sueldo neto personalizado.
Abrir Calculadora CompletaFrequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about your taxes and our calculator.
Comparar dos estados
Compara el impuesto sobre la renta, el salario neto y la carga fiscal total entre cualquier par de estados de EE.UU.
Estado 1
Estado 2