AI / ML Engineer Salary in Missouri (2026)
The average AI / ML Engineer in Missouri earns around $220,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $154,319/year ($12,860/month).
Take-Home Pay Breakdown
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
Annual Take-Home Pay | $154,319 |
Monthly Take-Home Pay | $12,860 |
Biweekly Take-Home Pay | $5,935 |
Hourly Take-Home Pay based on 2,080 hrs/year | $74/hr |
Federal Tax | $41,704 |
State Tax | $9,168 |
FICA Taxes | $14,809 |
Effective Tax Rate total taxes ÷ gross salary | 29.85% |
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Read the guideAI / ML Engineer Salary Ranges in Missouri
Not all AI / ML Engineers earn the same — not even close
Missouri's AI/ML engineering market is anchored by Oracle Health (legacy Cerner ~12K KC-area employees post-2022 $28B Oracle acquisition, the country's largest single-state healthcare-software AI/ML organization), Centene HQ Clayton (Fortune 25 healthcare insurance, ~25K MO employees, substantial claims + member analytics), Edward Jones HQ Maryland Heights (~20K employees, largest US broker-dealer branch network with substantial investor analytics ML), Washington University in St. Louis research (substantial NIH-funded computational biology + medical AI), Boeing Defense Space & Security STL (cleared aerospace AI), plus the Cortex Innovation Community St. Louis startup cluster.
Principal ML Engineer / Senior Scientist
$215,000–$365,000+ TC
Oracle Health senior · WashU research · Centene senior · Boeing Defense senior · cleared specialty
Senior ML Engineer (Healthcare Software)
$155,000–$245,000
Oracle Health (legacy Cerner) · clinical decision support · EHR ML · medical-imaging AI premium
Senior ML Engineer (Healthcare Insurance)
$145,000–$220,000
Centene claims + member analytics · Express Scripts/Cigna PBM · senior healthcare-insurance ML
Senior ML Engineer (Financial Services)
$145,000–$225,000
Edward Jones investor analytics · Stifel quant · Wells Fargo Advisors · senior FinServ ML
Senior ML Engineer (Cleared Aerospace)
$165,000–$275,000
Boeing Defense Space & Security · F-15EX + T-7A + MQ-25 · TS/SCI plus polygraph premium
Senior MLOps Engineer
$125,000–$195,000
Production ML deployment · Oracle Health clinical pipelines · Centene real-time scoring · senior platform IC
ML Engineer (Mid-Level, 3-6 yrs)
$108,000–$165,000
Most common mid-career band · WashU + Mizzou + UMKC + Missouri S&T pipeline · cross-industry
Junior ML Engineer (0-3 yrs)
$85,000–$125,000
Post-WashU + Mizzou + UMKC + Missouri S&T MS/PhD · Oracle Health + Centene new-grad · entry band
Senior Computational Biologist (WashU)
$155,000–$255,000
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine · NIH-funded computational biology · academic premium
Senior Research Scientist (Cortex / Startup)
$145,000–$235,000
Cortex Innovation Community STL · BioSTL startup cluster · early-stage equity participation
Worth knowing: Oracle Health (legacy Cerner, ~12K KC-area employees post-2022 $28B Oracle acquisition) is the structural depth feature most national AI/ML-career surveys understate for MO. Oracle Health operates the country's largest single-state healthcare-software AI/ML organization — clinical decision support ML, EHR predictive analytics, medical imaging AI, and revenue cycle ML all at scale across Oracle Health's ~25% US hospital EHR market share. Senior Oracle Health ML engineers clear $155-275K TC. Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine ($706M+ FY2023 NIH funding — top-5 nationally) operates substantial NIH-funded computational biology + medical AI research. Centene HQ Clayton (Fortune 25, ~$165B revenue, ~25K MO employees) operates the country's largest single-state Medicaid managed care AI/ML organization. Edward Jones HQ Maryland Heights (~20K employees, ~$15B revenue) operates substantial investor analytics ML supporting the 15K+ branch network. Boeing Defense Space & Security STL (~14K MO employees) drives cleared aerospace AI/ML at TS/SCI clearance scales. The Cortex Innovation Community St. Louis (post-2002 redevelopment of CWE biotech district, ~$2.4B cumulative investment, ~300 startups) drives early-stage AI/ML startup demand. MO's 4.95% flat tax plus STL/KC 1% city earnings tax creates county-residency arbitrage: Edward Jones Maryland Heights employees + Oracle Health North Kansas City employees pay only 4.95% combined; downtown STL employers pay 5.95%.
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More on Missouri
Salaries by profession, top-paying roles by industry, and an economic breakdown for Missouri in 2026.
Tax brackets, standard deductions, and take-home estimates for Missouri in 2026.
Adjust filing status, 401(k), and city/county tax for your exact 2026 take-home in Missouri.