AI consultant salary: what employers post and BLS data show

There is no single AI consultant salary, because employers use the title for jobs they pay very differently. In an AWS Professional Services AI/ML delivery consultant posting we read on October 23, 2026, the base salary range was $131,300 to $177,600 in most listed US cities, with sign-on payments and restricted stock units on top⁠¹1Amazon.jobs, Delivery Consultant - AI/ML, AWS Professional Services - Job ID: 10568760. Deloitte's AI consultant and manager postings we read carried wage ranges from $71,300 to $265,100 across teams and levels⁠^2,32Deloitte US, Agentic AI Delivery Consultant - 3721943Deloitte US, AI Governance Manager - 364234. One government benchmark for advisory work, management analysts, had a median annual wage of $101,860 in May 2025⁠⁴4U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Management Analysts : Occupational Outlook Handbook.

This page splits the title into the kinds of work behind it, shows each figure with its source, date and what it includes, and says where the data stops. The figures come from two kinds of source: employers' own postings, which show what a company estimates it will pay for one open job (here, October 2026), and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) wage data, which describes what employees in an occupation earned (here, May 2025). They measure different things over different periods, so the page shows them side by side and never averages them.

What jobs does the title "AI consultant" cover?

The title covers at least four kinds of work, and the postings we read show how differently they are priced.

Hands-on delivery at a cloud vendor. AWS's Delivery Consultant, AI/ML posting says the consultant works closely with customers to design, implement and manage AI/ML and generative AI solutions. Its basic qualifications are a bachelor's degree, 8+ years building machine learning models and 5+ years leading technical teams⁠¹. The senior version asks for 3+ years of cloud architecture and solution implementation and 5+ years of machine learning experience⁠⁹9Amazon.jobs, Sr. Delivery Consultant - AI/ML, WWPS ProServe - Job ID: 10552558.

Delivery inside a consulting firm. Deloitte's Agentic AI Delivery Consultant asks for 4+ years delivering AI/ML solutions, including 1+ year in generative AI, agentic AI or multi-agent systems, and lists travel of up to 50% on average. It sits in Deloitte's Government & Public Services practice and asks for the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance⁠².

Advisory, governance and risk work. Deloitte's AI Governance Senior Consultant asks for 4+ years in regulatory risk, compliance, AI governance, model risk or advisory services⁠⁷7Deloitte US, AI Governance Senior Consultant - 363967. Its AI Advise Strategy Consultant sits in the Strategy offering of the Government & Public Services practice, asks for an active Secret security clearance and 2+ years in research, policy, strategy or professional services, and lists travel of 0 to 10%⁠¹⁰10Deloitte US, AI Advise Strategy Consultant - 357938.

Independent consulting. BLS lists self-employed workers at 14 percent of management analyst jobs in its employer table, and says self-employed analysts are paid directly by their clients, typically by the hour or the project⁠⁴. We found no primary dataset that prices independent AI consulting, so this page gives no hourly or day-rate figures for freelancers.

How much do AI consultants earn at a consulting firm like Deloitte?

Deloitte shows a pay range in most of the US AI postings we opened. The table lists the five AI consultant and manager postings with a range that we read on October 23, 2026. Each range is one employer's estimate for one open job, not a record of what people were paid.

Each of the five postings calls its figure a reasonable estimate of the current range and says it has not been adjusted for the geographic differential of the location where the job is filled⁠^2,10,7,11,311Deloitte US, Senior Consultant, AI Risk & Validation - 367569. Each also says it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role⁠^2,10,7,11,3. The postings describe the figure as a wage range and do not say whether it is base salary. Each adds that the person may be eligible for a discretionary annual incentive program, with any award depending on individual and organizational performance, which the postings treat separately from the range⁠^2,10,7,11,3.

Three things stand out. First, the ranges are wide: the top of each is 1.7 to 2.0 times the bottom (our arithmetic from the postings). Second, years of experience do not line up with the range. The Agentic AI Delivery Consultant and the AI Governance Senior Consultant both ask for 4+ years, yet their ranges start at $71,300 and $110,700⁠^2,7. The titles differ in level (Consultant and Senior Consultant) and the postings do not say how each range was set, so treat the team, the level and the type of work as part of the price. Third, the two lowest ranges belong to the two postings in the Government & Public Services practice that ask for a Secret security clearance, and the postings do not say whether that affects the range⁠^2,10. Not every posting shows pay, either: of the seven Deloitte AI postings we opened, five showed a range and two, a Finance Analytics & AI Senior Consultant and a Finance Analytics & AI Manager, showed none⁠^12,1312Deloitte US, Finance Analytics & AI Senior Consultant - 36690013Deloitte US, Finance Analytics & AI Manager - 366902.

How much do AI consultants earn at a cloud vendor like AWS?

AWS Professional Services is, in its own postings, a global team that helps customers reach their goals on the AWS cloud⁠^1,9. Its AI/ML delivery consultant roles read closer to engineering than to advisory work: both postings say the team is seeking a machine learning engineer to work with customers on designing and building AI/ML solutions, both also describe acting as a trusted advisor to customers, and both ask for years of machine learning experience⁠^1,9. Amazon labels the figures below a base salary range, and we read both postings on October 23, 2026.

Both postings say the Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units and that final compensation depends on factors including experience, qualifications and location. Neither states an amount for the sign-on payments or the stock units, so total compensation includes amounts the table does not show and we cannot report⁠^1,9. The ranges are proportionally narrower than Deloitte's (the top is about 1.35 times the bottom) and step up by location: the New York and New Jersey tiers sit about 10% above the base tier, and San Francisco about 15% above it in the senior posting (our arithmetic from the postings).

For how engineering pay compares more broadly, see our AI engineer vs software engineer salary comparison. For another AI title that employers post with pay ranges, see AI solutions architect salary.

What does BLS wage data say about consultant pay?

BLS does not list "AI consultant" as an occupation on the pages used here. Management analysts, who recommend ways to improve an organization's efficiency, are used here as an advisory benchmark⁠⁴. Software developers and computer and information research scientists are reference points for the technical end⁠^5,65U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers : Occupational Outlook Handbook6U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Computer and Information Research Scientists : Occupational Outlook Handbook. The table shows annual wages for May 2025.

These are wages for employees across all employers. The figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program⁠⁴, which does not include the self-employed⁠⁸8U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Technical Notes for May 2025 OEWS Estimates. Its wage definition counts base rate, cost-of-living allowances, guaranteed pay and incentive pay such as commissions and production bonuses, and leaves out overtime, nonproduction bonuses and employer costs for benefits⁠⁸. For management analysts, the median was $107,330 in professional, scientific and technical services and $101,030 in management of companies and enterprises⁠⁴. BLS counted about 1.1 million management analyst jobs in 2025 and projects 10 percent growth from 2025 to 2035⁠⁴.

Set beside the BLS median for management analysts, the Deloitte strategy consultant range ($93,100 to $155,100) straddles it, while the AWS base ranges start above it. The lowest AWS base figure, $131,300, is just under the BLS median for software developers, $135,980. These comparisons set October 2026 postings beside May 2025 wages. They describe how different sources line up and do not say what any given consultant earns.

Why do AI consultant salary figures differ so much?

Different jobs. A hands-on delivery role at a cloud vendor, a governance role at a consulting firm and a strategy role are three different jobs sharing a title, as the postings above show.

Different definitions of pay. AWS publishes a base salary range and says sign-on payments and stock units come on top⁠¹. Deloitte publishes a wage range and mentions a discretionary incentive program separately in its postings⁠^7,3. BLS counts production bonuses but not nonproduction bonuses⁠⁸, and says management analysts at consulting firms are usually paid a base salary plus a year-end bonus⁠⁴. Setting a base figure beside a total-compensation figure from another source makes the base look low.

Location. AWS prices by location tier. Deloitte's figures are not adjusted for location, and the BLS figures used here are national⁠^9,7,4.

A posting is an estimate. Deloitte calls its figure a reasonable estimate, and AWS says final compensation depends on experience, qualifications and location⁠^7,1. Where pay-disclosure law applies, the range is the employer's own expectation too: New York Labor Law section 194-B requires an ad for a job performed at least in part in New York, or reporting to a supervisor or office there, to state the minimum and maximum pay the employer believes in good faith to be accurate when the ad is posted⁠¹⁴14New York State Senate, Section 194-B: Mandatory disclosure of compensation or range of compensation (New York Labor Law). Either way, a posted range states what an employer expects to pay, not what people were paid.

Small samples. This page covers two employers, five Deloitte ranges and two AWS postings. It is a set of dated examples, not a market average, and we have not blended it into one number.

What about independent AI consultants and day rates?

We did not find a primary dataset on what independent AI consultants charge, and the BLS wage program leaves the self-employed out⁠⁸. An hourly or day rate is also not a salary. The IRS puts the self-employment tax rate at 15.3%, made up of 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare, with the Social Security part applying only up to an annual earnings limit⁠¹⁵15Internal Revenue Service, Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes). A freelancer also typically pays for their own benefits and has unbilled time between engagements. To compare a rate with the salary figures above, subtract those costs first, and ask how many hours a year are actually billed.

What does this data leave out?

It does not cover other consulting, strategy or IT-services employers, so it makes no claim about what they pay. We have not analyzed US Department of Labor H-1B filings for this edition. Postings open and close, and some of Deloitte's pages state recruiting end dates in December 2026⁠^11,3, so a range you read here may not match the live page. Each source below lists the day we read it. When you see a different AI consultant figure elsewhere, check which job it measures, whether it is base or total pay, where it comes from and what period it describes.