How much does an application administrator make?

The average application administrator salary in the United States is $100,258. Application administrator salaries typically range between $73,000 and $137,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for application administrators is $48.2 per hour. Application administrator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Application administrators earn the highest average salary in California.

Application administrator salary

Q: What state pays Application Administrators the most?

California pays Application Administrators the most in the United States, with an average salary of $114,023 per year, or $54.82 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an application administrator?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an application administrator if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Washington you should be paid close to $106,538 per year.

Quoted expert

Dr. Richard Huff Ph.D.

Average application administrator salary

$100,258

$48.2 hourly rate

Entry-level application administrator salary

$73,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding the Application Administrator Salary Landscape

The role of an Application Administrator is essential in overseeing software systems that support business functions. As of October 2025, the average salary for this position is $100,258 annually. This figure varies significantly based on factors such as experience, geographical location, and the industry in which one works.

In states like California and New York, salaries can be notably higher, reflecting the demand for skilled professionals in these regions. For instance, Application Administrators working in tech-focused cities often command salaries exceeding the national average. On the other hand, entry-level positions may start lower, but they present an opportunity for growth as skills and experience increase.

Additionally, industries such as healthcare and finance tend to offer competitive salaries for Application Administrators due to the critical nature of their software applications. By leveraging salary insights and understanding market trends, prospective candidates can make informed career decisions, positioning themselves for advancement in this dynamic field.

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Application administrator salary by:

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Where can an Application Administrator earn more?

Compare salary by location

133k

113k

93k

73k

53k

Columbus, OH$121,072

Chicago, IL$82,566

Compare salary by company

149k

129k

109k

89k

Cloudflare$135,415

Silicon Labs$119,007

Application administrator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Glassdoor and Comparably, the average salary for an application administrator typically falls between $55,000 and $100,258.

zippia

$100,258yearly

glassdoor[1]

$97,304yearly

comparably[2]

$55,000yearly

Average application administrator salary by state

The highest-paying states for application administrators are California, Washington, and Delaware. The lowest average application administrator salary states are Hawaii, Alaska, and Colorado.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for application administrators

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$114,023	$54.82
2	Texas	$101,200	$48.65
3	Washington	$106,538	$51.22
4	Florida	$100,281	$48.21
5	Massachusetts	$102,813	$49.43
6	North Carolina	$98,336	$47.28
7	Maryland	$101,079	$48.60
8	Connecticut	$100,736	$48.43
9	New Hampshire	$99,645	$47.91
10	Delaware	$103,754	$49.88
11	Rhode Island	$97,865	$47.05
12	Vermont	$96,958	$46.61
13	Alabama	$96,478	$46.38
14	Virginia	$97,692	$46.97
15	Maine	$98,677	$47.44
16	Louisiana	$99,292	$47.74
17	Pennsylvania	$95,347	$45.84
18	Arizona	$91,273	$43.88
19	Georgia	$95,188	$45.76
20	Tennessee	$96,635	$46.46
21	Oregon	$93,391	$44.90
22	New Jersey	$97,913	$47.07
23	New Mexico	$90,738	$43.62
24	Mississippi	$94,026	$45.20
25	Nevada	$89,824	$43.18
26	Idaho	$89,007	$42.79
27	West Virginia	$88,475	$42.54
28	Indiana	$89,025	$42.80
29	District of Columbia	$86,842	$41.75
30	Missouri	$89,729	$43.14
31	Ohio	$85,514	$41.11
32	New York	$90,197	$43.36
33	Alaska	$75,744	$36.42
34	Michigan	$85,765	$41.23
35	Arkansas	$86,124	$41.41
36	Utah	$78,534	$37.76
37	Wyoming	$81,506	$39.19
38	Oklahoma	$86,150	$41.42
39	Kentucky	$84,512	$40.63
40	Illinois	$82,327	$39.58
41	Colorado	$74,042	$35.60
42	Hawaii	$75,908	$36.49
43	Wisconsin	$80,483	$38.69
44	South Carolina	$82,810	$39.81
45	Minnesota	$79,832	$38.38
46	North Dakota	$73,577	$35.37
47	Kansas	$77,663	$37.34
48	South Dakota	$79,495	$38.22
49	Iowa	$79,063	$38.01
50	Nebraska	$73,148	$35.17
51	Montana	$66,753	$32.09

Top application administrator jobs near you

Highest paying cities for application administrators

The highest-paying cities for application administrators are San Francisco, CA, Issaquah, WA, and Wilmington, DE.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	San Francisco, CA	$121,072	$58.21
2	Issaquah, WA	$107,324	$51.60
3	Wilmington, DE	$103,828	$49.92
4	Boston, MA	$102,963	$49.50
5	Austin, TX	$101,541	$48.82
6	Catonsville, MD	$101,058	$48.59
7	Jacksonville, FL	$99,962	$48.06
8	Baton Rouge, LA	$99,487	$47.83
9	Reston, VA	$97,692	$46.97
10	Charlotte, NC	$97,575	$46.91
11	Brentwood, TN	$96,449	$46.37
12	Atlanta, GA	$94,671	$45.51
13	Pittsburgh, PA	$92,951	$44.69
14	Phoenix, AZ	$91,416	$43.95
15	Saint Louis, MO	$90,770	$43.64
16	New York, NY	$90,511	$43.51
17	Indianapolis, IN	$89,171	$42.87
18	Washington, DC	$86,888	$41.77
19	Southfield, MI	$86,173	$41.43
20	Chicago, IL	$82,566	$39.70

Application administrator salary details

An application administrator's salary ranges from $73,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $137,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average application administrator salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an application administrator's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$137,000	$11,417	$66
75th Percentile	$118,000	$9,833	$57
Average	$100,258	$8,355	$48
25th Percentile	$84,000	$7,000	$40
10th Percentile	$73,000	$6,083	$35

Highest paying application administrator jobs

The highest paying types of application administrators are senior administrator, systems administrator lead, and application consultant.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Systems Administrator Lead	$99,956	$8,330	$48.06	132,285
Windows System Administrator	$79,845	$6,654	$38.39	94,648
Network/Server Administrator	$78,919	$6,577	$37.94	167,546
Application Support Analyst	$92,078	$7,673	$44.27	173,440
Information Technology Administrator	$73,195	$6,100	$35.19	159,499
Unix Systems Administrator	$87,936	$7,328	$42.28	110,185

How would you rate the starting salaries for application administrators, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Dr. Richard Huff Ph.D.

Assistant professor, assistant chair, Virginia Commonwealth University

While MPA students are not drawn to public service by high salaries, it is reasonable to expect remuneration, which respects their credentials and experience. Many students are mid-level careerists and are likely to remain in their jobs where an advanced degree may improve their opportunities for advancement, and others may be looking for a career change. Also, a cohort of students moving from undergraduate to graduate degrees with internships is common.

These groups likely present varying degrees of salary requirements and qualifications. In the federal service, an MPA qualifies as one at the GS-9 entry-level. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes salary tables at Link The beginning salary varies by location from $53K to $61K, with the higher amount near large metropolitan areas. Higher salaries are common in overseas areas. Progression is based on performance with opportunities to achieve salaries of $150K and over at the executive levels. Overall, beginning salaries for the MPA considering nonprofits and government agencies is estimated at $53K.

Top companies hiring application administrators now:

Which companies pay application administrators the most?

Application administrator salaries at Cloudflare and Macy's are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average application administrator salary at companies like Costco Wholesale and Advent Software are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Cloudflare	$135,415	$65.10
2	Macy's	$132,858	$63.87
3	Costco Wholesale	$129,972	$62.49
4	Advent Software	$128,046	$61.56
5	NVIDIA	$127,842	$61.46
6	Biogen	$127,527	$61.31
7	VMware	$127,515	$61.31
8	RSM US	$126,802	$60.96
9	Wind River	$126,366	$60.75
10	Belk	$123,304	$59.28
11	Ashley HomeStore	$123,295	$59.28
12	Zoox	$121,672	$58.50
13	Staples	$121,525	$58.43
14	L.L.Bean	$120,928	$58.14
15	Equinix	$120,444	$57.91
16	Amelia	$119,549	$57.48
17	Avanade	$119,536	$57.47
18	Gap Inc.	$119,321	$57.37
19	City National Bank	$119,139	$57.28
20	Silicon Labs	$119,007	$57.21

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$103,000$101,600$100,200$98,800$97,400$96,000

MaleFemale

Application Administrator salary by industry

The average application administrator salary varies across industries:

The average application administrator salary in the retail industry is $118,974, the highest of any industry.
The average application administrator salary in the finance industry is $90,518.
Application administrators in the technology industry earn an average salary of $68,585, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for application administrators

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Retail	$118,974	$57.20
2	Health Care	$90,518	$43.52
3	Transportation	$89,218	$42.89
4	Professional	$88,321	$42.46
5	Manufacturing	$87,948	$42.28
6	Finance	$76,412	$36.74
7	Technology	$68,585	$32.97

High paying application administrator jobs

Application administrator salary trends

The average application administrator salary has risen by $18,295 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average application administrator earned $81,963 annually, but today, they earn $100,258 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for application administrators over the last decade.

Compare application administrator salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average application administrator salary over time

Compare application administrator salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Application administrator salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$100,000	$48.20	+3.3%
2024	$97,000	$46.61	+2.3%
2023	$94,800	$45.56	+1.2%
2022	$93,700	$45.03	+1.7%
2021	$92,000	$44.25	+2.4%

Recently added application administrator salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Contact Government Services	E-Discovery Application Administrator II	Wyoming	06/30/2025	$112,597
Relativity	Application Administrator I	Long Beach, CA	06/29/2025	$90,000
University of Colorado	Senior Enterprise Applications Administrator	Denver, CO	06/29/2025	$95,000
Contact Government Services, LLC	Senior E-Discovery Application Administrator II	Birmingham, AL	06/29/2025	$144,768
Contact Government Services, LLC	Senior E-Discovery Application Administrator II	Kansas City, MO	06/29/2025	$144,768
Contact Government Services	E-Discovery Application Administrator II	Del Rio, TX	06/29/2025	$112,597
Contact Government Services, LLC	E-Discovery Application Administrator II	Columbia, SC	06/29/2025	$112,597
Global Channel Management, Inc.	Remote SR. Application Support Administrator	Atlanta, GA	06/29/2025	$118,959
Contact Government Services, LLC	Senior E-Discovery Application Administrator II	Albany, NY	06/29/2025	$144,768
Contact Government Services, LLC	E-Discovery Application Administrator II	Rockville, MD	06/29/2025	$112,597

Application administrator salary FAQs

What state pays Application Administrators the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an application administrator?

Have more questions? See all answers to common computer and mathematical questions.

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Updated December 15, 2025

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