Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Core network engineer salary
Average core network engineer salary
$103,964
Core Network Engineer Salary Overview
As of October 2025, the average salary for a Core Network Engineer stands at $103,964 annually, translating to approximately $50 per hour. This salary can vary significantly based on factors such as geographic location, years of experience, and the specific technologies used in different industries.
Salary by State
Core Network Engineers can expect higher salaries in states like California, Washington, and New York, where demand for skilled professionals is robust. For instance, the highest paying states for this role often show salaries exceeding $120,000 per year.
Career Opportunities
In addition to competitive salaries, Core Network Engineers have various career paths available, including roles in network architecture, systems engineering, and technical management. These positions often provide opportunities for further advancement and specialization, which can lead to increased salaries and job satisfaction.
Understanding the salary landscape and career opportunities available can help prospective engineers make informed decisions about their career paths in the network engineering field.
Let Zippi find your next core network engineer job
Let Zippi find your next core network engineer job
Where can a Core Network Engineer earn more?
Core network engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average core network engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for core network engineers are California, Idaho, and Washington. The lowest average core network engineer salary states are New Jersey, Illinois, and North Dakota.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for core network engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $140,008 | $67.31 |
| 2 | Washington | $122,887 | $59.08 |
| 3 | Nevada | $118,430 | $56.94 |
| 4 | West Virginia | $112,602 | $54.14 |
| 5 | Idaho | $130,194 | $62.59 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $115,584 | $55.57 |
| 7 | New York | $115,567 | $55.56 |
| 8 | Utah | $105,537 | $50.74 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | $115,637 | $55.59 |
| 10 | Oregon | $106,560 | $51.23 |
| 11 | Georgia | $113,707 | $54.67 |
| 12 | North Carolina | $102,070 | $49.07 |
| 13 | Hawaii | $115,408 | $55.48 |
| 14 | Wyoming | $101,286 | $48.70 |
| 15 | New Mexico | $102,002 | $49.04 |
| 16 | Tennessee | $105,581 | $50.76 |
| 17 | Texas | $98,733 | $47.47 |
| 18 | Delaware | $99,756 | $47.96 |
| 19 | Arizona | $99,380 | $47.78 |
| 20 | Maryland | $99,978 | $48.07 |
| 21 | South Carolina | $99,000 | $47.60 |
| 22 | Florida | $99,971 | $48.06 |
| 23 | Virginia | $97,726 | $46.98 |
| 24 | Alaska | $97,173 | $46.72 |
| 25 | Pennsylvania | $97,343 | $46.80 |
| 26 | New Hampshire | $98,669 | $47.44 |
| 27 | Mississippi | $95,622 | $45.97 |
| 28 | Iowa | $93,557 | $44.98 |
| 29 | Oklahoma | $95,693 | $46.01 |
| 30 | Arkansas | $93,026 | $44.72 |
| 31 | Nebraska | $93,062 | $44.74 |
| 32 | Wisconsin | $94,308 | $45.34 |
| 33 | Colorado | $90,994 | $43.75 |
| 34 | South Dakota | $91,197 | $43.84 |
| 35 | Alabama | $89,749 | $43.15 |
| 36 | Vermont | $88,647 | $42.62 |
| 37 | Louisiana | $94,652 | $45.51 |
| 38 | Missouri | $92,896 | $44.66 |
| 39 | Kentucky | $91,924 | $44.19 |
| 40 | Ohio | $89,251 | $42.91 |
| 41 | District of Columbia | $84,983 | $40.86 |
| 42 | Massachusetts | $88,138 | $42.37 |
| 43 | Kansas | $90,448 | $43.48 |
| 44 | Michigan | $87,057 | $41.85 |
| 45 | Illinois | $84,805 | $40.77 |
| 46 | New Jersey | $85,580 | $41.14 |
| 47 | Montana | $88,036 | $42.33 |
| 48 | Indiana | $81,120 | $39.00 |
| 49 | North Dakota | $84,014 | $40.39 |
| 50 | Minnesota | $79,818 | $38.37 |
| 51 | Maine | $81,152 | $39.02 |
Highest paying cities for core network engineers
The highest-paying cities for core network engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and New York, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $147,928 | $71.12 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $123,565 | $59.41 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $115,795 | $55.67 |
| 4 | Atlanta, GA | $113,543 | $54.59 |
| 5 | Charlotte, NC | $101,837 | $48.96 |
| 6 | Austin, TX | $99,272 | $47.73 |
| 7 | Philadelphia, PA | $97,976 | $47.10 |
| 8 | Arlington, VA | $97,350 | $46.80 |
| 9 | Castle Rock, CO | $91,198 | $43.85 |
| 10 | Hoover, AL | $89,691 | $43.12 |
| 11 | Marlborough, MA | $88,197 | $42.40 |
| 12 | Sterling Heights, MI | $87,328 | $41.98 |
| 13 | Jersey City, NJ | $85,562 | $41.14 |
| 14 | Chicago, IL | $84,799 | $40.77 |
| 15 | Eden Prairie, MN | $79,830 | $38.38 |
| 16 | Carolina, PR | $58,428 | $28.09 |
Core network engineer salary details
A core network engineer's salary ranges from $78,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $137,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a core network engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $137,000 | $11,417 | $66 |
| 75th Percentile | $120,000 | $10,000 | $58 |
| Average | $103,964 | $8,664 | $50 |
| 25th Percentile | $89,000 | $7,417 | $43 |
| 10th Percentile | $78,000 | $6,500 | $38 |
Highest paying core network engineer jobs
The highest paying types of core network engineers are senior infrastructure engineer, senior network engineer, and information engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systems Administrator | $77,156 | $6,430 | $37.09 | 134,500 |
| Administrator | $72,882 | $6,074 | $35.04 | 67,553 |
| Information Technology Administrator | $73,195 | $6,100 | $35.19 | 159,499 |
| System Technician | $43,410 | $3,617 | $20.87 | 137,121 |
| Network Operation Technician | $64,272 | $5,356 | $30.90 | 68,874 |
| Network Support Technician | $48,622 | $4,052 | $23.38 | 120,245 |
Top companies hiring core network engineers now:
Which companies pay core network engineers the most?
Core network engineer salaries at Flipboard and Atlassian are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average core network engineer salary at companies like The Walt Disney Company and Apple are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $138,488 | $66.58 | |
| 2 | Atlassian | $134,441 | $64.64 |
| 3 | The Walt Disney Company | $132,792 | $63.84 |
| 4 | Apple | $131,138 | $63.05 |
| 5 | Rivian | $129,138 | $62.09 |
| 6 | $124,031 | $59.63 | |
| 7 | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $121,687 | $58.50 |
| 8 | Marchon Partners | $121,473 | $58.40 |
| 9 | Electronic Arts | $120,252 | $57.81 |
| 10 | Grubhub | $119,021 | $57.22 |
| 11 | UBS | $116,343 | $55.93 |
| 12 | Motion Recruitment | $115,327 | $55.45 |
| 13 | Activision Blizzard | $115,080 | $55.33 |
| 14 | Epitec | $113,647 | $54.64 |
| 15 | Infinity Consulting Solutions | $112,631 | $54.15 |
| 16 | Telecom | $112,601 | $54.14 |
| 17 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $112,446 | $54.06 |
| 18 | Ford Motor | $112,358 | $54.02 |
| 19 | Robert Half | $111,911 | $53.80 |
| 20 | Peloton Interactive, Inc. | $111,594 | $53.65 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Core network engineer salary trends
The average core network engineer salary has risen by $18,971 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average core network engineer earned $84,993 annually, but today, they earn $103,964 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for core network engineers over the last decade.
Compare core network engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average core network engineer salary over time
Compare core network engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Core network engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $104,000 | $49.98 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $101,000 | $48.34 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $98,300 | $47.24 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | $97,100 | $46.69 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $95,400 | $45.89 | +2.4% |
Recently added core network engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Network DEV Engineer II, DC Edge, Core Networking | Cupertino, CA | 06/22/2025 | $127,400 |
| Amazon | Network DEV Engineer I, DC Edge, Core Networking | Seattle, WA | 06/21/2025 | $102,700 |
| Amazon | Business Intelligence Engineer, WW Prime-Core Services | Seattle, WA | 06/13/2025 | $89,600 |
| Lambda | Platform Engineer, Core Services | San Francisco, CA | 06/13/2025 | $180,000 |
| at&T | Core Network Engineer (NE III) (Government) | Chantilly, VA | 06/12/2025 | $89,200 |
| Synechron | Core Platform Python Engineer | Weehawken, NJ | 06/11/2025 | $130,000 |
| Framatome | Core Neutronics Engineer | Lynchburg, VA | 06/07/2025 | $112,000 |
| Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. | Network Engineer-DC Networking, IS Core | Seattle, WA | 05/28/2025 | $100,000 |
| Hyundaicapital | G-Core Tech Engineer (Technical Engineer) | Dallas, TX | 05/28/2025 | $92,500 |
| Careerglobalhc | G-Core Tech Engineer (Technical Engineer) | Dallas, TX | 05/28/2025 | $92,500 |
Core network engineer salary FAQs
Search for core network engineer jobs