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Linux systems engineer salary
Average linux systems engineer salary
$109,078
Understanding the Salary of Linux Systems Engineers
The average salary for Linux Systems Engineers stands at $109,078 annually, translating to approximately $52 per hour. Salaries can vary significantly based on factors such as experience, education, and geographical location. For instance, professionals in major tech hubs may earn considerably more than their counterparts in smaller markets.
In addition to experience, the industry plays a crucial role in determining salary levels. Highest paying industries for Linux Systems Engineers include technology, finance, and healthcare. States like California, New York, and Texas consistently show higher salary ranges due to the concentration of tech firms and demand for skilled professionals.
To maximize earning potential, individuals should consider pursuing advanced certifications or specializations in Linux systems management. Platforms like Zippia offer valuable tools to compare salaries across various states and industries, ensuring you make informed decisions as you advance in your career.
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Where can a Linux Systems Engineer earn more?
Linux systems engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average linux systems engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for linux systems engineers are New Hampshire, New Jersey, and California. The lowest average linux systems engineer salary states are South Dakota, Colorado, and Oklahoma.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for linux systems engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire | $131,481 | $63.21 |
| 2 | California | $129,038 | $62.04 |
| 3 | New Jersey | $130,496 | $62.74 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $120,079 | $57.73 |
| 5 | Virginia | $112,483 | $54.08 |
| 6 | Washington | $114,568 | $55.08 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $114,348 | $54.98 |
| 8 | Delaware | $116,387 | $55.96 |
| 9 | New York | $125,704 | $60.43 |
| 10 | District of Columbia | $116,704 | $56.11 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $109,440 | $52.62 |
| 12 | Nevada | $108,666 | $52.24 |
| 13 | Connecticut | $110,844 | $53.29 |
| 14 | Maine | $111,105 | $53.42 |
| 15 | Michigan | $104,693 | $50.33 |
| 16 | West Virginia | $105,872 | $50.90 |
| 17 | Vermont | $103,976 | $49.99 |
| 18 | Maryland | $107,242 | $51.56 |
| 19 | Oregon | $105,992 | $50.96 |
| 20 | Idaho | $104,994 | $50.48 |
| 21 | Illinois | $106,764 | $51.33 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $99,490 | $47.83 |
| 23 | North Carolina | $101,870 | $48.98 |
| 24 | Ohio | $102,371 | $49.22 |
| 25 | Alabama | $94,613 | $45.49 |
| 26 | Kansas | $103,475 | $49.75 |
| 27 | Texas | $98,750 | $47.48 |
| 28 | Utah | $96,422 | $46.36 |
| 29 | Wyoming | $95,179 | $45.76 |
| 30 | Tennessee | $100,058 | $48.10 |
| 31 | Minnesota | $99,342 | $47.76 |
| 32 | Louisiana | $99,927 | $48.04 |
| 33 | Alaska | $96,332 | $46.31 |
| 34 | North Dakota | $94,205 | $45.29 |
| 35 | Nebraska | $93,774 | $45.08 |
| 36 | Mississippi | $94,484 | $45.42 |
| 37 | Florida | $93,120 | $44.77 |
| 38 | South Carolina | $94,221 | $45.30 |
| 39 | Arizona | $91,032 | $43.77 |
| 40 | Indiana | $93,958 | $45.17 |
| 41 | Colorado | $90,522 | $43.52 |
| 42 | Kentucky | $93,732 | $45.06 |
| 43 | Hawaii | $87,156 | $41.90 |
| 44 | South Dakota | $90,831 | $43.67 |
| 45 | Georgia | $93,091 | $44.76 |
| 46 | Wisconsin | $92,355 | $44.40 |
| 47 | Missouri | $92,227 | $44.34 |
| 48 | Iowa | $90,974 | $43.74 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $90,363 | $43.44 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $87,946 | $42.28 |
| 51 | Montana | $84,744 | $40.74 |
Highest paying cities for linux systems engineers
The highest-paying cities for linux systems engineers are San Francisco, CA, Jersey City, NJ, and New York, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $142,678 | $68.60 |
| 2 | Jersey City, NJ | $130,832 | $62.90 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $125,923 | $60.54 |
| 4 | Boston, MA | $120,260 | $57.82 |
| 5 | Washington, DC | $116,783 | $56.15 |
| 6 | Seattle, WA | $115,451 | $55.51 |
| 7 | Arlington, VA | $114,375 | $54.99 |
| 8 | Philadelphia, PA | $110,087 | $52.93 |
| 9 | Annapolis, MD | $107,413 | $51.64 |
| 10 | Chicago, IL | $107,387 | $51.63 |
| 11 | Oak Ridge, TN | $101,919 | $49.00 |
| 12 | Charlotte, NC | $100,335 | $48.24 |
| 13 | Dallas, TX | $99,521 | $47.85 |
| 14 | Cheyenne, WY | $94,495 | $45.43 |
| 15 | Columbia, SC | $94,489 | $45.43 |
| 16 | Atlanta, GA | $93,040 | $44.73 |
| 17 | Milwaukee, WI | $92,648 | $44.54 |
| 18 | Columbia, MO | $92,184 | $44.32 |
| 19 | Boca Raton, FL | $91,943 | $44.20 |
| 20 | Iowa City, IA | $91,681 | $44.08 |
Linux systems engineer salary details
A linux systems engineer's salary ranges from $80,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $147,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a linux systems engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $147,000 | $12,250 | $71 |
| 75th Percentile | $127,000 | $10,583 | $61 |
| Average | $109,078 | $9,090 | $52 |
| 25th Percentile | $93,000 | $7,750 | $45 |
| 10th Percentile | $80,000 | $6,667 | $38 |
Highest paying linux systems engineer jobs
The highest paying types of linux systems engineers are principal systems engineer, lead systems engineer, and senior infrastructure engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux Administrator | $79,996 | $6,666 | $38.46 | 56,604 |
| Systems Administrator Lead | $99,956 | $8,330 | $48.06 | 132,285 |
| Systems Administrator | $77,156 | $6,430 | $37.09 | 134,500 |
| Network Engineer | $83,557 | $6,963 | $40.17 | 72,346 |
| Systems Operator | $38,182 | $3,182 | $18.36 | 91,037 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
Top companies hiring linux systems engineers now:
Which companies pay linux systems engineers the most?
Linux systems engineer salaries at Meta and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average linux systems engineer salary at companies like The Walt Disney Company and Point72 are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $150,067 | $72.15 |
| 2 | Apple | $145,848 | $70.12 |
| 3 | The Walt Disney Company | $136,215 | $65.49 |
| 4 | Point72 | $133,984 | $64.42 |
| 5 | Gap Inc. | $133,119 | $64.00 |
| 6 | Zendesk | $132,821 | $63.86 |
| 7 | CME Group | $131,264 | $63.11 |
| 8 | Parsons | $127,356 | $61.23 |
| 9 | Cloudian | $125,164 | $60.17 |
| 10 | $124,489 | $59.85 | |
| 11 | BGC Partners | $124,207 | $59.71 |
| 12 | FireEye | $123,071 | $59.17 |
| 13 | PEAK6 | $120,497 | $57.93 |
| 14 | Amd | $120,288 | $57.83 |
| 15 | Amazon | $119,694 | $57.55 |
| 16 | Contextlogic Inc. | $118,312 | $56.88 |
| 17 | ResMed | $117,785 | $56.63 |
| 18 | Theranos | $117,429 | $56.46 |
| 19 | Salesforce | $117,289 | $56.39 |
| 20 | DRW | $116,465 | $55.99 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Linux Systems Engineer salary by industry
The average linux systems engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average linux systems engineer salary in the technology industry is $113,271, the highest of any industry.
- The average linux systems engineer salary in the finance industry is $103,090.
- Linux systems engineers in the telecommunication industry earn an average salary of $98,415, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for linux systems engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $113,271 | $54.46 |
| 2 | Pharmaceutical | $103,090 | $49.56 |
| 3 | Retail | $99,954 | $48.05 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $98,851 | $47.52 |
| 5 | Telecommunication | $98,415 | $47.31 |
High paying linux systems engineer jobs
Linux systems engineer salary trends
The average linux systems engineer salary has risen by $19,904 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average linux systems engineer earned $89,174 annually, but today, they earn $109,078 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for linux systems engineers over the last decade.
Compare linux systems engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average linux systems engineer salary over time
Compare linux systems engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Linux systems engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $109,000 | $52.44 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $105,000 | $50.71 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $103,000 | $49.57 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | $102,000 | $48.99 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $100,000 | $48.15 | +2.4% |
Recently added linux systems engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDIT | Linux Systems Engineer | Springfield, VA | 06/30/2025 | $133,369 |
| International Technologies Inc. | Apps Systems Engineer 4-Red Hat Linux | Minneapolis, MN | 06/29/2025 | $70,958 |
| Actalent | Linux System Engineer | Annapolis, MD | 06/29/2025 | $80,000 |
| ZP Group | Senior Principal Linux Systems Engineer-Top Secret Clearance Required-Jbab, Washington DC | Washington, DC | 06/27/2025 | $150,000 |
| Trace3 | Linux Systems Engineer | Fairfax, VA | 06/27/2025 | $120,000 |
| Insight Global | Linux Systems Engineer, Low-Latency Market Data | New York, NY | 06/27/2025 | $237,396 |
| Lockheed Martin | Linux Systems Engineer-SR. Member Engineering Staff | Moorestown, NJ | 06/25/2025 | $90,200 |
| SOC Support Services | Linux HPC Systems Engineer-Malibu, CA-Secret Clearance | Malibu, CA | 06/25/2025 | $124,177 |
| Power3 Solutions and Partnering Companies | Systems Engineer-Bash, Python, Linux | Annapolis, MD | 06/24/2025 | $150,000 |
| Sun Life Financial | SR. Linux Systems Engineer | Kansas City, MO | 06/21/2025 | $98,400 |
Linux systems engineer salary FAQs
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