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Quality assurance specialist salary

Quoted expert
Dr. Kate Seltzer Ph.D.

Average quality assurance specialist salary

$63,443

$30.5 hourly rate

Entry-level quality assurance specialist salary
$41,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Quality Assurance Specialist Salaries

The average salary for a Quality Assurance Specialist in the United States is approximately $63,443 per year. This figure represents the typical compensation across various sectors, reflecting the importance of quality assurance in diverse industries. For those considering this career path, understanding how salaries differ by state is crucial. For instance, states like California and New York tend to offer higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals.

Additionally, job roles in specialized industries such as pharmaceuticals and technology often command higher salaries, with opportunities to earn over $80,000 annually. As a Quality Assurance Specialist, your skills and experience will significantly impact your earning potential. Entry-level positions may start lower, but with experience and expertise, professionals can see substantial growth in compensation.

Explore Job Opportunities

Quality Assurance Specialists are in high demand, with numerous job openings available across various platforms. Utilizing job boards like Zippia can help you find the best positions aligned with your career goals. Consider focusing on industries that prioritize quality assurance, as they often provide better salary prospects and career advancement opportunities.

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Where can a Quality Assurance Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
98k
78k
58k
38k
18k
Columbus, OH$82,999
Denver, CO$47,835
Compare salary by company
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126k
106k
86k
66k
Apple$114,319
TD Bank$96,126

Quality assurance specialist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and SalaryExpert, the average salary for a quality assurance specialist typically falls between $58,037 and $117,151.
zippia
$63,443yearly
glassdoor[1]
$58,037yearly
Salary.com[2]
$117,151yearly
ZipRecruiter[3]
$71,279yearly
SalaryExpert[4]
$77,104yearly

Average quality assurance specialist salary by state

The average quality assurance specialist salary in Rhode Island, Maryland, and Connecticut are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average quality assurance specialist salary states are South Dakota, Wyoming, and Missouri.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for quality assurance specialists

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Maryland$82,155$39.50
2Connecticut$81,897$39.37
3Rhode Island$84,516$40.63
4California$77,181$37.11
5New Hampshire$70,524$33.91
6New Jersey$81,294$39.08
7Massachusetts$77,490$37.25
8Delaware$71,219$34.24
9Virginia$73,509$35.34
10District of Columbia$76,499$36.78
11Pennsylvania$71,681$34.46
12North Carolina$62,290$29.95
13Washington$67,902$32.65
14Maine$67,522$32.46
15Oregon$66,247$31.85
16New York$72,525$34.87
17Michigan$62,805$30.19
18Alaska$71,567$34.41
19Vermont$67,304$32.36
20Ohio$60,195$28.94
21Minnesota$59,654$28.68
22Arizona$57,146$27.47
23West Virginia$60,353$29.02
24Wisconsin$54,114$26.02
25Texas$58,722$28.23
26New Mexico$60,583$29.13
27Illinois$54,950$26.42
28Florida$55,948$26.90
29Kentucky$49,627$23.86
30North Dakota$57,102$27.45
31Nevada$59,098$28.41
32Indiana$47,909$23.03
33Utah$48,098$23.12
34South Carolina$51,611$24.81
35Iowa$47,571$22.87
36Louisiana$53,838$25.88
37Nebraska$48,938$23.53
38Idaho$50,983$24.51
39Hawaii$55,432$26.65
40Mississippi$49,458$23.78
41Colorado$47,835$23.00
42Tennessee$48,274$23.21
43Alabama$47,286$22.73
44Wyoming$46,832$22.52
45Georgia$47,842$23.00
46Montana$48,868$23.49
47South Dakota$47,116$22.65
48Kansas$45,349$21.80
49Missouri$45,902$22.07
50Arkansas$41,886$20.14
51Oklahoma$42,412$20.39
Top quality assurance specialist jobs near you

Highest paying cities for quality assurance specialists

The highest-paying cities for quality assurance specialists are San Francisco, CA, Baltimore, MD, and Boston, MA.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$82,999$39.90
2Baltimore, MD$82,609$39.72
3Boston, MA$77,495$37.26
4Washington, DC$76,437$36.75
5Richmond, VA$72,908$35.05
6New York, NY$72,748$34.98
7Philadelphia, PA$72,724$34.96
8Seattle, WA$68,906$33.13
9Raleigh, NC$64,701$31.11
10Carlsbad, NM$62,549$30.07
11San Antonio, TX$61,866$29.74
12Lansing, MI$61,704$29.67
13Minneapolis, MN$59,600$28.65
14Columbus, OH$58,617$28.18
15Phoenix, AZ$57,053$27.43
16Waukegan, IL$56,323$27.08
17Madison, WI$52,805$25.39
18Jacksonville, FL$52,698$25.34
19Richmond, KY$50,347$24.21
20Denver, CO$47,835$23.00

Quality Assurance Specialists are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. San Francisco, CA
  2. Baltimore, MD
  3. Boston, MA
  4. Washington, DC
  5. Richmond, VA

Quality assurance specialist salary details

A quality assurance specialist's salary ranges from $41,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $97,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average quality assurance specialist salary graph
Average quality assurance specialist salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a quality assurance specialist's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$97,000$8,083$47
75th Percentile$79,000$6,583$38
Average$63,443$5,287$31
25th Percentile$50,000$4,167$24
10th Percentile$41,000$3,417$20

Highest paying quality assurance specialist jobs

The highest paying types of quality assurance specialists are senior quality assurance engineer, quality assurance manager, and quality assurance team leader.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Quality Analyst$71,957$5,996$34.59110,980
Quality Assurance Team Leader$97,476$8,123$46.86131,886
Quality Assurance Engineer$82,215$6,851$39.53243,536
Quality Assurance Consultant$86,486$7,207$41.5891,395
Quality Assurance Officer$64,041$5,337$30.79118,140
Quality Assurance Manager$99,894$8,324$48.0362,293

How would you rate the starting salaries for quality assurance specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Dr. Kate Seltzer Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Rowan University

Educators are not paid nearly enough. However, working in a state with strong teachers' unions helps to ensure a starting salary that recent graduates can live off of and growth opportunities, albeit modest, over their careers.

Top companies hiring quality assurance specialists now:

  1. JPMorgan Chase & Co. jobs (75)
  2. Amgen jobs (70)
  3. Capital One jobs (55)
  4. Bank of America jobs (67)
  5. AT&T jobs (54)

Which companies pay quality assurance specialists the most?

Quality assurance specialist salaries at Apple and Agilent Technologies are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average quality assurance specialist salary at companies like Thomson Reuters and Citi are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Apple$114,319$54.96
2Agilent Technologies$107,833$51.84
3Thomson Reuters$106,617$51.26
4Citi$102,523$49.29
5Five9$102,326$49.20
6Evonik$101,869$48.98
7Genentech$101,647$48.87
8First Republic Bank$100,559$48.35
9Psc Biotech$100,336$48.24
10FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA$100,129$48.14
11Bloomberg$99,907$48.03
12BNY Mellon$98,375$47.30
13Covanta$97,736$46.99
14AbbVie$97,727$46.98
15Western Alliance Bank$97,615$46.93
16CyberCoders$97,343$46.80
17ICU Medical$97,333$46.79
18Bristol-Myers Squibb$97,217$46.74
19Sagarsoft$96,212$46.26
20TD Bank$96,126$46.21

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$64,000$63,000$62,000$61,000$60,000$59,000
MaleFemale

Quality Assurance Specialist salary by industry

The average quality assurance specialist salary varies across industries:

  • The average quality assurance specialist salary in the pharmaceutical industry is $76,157, the highest of any industry.
  • The average quality assurance specialist salary in the finance industry is $72,518.
  • Quality assurance specialists in the professional industry earn an average salary of $55,923, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for quality assurance specialists

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Pharmaceutical$76,157$36.61
2Finance$72,518$34.86
3Manufacturing$72,236$34.73
4Technology$70,772$34.02
5Health Care$70,345$33.82
6Government$66,852$32.14
7Professional$55,923$26.89

High paying quality assurance specialist jobs

Quality assurance specialist salary trends

The average quality assurance specialist salary has risen by $10,385 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average quality assurance specialist earned $53,058 annually, but today, they earn $63,443 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for quality assurance specialists over the last decade.

Compare quality assurance specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average quality assurance specialist salary over time

Compare quality assurance specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Quality assurance specialist salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$63,400$30.50+3.3%
2024$61,400$29.50+2.3%
2023$60,000$28.83+1.9%
2022$58,800$28.27+2.3%
2021$57,500$27.63+1.5%

Recently added quality assurance specialist salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
The University of ChicagoAccelerator Operator/Quality Assurance SpecialistChicago, IL06/30/2025$70,000
Novartis AGQA Batch Release SpecialistIndianapolis, IN06/29/2025$81,200
PegasusQA Specialist III-Supplier ManagementPensacola, FL06/29/2025$60,000
99 Ranch MarketQuality Assurance SpecialistUnion City, CA06/29/2025$87,654
State of FloridaQuality Assurance Retirement SpecialistTallahassee, FL06/29/2025$43,844
Central ResearchQuality Assurance Specialist (Remote)Lowell, AR06/29/2025$37,044
Anduril IndustriesQuality Assurance SpecialistLexington, MA06/29/2025$64,000
ZP GroupQA Clinical Supplies SpecialistPoint, PA06/29/2025$48,001
Mcn BuildQuality Assurance/Quality Control SpecialistWashington, DC06/29/2025$80,000
MerckSpecialist, Quality Assurance 1St. ShiftDurham, NC06/28/2025$85,600

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