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Network security engineer salary
Average network security engineer salary
$88,322
Average Network Security Engineer Salary
The average salary for a network security engineer stands at $88,322 per year, translating to approximately $42 per hour. This salary varies based on factors such as experience, location, and industry. Senior professionals with extensive expertise can command significantly higher pay, often exceeding $100,000 annually.
Highest Paying States
Network security engineers in states like California, New York, and Texas often see the highest salaries. For instance, California offers average salaries around $112,000, while New York follows closely with about $105,000.
Job Opportunities
Various industries require network security engineers, including technology, finance, and healthcare. Each sector presents unique challenges and compensation packages. With the ongoing increase in cyber threats, the demand for skilled network security engineers continues to grow, making this a promising career path.
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Where can a Network Security Engineer earn more?
Network security engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average network security engineer salary by state
The average network security engineer salary in California, West Virginia, and Washington are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average network security engineer salary states are Maine, Kentucky, and Vermont.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for network security engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $94,431 | $45.40 |
| 2 | West Virginia | $96,569 | $46.43 |
| 3 | Arizona | $87,538 | $42.09 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $90,432 | $43.48 |
| 5 | New York | $90,150 | $43.34 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | $86,217 | $41.45 |
| 7 | Maryland | $91,665 | $44.07 |
| 8 | California | $109,438 | $52.61 |
| 9 | Oregon | $87,495 | $42.06 |
| 10 | District of Columbia | $91,107 | $43.80 |
| 11 | Texas | $83,819 | $40.30 |
| 12 | Utah | $89,276 | $42.92 |
| 13 | South Dakota | $89,649 | $43.10 |
| 14 | North Carolina | $80,952 | $38.92 |
| 15 | Nevada | $82,433 | $39.63 |
| 16 | Illinois | $82,302 | $39.57 |
| 17 | Louisiana | $84,134 | $40.45 |
| 18 | Ohio | $79,616 | $38.28 |
| 19 | New Hampshire | $81,130 | $39.00 |
| 20 | Virginia | $80,703 | $38.80 |
| 21 | Delaware | $80,576 | $38.74 |
| 22 | Rhode Island | $78,357 | $37.67 |
| 23 | Massachusetts | $87,054 | $41.85 |
| 24 | New Mexico | $78,226 | $37.61 |
| 25 | Indiana | $77,228 | $37.13 |
| 26 | Alabama | $75,095 | $36.10 |
| 27 | Missouri | $77,844 | $37.42 |
| 28 | Connecticut | $79,311 | $38.13 |
| 29 | Alaska | $81,241 | $39.06 |
| 30 | Michigan | $76,706 | $36.88 |
| 31 | Minnesota | $76,843 | $36.94 |
| 32 | Georgia | $75,543 | $36.32 |
| 33 | Tennessee | $74,592 | $35.86 |
| 34 | South Carolina | $76,074 | $36.57 |
| 35 | Hawaii | $81,226 | $39.05 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | $75,039 | $36.08 |
| 37 | Colorado | $76,743 | $36.90 |
| 38 | Kansas | $76,172 | $36.62 |
| 39 | Montana | $75,009 | $36.06 |
| 40 | North Dakota | $74,683 | $35.91 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $73,504 | $35.34 |
| 42 | Wisconsin | $73,440 | $35.31 |
| 43 | Iowa | $73,208 | $35.20 |
| 44 | Vermont | $71,293 | $34.28 |
| 45 | Idaho | $72,659 | $34.93 |
| 46 | Kentucky | $72,112 | $34.67 |
| 47 | Wyoming | $67,854 | $32.62 |
| 48 | Maine | $72,555 | $34.88 |
| 49 | Florida | $74,189 | $35.67 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $68,942 | $33.15 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $67,054 | $32.24 |
Highest paying cities for network security engineers
The highest-paying cities for network security engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Columbia, MD.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $117,685 | $56.58 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $95,111 | $45.73 |
| 3 | Columbia, MD | $91,726 | $44.10 |
| 4 | Washington, DC | $91,112 | $43.80 |
| 5 | New York, NY | $90,533 | $43.53 |
| 6 | Jersey City, NJ | $90,387 | $43.46 |
| 7 | Phoenix, AZ | $87,741 | $42.18 |
| 8 | Boston, MA | $86,856 | $41.76 |
| 9 | Philadelphia, PA | $86,677 | $41.67 |
| 10 | San Antonio, TX | $84,815 | $40.78 |
| 11 | Chicago, IL | $82,559 | $39.69 |
| 12 | Raleigh, NC | $81,782 | $39.32 |
| 13 | McLean, VA | $81,215 | $39.05 |
| 14 | Concord, NH | $80,482 | $38.69 |
| 15 | Cleveland, OH | $80,384 | $38.65 |
| 16 | Saint Louis, MO | $78,711 | $37.84 |
| 17 | Indianapolis, IN | $77,162 | $37.10 |
| 18 | Minneapolis, MN | $76,897 | $36.97 |
| 19 | Englewood, CO | $76,719 | $36.88 |
| 20 | Columbia, SC | $76,178 | $36.62 |
Network security engineer salary details
A network security engineer's salary ranges from $64,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $120,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a network security engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $120,000 | $10,000 | $58 |
| 75th Percentile | $103,000 | $8,583 | $50 |
| Average | $88,322 | $7,360 | $42 |
| 25th Percentile | $75,000 | $6,250 | $36 |
| 10th Percentile | $64,000 | $5,333 | $31 |
Highest paying network security engineer jobs
The highest paying types of network security engineers are senior network engineer, security engineer, and network operations manager.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrator | $72,882 | $6,074 | $35.04 | 67,553 |
| Systems Administrator | $77,156 | $6,430 | $37.09 | 134,500 |
| System Technician | $43,410 | $3,617 | $20.87 | 137,121 |
| Information Technology Administrator | $73,195 | $6,100 | $35.19 | 159,499 |
| Network Operations Manager | $98,658 | $8,222 | $47.43 | 86,381 |
| Network Administrator | $71,357 | $5,946 | $34.31 | 106,886 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for network security engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring network security engineers now:
Which companies pay network security engineers the most?
Network security engineer salaries at The Knot and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average network security engineer salary at companies like Apple and PayPal are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Knot | $146,646 | $70.50 |
| 2 | Meta | $142,727 | $68.62 |
| 3 | Apple | $139,260 | $66.95 |
| 4 | PayPal | $132,776 | $63.83 |
| 5 | Zendesk | $126,838 | $60.98 |
| 6 | Netgear | $125,995 | $60.57 |
| 7 | eBay | $125,102 | $60.15 |
| 8 | Nordstrom | $122,086 | $58.70 |
| 9 | Bloomberg | $121,530 | $58.43 |
| 10 | Gap Inc. | $120,496 | $57.93 |
| 11 | Palo Alto Networks | $118,697 | $57.07 |
| 12 | First Republic Bank | $117,393 | $56.44 |
| 13 | Populus Group | $116,956 | $56.23 |
| 14 | Fitbit | $116,703 | $56.11 |
| 15 | Microsoft | $116,649 | $56.08 |
| 16 | $116,545 | $56.03 | |
| 17 | Ernst & Young | $116,430 | $55.98 |
| 18 | ICONMA | $113,918 | $54.77 |
| 19 | Citi | $113,475 | $54.56 |
| 20 | Autodesk | $112,448 | $54.06 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Network Security Engineer salary by industry
The average network security engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average network security engineer salary in the retail industry is $95,160, the highest of any industry.
- The average network security engineer salary in the finance industry is $87,774.
- Network security engineers in the technology industry earn an average salary of $87,130, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for network security engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail | $95,160 | $45.75 |
| 2 | Professional | $87,774 | $42.20 |
| 3 | Finance | $87,256 | $41.95 |
| 4 | Technology | $87,130 | $41.89 |
High paying network security engineer jobs
Network security engineer salary trends
The average network security engineer salary has risen by $16,117 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average network security engineer earned $72,205 annually, but today, they earn $88,322 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for network security engineers over the last decade.
Compare network security engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average network security engineer salary over time
Compare network security engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Network security engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $88,300 | $42.46 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $85,400 | $41.06 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $83,500 | $40.13 | +1.2% |
| 2022 | $82,500 | $39.67 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $81,100 | $38.98 | +2.4% |
Recently added network security engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Origin | Network Security Engineer III-Network Security | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $126,898 |
| Gnw | Network Security Engineer | Richmond, VA | 06/30/2025 | $96,600 |
| Search | Network Security Engineer | Washington, DC | 06/29/2025 | $98,500 |
| Get It-Professional Services | Network Security Engineer-Remote | Phoenix, AZ | 06/29/2025 | $104,350 |
| ZP Group | Devops Network Security Engineer | Raleigh, NC | 06/29/2025 | $83,480 |
| ZP Group | Network Security Engineer (Ts/Sci) | San Diego, CA | 06/29/2025 | $140,000 |
| ZP Group | Network Security Engineer (CI Polygraph) | Chantilly, VA | 06/29/2025 | $150,000 |
| Freddie Mac | Network Security Engineer Technical Lead | McLean, VA | 06/28/2025 | $150,000 |
| AHU Technologies | Network Security Engineer-Long-Term Contract (Government) Position | Washington, DC | 06/28/2025 | $104,350 |
| CBTS | Network Security Engineer | Cincinnati, OH | 06/27/2025 | $135,655 |
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