How much does a senior system administrator make?

The average senior system administrator salary in the United States is $98,146. Senior system administrator salaries typically range between $75,000 and $126,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for senior system administrators is $47.19 per hour. Senior system administrator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Senior system administrators earn the highest average salary in California.

Senior system administrator salary

Q: What state pays Senior System Administrators the most?

California pays Senior System Administrators the most in the United States, with an average salary of $120,522 per year, or $57.94 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a senior system administrator?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a senior system 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 $116,894 per year.

Q: How much does a senior administrator make?

A senior administrator makes $95,000 a year, on average. On the lower end of the pay scale, a person may make just under $90,000 annually. Meanwhile, senior administrators at the highest pay bracket can expect a salary of over $105,000 in a year.

Average senior system administrator salary

$98,146

$47.19 hourly rate

Entry-level senior system administrator salary

$75,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding Senior System Administrator Salaries

A Senior System Administrator typically earns an average salary of $98,146 per year, with variations based on factors such as location, years of experience, and industry. For example, states like California and New York are known for offering higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for IT professionals.

Salary by State

In states like Washington and Virginia, Senior System Administrators see salaries exceeding the national average. Understanding the geographic salary landscape can help job seekers target their applications effectively.

Career Opportunities

With the increasing reliance on technology, the demand for skilled Senior System Administrators continues to grow. Industries such as finance, healthcare, and technology often provide higher compensation packages. Exploring these sectors can lead to lucrative job opportunities.

Conclusion

Overall, the role of a Senior System Administrator is not only vital for organizational success but also offers promising salary potential. By focusing on skill development and industry trends, individuals can maximize their earning capacity in this rewarding career.

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Where can a Senior System Administrator earn more?

Compare salary by location

151k

131k

111k

91k

71k

51k

Columbus, OH$132,157

Columbia, SC$81,443

Compare salary by company

159k

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99k

Cambridge Associates$143,529

Ticketmaster$128,861

Senior system administrator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com and Glassdoor, the average salary for a senior system administrator typically falls between $98,146 and $122,189.

zippia

$98,146yearly

glassdoor[1]

$122,189yearly

Salary.com[2]

$112,727yearly

Average senior system administrator salary by state

The highest-paying states for senior system administrators are California, Washington, and New York. The lowest average senior system administrator salary states are Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Mississippi.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for senior system administrators

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Washington	$116,894	$56.20
2	California	$120,522	$57.94
3	Massachusetts	$104,544	$50.26
4	Oregon	$103,344	$49.68
5	Rhode Island	$103,939	$49.97
6	Nevada	$104,206	$50.10
7	New Hampshire	$101,835	$48.96
8	Alaska	$98,244	$47.23
9	New York	$106,938	$51.41
10	Maryland	$101,499	$48.80
11	Virginia	$96,220	$46.26
12	Vermont	$96,287	$46.29
13	District of Columbia	$102,933	$49.49
14	North Carolina	$93,666	$45.03
15	Utah	$90,099	$43.32
16	Pennsylvania	$93,760	$45.08
17	Maine	$103,119	$49.58
18	Arizona	$90,355	$43.44
19	New Jersey	$102,554	$49.30
20	Minnesota	$93,858	$45.12
21	Connecticut	$97,500	$46.88
22	Michigan	$89,987	$43.26
23	Texas	$86,980	$41.82
24	Idaho	$88,302	$42.45
25	Montana	$86,566	$41.62
26	Delaware	$90,838	$43.67
27	New Mexico	$84,319	$40.54
28	Illinois	$88,143	$42.38
29	Ohio	$84,451	$40.60
30	West Virginia	$84,692	$40.72
31	Alabama	$80,823	$38.86
32	Wisconsin	$85,576	$41.14
33	Tennessee	$83,952	$40.36
34	Georgia	$86,610	$41.64
35	South Dakota	$84,603	$40.67
36	Missouri	$85,151	$40.94
37	Colorado	$79,986	$38.45
38	Florida	$81,883	$39.37
39	Indiana	$82,668	$39.74
40	North Dakota	$77,738	$37.37
41	South Carolina	$81,254	$39.06
42	Nebraska	$79,624	$38.28
43	Wyoming	$76,288	$36.68
44	Hawaii	$68,278	$32.83
45	Kentucky	$79,567	$38.25
46	Iowa	$76,352	$36.71
47	Louisiana	$79,182	$38.07
48	Kansas	$74,616	$35.87
49	Mississippi	$75,269	$36.19
50	Oklahoma	$76,302	$36.68
51	Arkansas	$74,763	$35.94

Top senior system administrator jobs near you

Highest paying cities for senior system administrators

The highest-paying cities for senior system administrators are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and New York, NY.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	San Francisco, CA	$132,157	$63.54
2	Seattle, WA	$117,788	$56.63
3	New York, NY	$107,163	$51.52
4	Boston, MA	$104,618	$50.30
5	Washington, DC	$102,980	$49.51
6	Jersey City, NJ	$102,644	$49.35
7	Annapolis, MD	$101,609	$48.85
8	Arlington, VA	$97,389	$46.82
9	Jacksonville, NC	$95,079	$45.71
10	Philadelphia, PA	$94,373	$45.37
11	Phoenix, AZ	$90,580	$43.55
12	Farmington Hills, MI	$90,147	$43.34
13	Chicago, IL	$88,518	$42.56
14	Austin, TX	$88,112	$42.36
15	Alpharetta, GA	$86,751	$41.71
16	Saint Louis, MO	$86,182	$41.43
17	Columbus, OH	$83,979	$40.37
18	Jacksonville, FL	$83,737	$40.26
19	Indianapolis, IN	$82,493	$39.66
20	Columbia, SC	$81,443	$39.16

Senior system administrator salary details

A senior system administrator's salary ranges from $75,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $126,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average senior system administrator salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a senior system administrator's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$126,000	$10,500	$61
75th Percentile	$112,000	$9,333	$54
Average	$98,146	$8,179	$47
25th Percentile	$85,000	$7,083	$41
10th Percentile	$75,000	$6,250	$36

Highest paying senior system administrator jobs

The highest paying types of senior system administrators are senior infrastructure engineer, senior unix systems administrator, and senior systems engineer.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
LAN Administrator	$60,942	$5,079	$29.30	92,931
Linux Administrator	$79,996	$6,666	$38.46	56,604
Network/Server Administrator	$78,919	$6,577	$37.94	167,546
Lead Administrator	$94,444	$7,870	$45.41	57,229
Help Desk Administrator	$49,798	$4,150	$23.94	130,180
Network Administrator	$71,357	$5,946	$34.31	106,886

Top companies hiring senior system administrators now:

Which companies pay senior system administrators the most?

Senior system administrator salaries at Cambridge Associates and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior system administrator salary at companies like Pure Storage and NVIDIA are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Cambridge Associates	$143,529	$69.00
2	Apple	$141,691	$68.12
3	Pure Storage	$140,758	$67.67
4	NVIDIA	$135,691	$65.24
5	F5	$135,212	$65.01
6	PayPal	$134,646	$64.73
7	Proofpoint	$134,083	$64.46
8	ICE Mortgage Technology	$133,230	$64.05
9	Vista Equity Partners	$133,199	$64.04
10	Starbucks	$132,279	$63.60
11	8x8	$132,018	$63.47
12	Activision Blizzard	$131,948	$63.44
13	Yahoo	$131,592	$63.27
14	Xilinx	$131,347	$63.15
15	Avid	$131,297	$63.12
16	Zynga	$130,421	$62.70
17	Xandr	$130,111	$62.55
18	Amazon	$129,659	$62.34
19	American Tower	$129,441	$62.23
20	Ticketmaster	$128,861	$61.95

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$100,000$98,800$97,600$96,400$95,200$94,000

MaleFemale

Senior System Administrator salary by industry

The average senior system administrator salary varies across industries:

The average senior system administrator salary in the finance industry is $104,418, the highest of any industry.
The average senior system administrator salary in the finance industry is $101,786.
Senior system administrators in the government industry earn an average salary of $83,869, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for senior system administrators

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Finance	$104,418	$50.20
2	Manufacturing	$101,786	$48.94
3	Health Care	$101,354	$48.73
4	Technology	$96,426	$46.36
5	Government	$83,869	$40.32

High paying senior system administrator jobs

Senior system administrator salary trends

The average senior system administrator salary has risen by $17,909 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior system administrator earned $80,237 annually, but today, they earn $98,146 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for senior system administrators over the last decade.

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

Average senior system administrator salary over time

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

Senior system administrator salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$98,100	$47.19	+3.3%
2024	$94,900	$45.63	+2.3%
2023	$92,800	$44.60	+1.2%
2022	$91,700	$44.08	+1.7%
2021	$90,100	$43.32	+2.4%

Recently added senior system administrator salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
New Mexico State University	Senior Systems Administrator	Las Cruces, NM	06/30/2025	$59,966
Contact Government Services	Senior Systems Administrator	Wyoming	06/30/2025	$101,920
Contact Government Services	Senior Systems Administrator-Relativity	Washington, DC	06/30/2025	$91,349
Contact Government Services	Senior Systems Administrator II	Fargo, ND	06/30/2025	$131,040
Contact Government Services	Senior Systems Administrator	Wyoming	06/30/2025	$94,504
Perspecta	Senior Systems Administrator	Reston, VA	06/29/2025	$112,000
Search	Senior AWS Cloud Systems Operations Administrator	San Antonio, TX	06/29/2025	$108,400
Anduril Industries	Senior Systems Administrator, Classified IT	Washington, DC	06/29/2025	$150,000
ZP Group	SR Systems Administrator (Linux/Windows)-Annapolis Junction, MD-Ts/Sci CI Poly	Annapolis, MD	06/29/2025	$120,000
Contact Government Services, LLC	Senior Systems Administrator II	Chicago, IL	06/29/2025	$131,040

Senior system administrator salary FAQs

What state pays Senior System Administrators the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a senior system administrator?

How much does a senior administrator make?

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Updated January 8, 2025

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