How much does a systems administrator make?

The average systems administrator salary in the United States is $77,156. Systems administrator salaries typically range between $59,000 and $100,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for systems administrators is $37.09 per hour. Systems administrator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Systems administrators earn the highest average salary in California.

Systems administrator salary

Q: What state pays Systems Administrators the most?

California pays Systems Administrators the most in the United States, with an average salary of $89,121 per year, or $42.85 per hour.

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

You know if you are being paid fairly as a systems 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 $83,947 per year.

Q: What is a good starting salary for a Systems Administrator?

A good starting salary for a systems administrator is $61,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a systems administrator in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for systems administrators is $80,851, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a systems administrator can vary by state.

Q: How much money do system administrators make?

System administrators make an average of $63,510 a year. However, the range in earning potential can be as low as $52,370 a year to as high as $132,520 a year. There is a high degree of variability in the potential earnings of a system administrator. One major factor in this is based on the location of the position does play a big factor in the range in salaries.

Quoted expert

Dr. Richard Huff Ph.D.

Average systems administrator salary

$77,156

$37.09 hourly rate

Entry-level systems administrator salary

$59,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding Systems Administrator Salaries

As of October 2025, the average salary for a systems administrator is about $77,156 per year. This figure reflects the critical role these professionals play in managing IT systems and infrastructure. Salaries vary widely based on factors such as geographical location, years of experience, and the specific industry in which one works.

For example, systems administrators in California and New York tend to earn higher wages compared to those in states like Arkansas or Mississippi. Additionally, individuals with advanced certifications or specialized skills, such as cloud computing or cybersecurity, often command higher salaries.

Opportunities for advancement in this field are robust, with many systems administrators moving into managerial roles or specialized IT positions. To maximize earning potential, pursuing further education and certifications is beneficial. Explore salary estimates from various job boards and company reports to get a comprehensive view of compensation in this field.

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Systems administrator salary by:

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Where can a Systems Administrator earn more?

Compare salary by location

119k

99k

79k

59k

39k

Columbus, OH$95,429

Indianapolis, IN$69,114

Compare salary by company

150k

130k

110k

90k

Meta$133,805

Stanford University$119,952

Systems administrator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and Payscale, the average salary for a systems administrator typically falls between $67,514 and $112,727.

zippia

$77,156yearly

glassdoor[1]

$90,440yearly

indeed[2]

$83,437yearly

Salary.com[3]

$112,727yearly

ZipRecruiter[4]

$89,250yearly

payscale[5]

$67,514yearly

Average systems administrator salary by state

The average systems administrator salary in California, Washington, and Vermont are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average systems administrator salary states are South Dakota, Utah, and Arkansas.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for systems administrators

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Vermont	$83,778	$40.28
2	Washington	$83,947	$40.36
3	Oregon	$80,357	$38.63
4	New Hampshire	$77,254	$37.14
5	Pennsylvania	$77,588	$37.30
6	Nevada	$77,258	$37.14
7	Rhode Island	$76,838	$36.94
8	Maryland	$81,351	$39.11
9	Connecticut	$80,314	$38.61
10	North Dakota	$73,985	$35.57
11	Virginia	$78,094	$37.55
12	District of Columbia	$80,675	$38.79
13	Arizona	$73,519	$35.35
14	Texas	$73,367	$35.27
15	Massachusetts	$81,432	$39.15
16	California	$89,121	$42.85
17	North Carolina	$73,243	$35.21
18	Maine	$76,606	$36.83
19	New York	$80,526	$38.71
20	New Mexico	$71,136	$34.20
21	Delaware	$76,552	$36.80
22	Minnesota	$72,654	$34.93
23	Ohio	$71,277	$34.27
24	New Jersey	$77,386	$37.20
25	Michigan	$70,481	$33.89
26	West Virginia	$68,708	$33.03
27	Illinois	$71,938	$34.59
28	Tennessee	$68,504	$32.93
29	Indiana	$69,233	$33.29
30	Georgia	$70,439	$33.86
31	Nebraska	$68,253	$32.81
32	Idaho	$68,674	$33.02
33	Hawaii	$69,401	$33.37
34	South Carolina	$69,270	$33.30
35	Wisconsin	$68,956	$33.15
36	Missouri	$69,123	$33.23
37	Kansas	$67,577	$32.49
38	Louisiana	$69,346	$33.34
39	Florida	$66,691	$32.06
40	South Dakota	$65,833	$31.65
41	Alaska	$63,987	$30.76
42	Iowa	$67,625	$32.51
43	Colorado	$66,558	$32.00
44	Kentucky	$67,800	$32.60
45	Alabama	$66,997	$32.21
46	Mississippi	$66,679	$32.06
47	Utah	$65,397	$31.44
48	Wyoming	$58,432	$28.09
49	Montana	$61,905	$29.76
50	Oklahoma	$65,937	$31.70
51	Arkansas	$64,257	$30.89

Top systems administrator jobs near you

Highest paying cities for systems administrators

The highest-paying cities for systems administrators are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Boston, MA.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	San Francisco, CA	$95,429	$45.88
2	Seattle, WA	$84,712	$40.73
3	Boston, MA	$81,501	$39.18
4	Annapolis, MD	$81,494	$39.18
5	Washington, DC	$80,718	$38.81
6	New York, NY	$80,645	$38.77
7	Newtown, CT	$80,245	$38.58
8	Portland, OR	$79,881	$38.40
9	Arlington, VA	$78,659	$37.82
10	Philadelphia, PA	$78,026	$37.51
11	Jersey City, NJ	$77,443	$37.23
12	Portland, ME	$76,904	$36.97
13	San Antonio, TX	$74,239	$35.69
14	Jacksonville, NC	$73,827	$35.49
15	Phoenix, AZ	$73,591	$35.38
16	Chicago, IL	$72,081	$34.65
17	Columbus, OH	$71,116	$34.19
18	Alpharetta, GA	$70,533	$33.91
19	Saint Louis, MO	$69,640	$33.48
20	Indianapolis, IN	$69,114	$33.23

Systems Administrators are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Systems administrator salary details

A systems administrator's salary ranges from $59,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $100,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average systems administrator salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a systems administrator's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$100,000	$8,333	$48
75th Percentile	$88,000	$7,333	$42
Average	$77,156	$6,430	$37
25th Percentile	$67,000	$5,583	$32
10th Percentile	$59,000	$4,917	$28

Highest paying systems administrator jobs

The highest paying types of systems administrators are senior unix systems administrator, systems integrator, and systems administrator lead.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Information Technology Administrator	$73,195	$6,100	$35.19	159,499
Systems Support Analyst	$82,219	$6,852	$39.53	161,168
Network/Server Administrator	$78,919	$6,577	$37.94	167,546
Help Desk Administrator	$49,798	$4,150	$23.94	130,180
Linux Administrator	$79,996	$6,666	$38.46	56,604
Network Administrator	$71,357	$5,946	$34.31	106,886

How would you rate the starting salaries for systems administrators, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Dr. Richard Huff Ph.D.

Assistant professor, assistant chair, Virginia Commonwealth University

While MPA students are not drawn to public service by high salaries, it is reasonable to expect remuneration, which respects their credentials and experience. Many students are mid-level careerists and are likely to remain in their jobs where an advanced degree may improve their opportunities for advancement, and others may be looking for a career change. Also, a cohort of students moving from undergraduate to graduate degrees with internships is common.

These groups likely present varying degrees of salary requirements and qualifications. In the federal service, an MPA qualifies as one at the GS-9 entry-level. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes salary tables at Link The beginning salary varies by location from $53K to $61K, with the higher amount near large metropolitan areas. Higher salaries are common in overseas areas. Progression is based on performance with opportunities to achieve salaries of $150K and over at the executive levels. Overall, beginning salaries for the MPA considering nonprofits and government agencies is estimated at $53K.

Top companies hiring systems administrators now:

Which companies pay systems administrators the most?

Systems administrator salaries at Meta and First Republic Bank are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average systems administrator salary at companies like Apple and Google are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Meta	$133,805	$64.33
2	First Republic Bank	$129,077	$62.06
3	Apple	$128,903	$61.97
4	Google	$128,277	$61.67
5	Cloudflare	$127,568	$61.33
6	Airbnb	$126,008	$60.58
7	Cisco	$125,923	$60.54
8	Mixpanel	$123,463	$59.36
9	Barclays	$123,051	$59.16
10	American Tower	$122,992	$59.13
11	Gap Inc.	$122,952	$59.11
12	PayPal	$122,812	$59.04
13	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$121,954	$58.63
14	DocuSign	$121,379	$58.36
15	Intuitive Surgical	$120,665	$58.01
16	NVIDIA	$120,562	$57.96
17	The Citadel	$120,460	$57.91
18	eBay	$120,280	$57.83
19	Palo Alto Networks	$120,030	$57.71
20	Stanford University	$119,952	$57.67

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$79,000$78,000$77,000$76,000$75,000$74,000

MaleFemale

Systems Administrator salary by industry

The average systems administrator salary varies across industries:

The average systems administrator salary in the technology industry is $86,962, the highest of any industry.
The average systems administrator salary in the finance industry is $86,352.
Systems administrators in the government industry earn an average salary of $68,484, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for systems administrators

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Technology	$86,962	$41.81
2	Manufacturing	$86,352	$41.52
3	Health Care	$85,285	$41.00
4	Finance	$83,088	$39.95
5	Professional	$81,440	$39.15
6	Government	$68,484	$32.92

High paying systems administrator jobs

Systems administrator salary trends

The average systems administrator salary has risen by $14,080 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average systems administrator earned $63,076 annually, but today, they earn $77,156 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for systems administrators over the last decade.

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

Average systems administrator salary over time

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

Systems administrator salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$77,200	$37.09	+3.3%
2024	$74,600	$35.87	+2.3%
2023	$72,900	$35.06	+1.2%
2022	$72,100	$34.65	+1.7%
2021	$70,800	$34.06	+2.4%

Recently added systems administrator salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Zendesk	Premier Support Engineer	Madison, WI	06/30/2025	$76,000
Wheels	Helix System Administrator	Raleigh, NC	06/30/2025	$95,500
State of North Carolina	System Administrator	Durham, NC	06/30/2025	$72,000
Blue Origin	AWS Systems Administrator III	Seattle, WA	06/30/2025	$148,014
Contact Government Services	Systems Admin III	Fargo, ND	06/30/2025	$94,504
Contact Government Services	Systems Admin III	Pierre, SD	06/30/2025	$94,504
Oracle	Production Service Systems Administrator 3	Austin, TX	06/29/2025	$122,824
Convergint	System Administrator (Onsite)	Ione, WA	06/29/2025	$95,000
Mission Regional Medical Center	Systems Administrator	East Norriton, PA	06/29/2025	$50,336
Pico de Gallo	Systems Administrator	Morganfield, KY	06/29/2025	$65,928

Systems administrator salary FAQs

What state pays Systems Administrators the most?

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

What is a good starting salary for a Systems Administrator?

How much money do system administrators make?

Have more questions? See all answers to common computer and mathematical questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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