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The average salary for a systems tester is $95,834 annually, with an hourly rate of approximately $46. This compensation reflects the essential nature of their work in software development, where they ensure that applications function correctly and meet user needs.
Several factors impact a systems tester's earnings, including:
Systems testers in states like California, New York, and Texas often see higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for tech talent. Major cities like San Francisco and New York City frequently offer the best pay.
For those considering a career in this field, pursuing roles in high-demand areas can lead to significant financial opportunities. As the technology sector grows, systems testers will continue to be essential.
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The average systems tester salary in California, Nevada, and Washington are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average systems tester salary states are Missouri, Hawaii, and Tennessee.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $109,289 | $52.54 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $108,686 | $52.25 |
| 3 | Nevada | $113,894 | $54.76 |
| 4 | California | $114,923 | $55.25 |
| 5 | Connecticut | $103,143 | $49.59 |
| 6 | Vermont | $96,121 | $46.21 |
| 7 | New Jersey | $104,897 | $50.43 |
| 8 | Oregon | $97,375 | $46.81 |
| 9 | Wyoming | $90,883 | $43.69 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $93,721 | $45.06 |
| 11 | Idaho | $94,561 | $45.46 |
| 12 | North Dakota | $88,642 | $42.62 |
| 13 | Alaska | $96,219 | $46.26 |
| 14 | New York | $100,091 | $48.12 |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | $93,604 | $45.00 |
| 16 | Texas | $90,187 | $43.36 |
| 17 | Delaware | $94,796 | $45.58 |
| 18 | District of Columbia | $107,877 | $51.86 |
| 19 | Massachusetts | $98,444 | $47.33 |
| 20 | Maine | $94,091 | $45.24 |
| 21 | Arizona | $87,812 | $42.22 |
| 22 | North Carolina | $86,454 | $41.56 |
| 23 | Montana | $88,558 | $42.58 |
| 24 | New Mexico | $84,988 | $40.86 |
| 25 | Maryland | $97,157 | $46.71 |
| 26 | Ohio | $85,675 | $41.19 |
| 27 | Virginia | $90,772 | $43.64 |
| 28 | South Dakota | $85,056 | $40.89 |
| 29 | West Virginia | $84,560 | $40.65 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | $86,677 | $41.67 |
| 31 | Michigan | $82,942 | $39.88 |
| 32 | Utah | $84,256 | $40.51 |
| 33 | Mississippi | $84,323 | $40.54 |
| 34 | Illinois | $84,470 | $40.61 |
| 35 | Nebraska | $82,289 | $39.56 |
| 36 | Kentucky | $83,111 | $39.96 |
| 37 | Georgia | $82,814 | $39.81 |
| 38 | Colorado | $85,559 | $41.13 |
| 39 | Oklahoma | $83,535 | $40.16 |
| 40 | Iowa | $82,305 | $39.57 |
| 41 | Minnesota | $81,510 | $39.19 |
| 42 | Florida | $79,565 | $38.25 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $81,256 | $39.07 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $81,250 | $39.06 |
| 45 | Louisiana | $81,416 | $39.14 |
| 46 | Missouri | $79,533 | $38.24 |
| 47 | Hawaii | $79,512 | $38.23 |
| 48 | Tennessee | $74,920 | $36.02 |
| 49 | Indiana | $74,520 | $35.83 |
| 50 | Kansas | $71,636 | $34.44 |
| 51 | Alabama | $72,762 | $34.98 |
The highest-paying cities for systems testers are San Francisco, CA, Bothell, WA, and Middletown, NJ.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $127,377 | $61.24 |
| 2 | Bothell, WA | $110,173 | $52.97 |
| 3 | Middletown, NJ | $104,984 | $50.47 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $100,128 | $48.14 |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $98,481 | $47.35 |
| 6 | Rockville, MD | $96,892 | $46.58 |
| 7 | Portland, OR | $96,865 | $46.57 |
| 8 | Portland, ME | $94,405 | $45.39 |
| 9 | Philadelphia, PA | $94,201 | $45.29 |
| 10 | San Antonio, TX | $91,009 | $43.75 |
| 11 | Raleigh, NC | $87,578 | $42.10 |
| 12 | Milwaukee, WI | $86,694 | $41.68 |
| 13 | Englewood, CO | $85,586 | $41.15 |
| 14 | Columbus, OH | $84,783 | $40.76 |
| 15 | Chicago, IL | $84,665 | $40.70 |
| 16 | Salt Lake City, UT | $83,791 | $40.28 |
| 17 | Detroit, MI | $83,263 | $40.03 |
| 18 | Alpharetta, GA | $82,667 | $39.74 |
| 19 | Jacksonville, FL | $78,503 | $37.74 |
A systems tester's salary ranges from $73,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $124,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $124,000 | $10,333 | $60 |
| 75th Percentile | $110,000 | $9,167 | $53 |
| Average | $95,834 | $7,986 | $46 |
| 25th Percentile | $83,000 | $6,917 | $40 |
| 10th Percentile | $73,000 | $6,083 | $35 |
The highest paying types of systems testers are senior systems software engineer, software systems engineer, and systems integration engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Analyst | $70,997 | $5,916 | $34.13 | 91,308 |
| Quality Assurance Engineer | $82,215 | $6,851 | $39.53 | 243,536 |
| Information Systems Analyst | $83,747 | $6,979 | $40.26 | 170,658 |
| Functional Tester | $76,647 | $6,387 | $36.85 | 37,146 |
| Systems Integration Engineer | $106,065 | $8,839 | $50.99 | 217,599 |
| Quality Assurance Tester | $74,140 | $6,178 | $35.64 | 82,396 |
Top companies hiring systems testers now:
Systems tester salaries at Apple and Adobe are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average systems tester salary at companies like Splunk and Nutanix are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | $136,678 | $65.71 |
| 2 | Adobe | $126,601 | $60.87 |
| 3 | Splunk | $122,425 | $58.86 |
| 4 | Nutanix | $122,393 | $58.84 |
| 5 | Microsoft | $120,935 | $58.14 |
| 6 | NetApp | $119,180 | $57.30 |
| 7 | Workday | $118,394 | $56.92 |
| 8 | NVIDIA | $117,326 | $56.41 |
| 9 | Amazon | $115,755 | $55.65 |
| 10 | Fitbit | $114,667 | $55.13 |
| 11 | Coupa Software | $114,518 | $55.06 |
| 12 | SurveyMonkey | $111,256 | $53.49 |
| 13 | The Vanguard Group | $110,308 | $53.03 |
| 14 | SSIT | $110,055 | $52.91 |
| 15 | Walmart | $109,967 | $52.87 |
| 16 | Commvault | $109,694 | $52.74 |
| 17 | Nokia | $109,245 | $52.52 |
| 18 | ManpowerGroup | $109,111 | $52.46 |
| 19 | Zillow Group | $108,555 | $52.19 |
| 20 | PNC | $107,888 | $51.87 |
The average systems tester salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance | $104,166 | $50.08 |
| 2 | Telecommunication | $93,430 | $44.92 |
| 3 | Health Care | $93,074 | $44.75 |
| 4 | Professional | $91,850 | $44.16 |
| 5 | Technology | $90,465 | $43.49 |
| 6 | Government | $72,499 | $34.86 |
The average systems tester salary has risen by $15,687 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average systems tester earned $80,147 annually, but today, they earn $95,834 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for systems testers over the last decade.
Compare systems tester salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare systems tester salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $95,800 | $46.07 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $92,700 | $44.56 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $90,600 | $43.55 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $88,800 | $42.70 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $86,800 | $41.73 | +1.5% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kion Group | Mid Level Software Developer-SW Quality Performance Testing | Grand Rapids, MI | 06/28/2025 | $93,750 |
| PTC Therapeutics | Contract, Quality Assurance-GXP (GLP Focus) | Hopewell, VA | 06/25/2025 | $118,959 |
| PTC Therapeutics | Contract, Quality Assurance-GXP (GLP Focus) | Pennington, NJ | 06/24/2025 | $118,959 |
| Securestrux, LLC | System Test SME) | Colorado City, TX | 06/24/2025 | $100,000 |
| Dematic Corp | Mid Level Software Developer-SW Quality Performance Testing | Grand Rapids, MI | 06/23/2025 | $93,750 |
| KION Group | Mid Level Software Developer-SW Quality Performance Testing | Wauwatosa, WI | 06/23/2025 | $93,750 |
| KION Group | Mid Level Software Developer-SW Quality Performance Testing | Atlanta, GA | 06/23/2025 | $93,750 |
| KION Group | Mid Level Software Developer-SW Quality Performance Testing | Dallas, TX | 06/23/2025 | $93,750 |
| Trace3 | System Test SME) | Colorado Springs, CO | 06/20/2025 | $100,000 |
| Central Virginia Electric Cooperative | Seasonal Communication System Tester | Arrington, VA | 06/16/2025 | $41,740 |
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