Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
As of October 2025, the average salary for a security system engineer is approximately $103,018 annually, translating to about $50 per hour. This salary can vary significantly based on factors such as years of experience, location, and the type of industry.
In states with a high demand for security professionals, salaries tend to be higher. For instance, California and New York frequently feature among the top-paying states for this role. Understanding regional salary variations can help job seekers identify locations that offer the best compensation.
Major metropolitan areas often provide the highest salaries. Cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C. lead in offering lucrative positions for security system engineers.
In addition to competitive salaries, security system engineers can find roles in various industries, including technology, finance, and government. These sectors not only provide strong salary packages but also opportunities for career advancement and professional development.
Let Zippi find your next security system engineer job
Let Zippi find your next security system engineer job
The average security system engineer salary in California, Nevada, and Minnesota are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average security system engineer salary states are South Dakota, Hawaii, and South Carolina.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $121,501 | $58.41 |
| 2 | Nevada | $106,507 | $51.21 |
| 3 | Minnesota | $102,931 | $49.49 |
| 4 | Texas | $102,799 | $49.42 |
| 5 | Utah | $102,838 | $49.44 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | $98,465 | $47.34 |
| 7 | Oregon | $99,692 | $47.93 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $98,192 | $47.21 |
| 9 | Michigan | $96,005 | $46.16 |
| 10 | New Mexico | $96,516 | $46.40 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $99,777 | $47.97 |
| 12 | North Carolina | $93,216 | $44.82 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | $102,206 | $49.14 |
| 14 | Maryland | $97,265 | $46.76 |
| 15 | Arizona | $93,905 | $45.15 |
| 16 | Georgia | $96,063 | $46.18 |
| 17 | Washington | $94,556 | $45.46 |
| 18 | Delaware | $94,321 | $45.35 |
| 19 | Virginia | $94,382 | $45.38 |
| 20 | Idaho | $95,061 | $45.70 |
| 21 | North Dakota | $93,151 | $44.78 |
| 22 | Alaska | $92,278 | $44.36 |
| 23 | Indiana | $91,859 | $44.16 |
| 24 | New Hampshire | $92,070 | $44.26 |
| 25 | Maine | $94,071 | $45.23 |
| 26 | Montana | $93,332 | $44.87 |
| 27 | West Virginia | $90,738 | $43.62 |
| 28 | Wyoming | $89,493 | $43.03 |
| 29 | New Jersey | $92,153 | $44.30 |
| 30 | Vermont | $90,434 | $43.48 |
| 31 | Alabama | $84,523 | $40.64 |
| 32 | Colorado | $89,252 | $42.91 |
| 33 | District of Columbia | $88,221 | $42.41 |
| 34 | Mississippi | $85,528 | $41.12 |
| 35 | Kentucky | $89,194 | $42.88 |
| 36 | Missouri | $88,115 | $42.36 |
| 37 | Iowa | $88,122 | $42.37 |
| 38 | New York | $86,127 | $41.41 |
| 39 | Louisiana | $86,245 | $41.46 |
| 40 | Illinois | $81,000 | $38.94 |
| 41 | Kansas | $85,789 | $41.24 |
| 42 | Ohio | $81,728 | $39.29 |
| 43 | Nebraska | $78,734 | $37.85 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $82,046 | $39.45 |
| 45 | Wisconsin | $80,607 | $38.75 |
| 46 | Hawaii | $80,166 | $38.54 |
| 47 | South Dakota | $80,526 | $38.71 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $78,263 | $37.63 |
| 49 | Florida | $82,689 | $39.75 |
| 50 | South Carolina | $79,746 | $38.34 |
| 51 | Tennessee | $77,311 | $37.17 |
The highest-paying cities for security system engineers are San Francisco, CA, Austin, TX, and Cambridge, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $133,942 | $64.40 |
| 2 | Austin, TX | $103,211 | $49.62 |
| 3 | Cambridge, MA | $102,077 | $49.08 |
| 4 | Annapolis, MD | $97,373 | $46.81 |
| 5 | Dearborn, MI | $96,141 | $46.22 |
| 6 | Atlanta, GA | $95,935 | $46.12 |
| 7 | Arlington, VA | $95,719 | $46.02 |
| 8 | Seattle, WA | $95,143 | $45.74 |
| 9 | Phoenix, AZ | $94,219 | $45.30 |
| 10 | Indianapolis, IN | $91,533 | $44.01 |
| 11 | Boulder, CO | $89,311 | $42.94 |
| 12 | Saint Louis, MO | $88,524 | $42.56 |
| 13 | Washington, DC | $88,274 | $42.44 |
| 14 | New York, NY | $86,262 | $41.47 |
| 15 | Olathe, KS | $85,753 | $41.23 |
| 16 | Huntsville, AL | $83,962 | $40.37 |
| 17 | Melbourne, FL | $83,351 | $40.07 |
| 18 | Cleveland, OH | $83,251 | $40.02 |
| 19 | Oklahoma City, OK | $82,253 | $39.54 |
| 20 | Chicago, IL | $81,175 | $39.03 |
A security system engineer's salary ranges from $75,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $141,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $141,000 | $11,750 | $68 |
| 75th Percentile | $121,000 | $10,083 | $58 |
| Average | $103,018 | $8,585 | $50 |
| 25th Percentile | $87,000 | $7,250 | $42 |
| 10th Percentile | $75,000 | $6,250 | $36 |
The highest paying types of security system engineers are information security officer, information security manager, and senior security engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information Systems Security Officer | $90,730 | $7,561 | $43.62 | 202,299 |
| Information Assurance Engineer | $89,291 | $7,441 | $42.93 | 104,421 |
| Information Security Analyst | $98,144 | $8,179 | $47.18 | 112,818 |
| Information Security Officer | $135,040 | $11,253 | $64.92 | 145,907 |
| Securities Consultant | $92,092 | $7,674 | $44.27 | 27,296 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for security system engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring security system engineers now:
Security system engineer salaries at Credit Karma and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average security system engineer salary at companies like Safeway and Apple are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Credit Karma | $173,069 | $83.21 |
| 2 | Meta | $161,761 | $77.77 |
| 3 | Safeway | $156,489 | $75.24 |
| 4 | Apple | $152,258 | $73.20 |
| 5 | NVIDIA | $143,007 | $68.75 |
| 6 | DocuSign | $139,555 | $67.09 |
| 7 | Bloomberg | $137,204 | $65.96 |
| 8 | Avid | $135,274 | $65.04 |
| 9 | Amazon | $134,962 | $64.89 |
| 10 | Palo Alto Networks | $132,330 | $63.62 |
| 11 | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group | $127,470 | $61.28 |
| 12 | Bankers Trust Company | $126,602 | $60.87 |
| 13 | Roblox | $124,959 | $60.08 |
| 14 | Salesforce | $122,534 | $58.91 |
| 15 | City National Bank | $118,119 | $56.79 |
| 16 | CyberCoders | $114,590 | $55.09 |
| 17 | Experian Data Quality | $113,735 | $54.68 |
| 18 | Citrix | $112,410 | $54.04 |
| 19 | Autodesk | $112,232 | $53.96 |
| 20 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $111,181 | $53.45 |
The average security system engineer salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Professional | $102,960 | $49.50 |
| 2 | Finance | $99,711 | $47.94 |
| 3 | Education | $93,649 | $45.02 |
| 4 | Technology | $92,934 | $44.68 |
The average security system engineer salary has risen by $19,039 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average security system engineer earned $83,979 annually, but today, they earn $103,018 a year. That works out to a 12% change in pay for security system engineers over the last decade.
Compare security system engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare security system engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $103,000 | $49.53 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $99,600 | $47.90 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $97,400 | $46.81 | +2.9% |
| 2022 | $94,600 | $45.46 | +3.0% |
| 2021 | $91,700 | $44.07 | +2.7% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Nevada | Systems Security Engineer II | Hagerstown, MD | 06/30/2025 | $85,768 |
| Sierra Nevada | Military Fellowship Program: Systems Security Engineer | Lone Tree, CO | 06/28/2025 | $82,039 |
| Amazon | Security Systems Engineer, DCE Security Solutions Engineering | Seattle, WA | 06/27/2025 | $86,900 |
| Amazon | Security Systems Engineer, DCE Security Solutions Engineering | Herndon, VA | 06/27/2025 | $86,900 |
| Allied Universal Security | Physical Security Systems Engineer | Foster City, CA | 06/27/2025 | $118,959 |
| Anduril Industries | Product Security Engineer, Intelligence Systems | Reston, VA | 06/27/2025 | $168,000 |
| L3Harris | Specialist, Info Security Systems Engineer Secret-Clifton, Nj/Palm BAY, FL/ | Palm Bay, FL | 06/26/2025 | $90,500 |
| L3Harris | Associate, Information Security Systems Engineer | Colorado Springs, CO | 06/25/2025 | $61,000 |
| Metis Technology Solutions Inc. | Cyber Security Systems Engineer | Colorado Springs, CO | 06/25/2025 | $96,500 |
| Insight Global | System Security Engineer (SSE) | Sterling Heights, MI | 06/25/2025 | $104,350 |
Search for security system engineer jobs