Explore Jobs
Find Specific Jobs
Explore Careers
Explore Professions
Best Companies
Explore Companies
Systems Administrator salary
Average systems administrator salary
$77,156
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, Washington, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maryland.
Systems administrator salary summary.
-
The average salary for a systems administrator is $77,156 in the US. -
The average systems administrator salary ranges between $59,000 and $100,000 in the US. -
Systems administrators' hourly rates in the US typically range between $28 and $48 an hour. -
Systems administrators earn the highest salaries in California ($89,121), Washington ($83,947), and Vermont ($83,778). -
Systems administrator salaries at Meta are the highest of any company. -
Systems administrators in the technology industry are the highest-paid in the US.
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
Highest paying states for systems administrators
| Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont | $83,778 | $40.28 | 156 |
| 2 | Washington | $83,947 | $40.36 | 1,466 |
| 3 | Oregon | $80,357 | $38.63 | 801 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $77,254 | $37.14 | 320 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | $77,588 | $37.30 | 1,866 |
| 6 | Nevada | $77,258 | $37.14 | 344 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $76,838 | $36.94 | 225 |
| 8 | Maryland | $81,351 | $39.11 | 1,618 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $80,314 | $38.61 | 571 |
| 10 | North Dakota | $73,985 | $35.57 | 176 |
| 11 | Virginia | $78,094 | $37.55 | 2,105 |
| 12 | District of Columbia | $80,675 | $38.79 | 369 |
| 13 | Arizona | $73,519 | $35.35 | 1,306 |
| 14 | Texas | $73,367 | $35.27 | 3,901 |
| 15 | Massachusetts | $81,432 | $39.15 | 1,205 |
| 16 | California | $89,121 | $42.85 | 3,429 |
| 17 | North Carolina | $73,243 | $35.21 | 1,631 |
| 18 | Maine | $76,606 | $36.83 | 172 |
| 19 | New York | $80,526 | $38.71 | 2,025 |
| 20 | New Mexico | $71,136 | $34.20 | 420 |
| 21 | Delaware | $76,552 | $36.80 | 186 |
| 22 | Minnesota | $72,654 | $34.93 | 1,155 |
| 23 | Ohio | $71,277 | $34.27 | 1,489 |
| 24 | New Jersey | $77,386 | $37.20 | 1,221 |
| 25 | Michigan | $70,481 | $33.89 | 1,197 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $68,708 | $33.03 | 223 |
| 27 | Illinois | $71,938 | $34.59 | 1,912 |
| 28 | Tennessee | $68,504 | $32.93 | 731 |
| 29 | Indiana | $69,233 | $33.29 | 769 |
| 30 | Georgia | $70,439 | $33.86 | 1,516 |
| 31 | Nebraska | $68,253 | $32.81 | 355 |
| 32 | Idaho | $68,674 | $33.02 | 276 |
| 33 | Hawaii | $69,401 | $33.37 | 155 |
| 34 | South Carolina | $69,270 | $33.30 | 642 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | $68,956 | $33.15 | 703 |
| 36 | Missouri | $69,123 | $33.23 | 843 |
| 37 | Kansas | $67,577 | $32.49 | 451 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $69,346 | $33.34 | 315 |
| 39 | Florida | $66,691 | $32.06 | 2,986 |
| 40 | South Dakota | $65,833 | $31.65 | 174 |
| 41 | Alaska | $63,987 | $30.76 | 187 |
| 42 | Iowa | $67,625 | $32.51 | 500 |
| 43 | Colorado | $66,558 | $32.00 | 1,026 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $67,800 | $32.60 | 397 |
| 45 | Alabama | $66,997 | $32.21 | 519 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $66,679 | $32.06 | 302 |
| 47 | Utah | $65,397 | $31.44 | 469 |
| 48 | Wyoming | $58,432 | $28.09 | 117 |
| 49 | Montana | $61,905 | $29.76 | 173 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $65,937 | $31.70 | 361 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $64,257 | $30.89 | 293 |
Highest paying cities for systems administrators
| Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $95,429 | $45.88 | 18 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $84,712 | $40.73 | 24 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $81,501 | $39.18 | 20 |
| 4 | Annapolis, MD | $81,494 | $39.18 | 111 |
| 5 | Washington, DC | $80,718 | $38.81 | 71 |
| 6 | New York, NY | $80,645 | $38.77 | 35 |
| 7 | Newtown, CT | $80,245 | $38.58 | |
| 8 | Portland, OR | $79,881 | $38.40 | 6 |
| 9 | Arlington, VA | $78,659 | $37.82 | 13 |
| 10 | Philadelphia, PA | $78,026 | $37.51 | 13 |
| 11 | Jersey City, NJ | $77,443 | $37.23 | 1 |
| 12 | Portland, ME | $76,904 | $36.97 | 6 |
| 13 | San Antonio, TX | $74,239 | $35.69 | 24 |
| 14 | Jacksonville, NC | $73,827 | $35.49 | 3 |
| 15 | Phoenix, AZ | $73,591 | $35.38 | 15 |
| 16 | Chicago, IL | $72,081 | $34.65 | 21 |
| 17 | Columbus, OH | $71,116 | $34.19 | 24 |
| 18 | Alpharetta, GA | $70,533 | $33.91 | 3 |
| 19 | Saint Louis, MO | $69,640 | $33.48 | 20 |
| 20 | Indianapolis, IN | $69,114 | $33.23 | 7 |
Systems Administrators are the most in-demand in these five cities:
Systems Administrator salary details
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
| 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 |
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 | $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 |
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $77,200 | $37.09 | +3.3% |
| 2022 | $74,600 | $35.87 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $72,900 | $35.06 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | $72,100 | $34.65 | +1.7% |
| 2019 | $70,800 | $34.06 | +2.4% |
Recently added systems administrator salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Web Services, Inc. | Support Engineer I-External | Seattle, WA | 12/01/2023 | $110,800 |
| Amazon Web Services, Inc. | Support Engineer II-Ext | Herndon, VA | 12/01/2023 | $118,260 |
| Amazon Web Services, Inc. | Support Engineer II-External | Dallas, TX | 12/01/2023 | $139,000 |
| Amazon Web Services, Inc. | Support Engineer II-External | Coppell, TX | 12/01/2023 | $114,000 |
| Amazon Web Services, Inc. | Support Engineer II-External | Forney, TX | 12/01/2023 | $139,000 |
| Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. | Systems Administrator III | Jacksonville, FL | 12/01/2023 | $112,208 |
| SES Americom, Inc. | Global Support Engineer | Manassas, VA | 12/01/2023 | $54,142 |
| SES Americom, Inc. | Global Support Engineer I | Manassas, VA | 12/01/2023 | $54,142 |
| DCM Infotech Limited | Systems Administrator | Phoenix, AZ | 12/01/2023 | $97,760 |
| Dharani Jasthi DMD P.C | Systems Administrator | Catonsville, MD | 12/01/2023 | $92,851 |
Systems Administrator salary FAQs
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.
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.
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.
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.
Search for systems administrator jobs