How much does a windows system administrator make?

The average windows system administrator salary in the United States is $79,845. Windows system administrator salaries typically range between $60,000 and $104,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for windows system administrators is $38.39 per hour. Windows system administrator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Windows system administrators earn the highest average salary in California.

Windows system administrator salary

Q: What state pays Windows System Administrators the most?

California pays Windows System Administrators the most in the United States, with an average salary of $94,145 per year, or $45.26 per hour.

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

You know if you are being paid fairly as a windows system administrator if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in South Carolina you should be paid close to $88,262 per year.

Average windows system administrator salary

$79,845

$38.39 hourly rate

Entry-level windows system administrator salary

$60,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding the Salary of Windows System Administrators

As of October 2025, the average salary for a Windows System Administrator stands at $79,845 annually. This figure can vary based on several factors including geographic location, years of experience, and the specific industry in which one is employed. For example, professionals in high-demand areas like California and New York often see higher salaries compared to those in other states.

Additionally, the field offers a variety of roles, with senior positions commanding salaries upwards of $100,000. Industries such as technology and finance frequently provide the most competitive pay. For those entering the field, gaining experience through internships or entry-level positions can significantly impact future salary growth.

To explore salary variations, consider reviewing data by state and industry. States like Washington and Texas also report favorable compensation trends for Windows System Administrators. By researching and targeting these key areas, job seekers can enhance their career prospects and earning potential in this essential IT role.

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Windows system administrator salary by:

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Where can a Windows System Administrator earn more?

Compare salary by location

123k

103k

83k

63k

43k

Columbus, OH$99,587

Des Moines, IA$73,251

Compare salary by company

159k

139k

119k

99k

79k

59k

Meta$130,861

Kinetic Concepts$89,236

Windows system administrator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor and Payscale, the average salary for a windows system administrator typically falls between $64,832 and $90,595.

zippia

$79,845yearly

glassdoor[1]

$90,595yearly

Salary.com[2]

$74,454yearly

payscale[3]

$64,832yearly

Average windows system administrator salary by state

The highest-paying states for windows system administrators are California, South Carolina, and New Jersey. The lowest average windows system administrator salary states are Missouri, New Mexico, and North Dakota.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for windows system administrators

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Washington	$87,187	$41.92
2	Arizona	$82,264	$39.55
3	California	$94,145	$45.26
4	Oregon	$85,265	$40.99
5	Pennsylvania	$83,755	$40.27
6	South Carolina	$88,262	$42.43
7	North Carolina	$80,904	$38.90
8	New Hampshire	$81,690	$39.27
9	Maryland	$83,425	$40.11
10	South Dakota	$85,507	$41.11
11	Nevada	$79,785	$38.36
12	Rhode Island	$81,351	$39.11
13	Massachusetts	$81,504	$39.18
14	Alaska	$80,919	$38.90
15	New Jersey	$87,464	$42.05
16	District of Columbia	$83,142	$39.97
17	Minnesota	$80,123	$38.52
18	Virginia	$79,350	$38.15
19	Idaho	$78,947	$37.96
20	Ohio	$76,367	$36.71
21	Maine	$80,281	$38.60
22	Michigan	$76,065	$36.57
23	Indiana	$76,400	$36.73
24	Connecticut	$80,174	$38.55
25	Alabama	$73,941	$35.55
26	Utah	$72,614	$34.91
27	Delaware	$79,974	$38.45
28	Vermont	$75,626	$36.36
29	Kentucky	$75,845	$36.46
30	Texas	$74,005	$35.58
31	New York	$80,105	$38.51
32	Kansas	$74,195	$35.67
33	Illinois	$75,531	$36.31
34	Hawaii	$74,078	$35.61
35	Tennessee	$73,502	$35.34
36	Georgia	$75,081	$36.10
37	Iowa	$73,621	$35.39
38	Colorado	$69,294	$33.31
39	Montana	$71,213	$34.24
40	West Virginia	$71,120	$34.19
41	Florida	$70,486	$33.89
42	Wisconsin	$71,335	$34.30
43	Oklahoma	$72,237	$34.73
44	North Dakota	$66,732	$32.08
45	New Mexico	$67,376	$32.39
46	Wyoming	$64,566	$31.04
47	Arkansas	$68,226	$32.80
48	Missouri	$67,926	$32.66
49	Louisiana	$68,868	$33.11
50	Mississippi	$65,049	$31.27
51	Nebraska	$62,766	$30.18

Top windows system administrator jobs near you

Highest paying cities for windows system administrators

The highest-paying cities for windows system administrators are Sunnyvale, CA, Columbia, SC, and Bellevue, WA.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Sunnyvale, CA	$99,587	$47.88
2	Columbia, SC	$88,573	$42.58
3	Bellevue, WA	$87,658	$42.14
4	Jersey City, NJ	$87,555	$42.09
5	Philadelphia, PA	$84,040	$40.40
6	Annapolis, MD	$83,524	$40.16
7	Washington, DC	$83,147	$39.97
8	Phoenix, AZ	$82,369	$39.60
9	Springfield, MA	$81,869	$39.36
10	Raleigh, NC	$81,584	$39.22
11	New York, NY	$80,241	$38.58
12	Wilmington, DE	$79,999	$38.46
13	Arlington, VA	$79,665	$38.30
14	Columbus, OH	$76,343	$36.70
15	Indianapolis, IN	$76,307	$36.69
16	Chicago, IL	$75,678	$36.38
17	Atlanta, GA	$75,138	$36.12
18	San Antonio, TX	$75,048	$36.08
19	Urban Honolulu, HI	$74,165	$35.66
20	Des Moines, IA	$73,251	$35.22

Windows system administrator salary details

A windows system administrator's salary ranges from $60,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $104,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average windows system administrator salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a windows system administrator's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$104,000	$8,667	$50
75th Percentile	$92,000	$7,667	$44
Average	$79,845	$6,654	$38
25th Percentile	$69,000	$5,750	$33
10th Percentile	$60,000	$5,000	$29

Highest paying windows system administrator jobs

The highest paying types of windows system administrators are senior administrator, systems administrator lead, and senior system administrator.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Information Technology Administrator	$73,195	$6,100	$35.19	159,499
Help Desk Administrator	$49,798	$4,150	$23.94	130,180
Network/Server Administrator	$78,919	$6,577	$37.94	167,546
Network Administrator	$71,357	$5,946	$34.31	106,886
LAN Administrator	$60,942	$5,079	$29.30	92,931
Lead Administrator	$94,444	$7,870	$45.41	57,229

Top companies hiring windows system administrators now:

Which companies pay windows system administrators the most?

Windows system administrator salaries at Meta and W. R. Berkley are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average windows system administrator salary at companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and ING Financial Holdings Corporation are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Meta	$130,861	$62.91
2	W. R. Berkley	$110,117	$52.94
3	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$108,988	$52.40
4	ING Financial Holdings Corporation	$108,455	$52.14
5	Amazon	$105,978	$50.95
6	Fortinet	$101,673	$48.88
7	BMO Capital Markets	$99,058	$47.62
8	CVS Health	$98,804	$47.50
9	Unisys	$97,430	$46.84
10	TEKsystems	$95,555	$45.94
11	Johnson & Johnson	$93,626	$45.01
12	T. Rowe Price	$93,413	$44.91
13	McKesson	$92,760	$44.60
14	PulsePoint	$92,009	$44.24
15	Booz Allen Hamilton	$90,975	$43.74
16	Verizon Communications	$90,917	$43.71
17	Activehealth Management	$90,769	$43.64
18	Arrow Electronics	$90,721	$43.62
19	Choice Hotels	$90,604	$43.56
20	Kinetic Concepts	$89,236	$42.90

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$82,000$80,800$79,600$78,400$77,200$76,000

MaleFemale

Windows System Administrator salary by industry

The average windows system administrator salary varies across industries:

The average windows system administrator salary in the finance industry is $93,089, the highest of any industry.
The average windows system administrator salary in the finance industry is $83,770.
Windows system administrators in the telecommunication industry earn an average salary of $76,249, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for windows system administrators

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Finance	$93,089	$44.75
2	Manufacturing	$83,770	$40.27
3	Hospitality	$82,691	$39.76
4	Insurance	$80,346	$38.63
5	Technology	$80,311	$38.61
6	Telecommunication	$76,249	$36.66

High paying windows system administrator jobs

Windows system administrator salary trends

The average windows system administrator salary has risen by $14,570 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average windows system administrator earned $65,275 annually, but today, they earn $79,845 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for windows system administrators over the last decade.

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

Average windows system administrator salary over time

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

Windows system administrator salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$79,800	$38.39	+3.3%
2024	$77,200	$37.12	+2.3%
2023	$75,500	$36.28	+1.2%
2022	$74,600	$35.86	+1.7%
2021	$73,300	$35.24	+2.4%

Recently added windows system administrator salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
ZP Group	Windows System Admin (Secret Clearance)	Falls Church, VA	06/29/2025	$90,000
ZP Group	Windows System Administrator	Linthicum, MD	06/29/2025	$70,000
Sev1 Tech	Windows System Administrator	College Park, MD	06/26/2025	$50,000
Northrop Grumman	Principal Windows/Vmware Systems Administrator	Baltimore, MD	06/25/2025	$95,800
Northrop Grumman	Windows Systems Administration-Polygraph	Dulles Town Center, VA	06/25/2025	$100,300
Sev1Tech, LLC	Windows System Administrator	Berwyn Heights, MD	06/24/2025	$50,000
Leidos	Junior Window System Administrator	Shiloh, IL	06/22/2025	$50,050
Guidehouse	Windows System Vulnerability Management Coordinator/Admin	Kansas City, MO	06/20/2025	$46,000
Smartronix	Windows System Administrator (4393)	Lexington Park, MD	06/17/2025	$87,500
Southern Maryland Careers	Windows System Administrator (4393)	Maryland	06/17/2025	$87,500

Windows system administrator salary FAQs

What state pays Windows System Administrators the most?

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

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

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Updated January 8, 2025

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