Systems Administrator Salary: Pay by State and the Move Into Security

Systems administrators earn a median of $99,130 a year, or $47.66 an hour, according to the May 2025 federal wage survey. The middle half earn between $78,010 and $126,640. Pay varies a great deal across states, and the field is changing, which is why many administrators are adding security skills to their résumés.

How Much Does a Systems Administrator Earn a Year?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counts 314,340 network and computer systems administrators. The survey publishes one set of figures for the group, so “network administrator” and “systems administrator” share the same pay data.

The mean is $4,550 above the median, which tells you a group of higher-paid administrators pulls the average up. When you’re judging an offer, the median is the steadier measure.

The hourly median is $47.66 and the hourly mean is $49.85. Those matter if you’re doing contract or managed-service work, where you’re paid by the hour.

What Do Systems Administrators Do?

BLS lists the core duties. Administrators determine an organization’s network and system needs and install the hardware and software that meet them. They make upgrades and repairs, keep systems running, and evaluate and optimize performance.

They also add users to a network and assign security permissions, train users on the organization’s systems, and diagnose and resolve problems when a user or an automated monitoring system flags one. They provide input on purchasing decisions as well.

One item on that list matters for your career: they maintain network and computer system security. Security isn’t a separate job in many smaller organizations. It’s a part of administration, and that’s exactly where many cybersecurity careers begin.

How Does Systems Administrator Pay Vary by State?

The state spread is large. Maryland has the highest median at $118,290, and New Jersey follows at $116,420. Massachusetts is at $110,980, the District of Columbia at $110,970 and Virginia at $109,610. California is at $106,440 and New York at $105,810.

At the other end, West Virginia’s median is $74,490, South Dakota’s is $75,010 and Wyoming’s is $75,220. The gap between Maryland and West Virginia is large.

Employment is concentrated in a few places. Texas has 34,840 administrators, Florida has 26,890, California has 26,170 and New York has 18,220. Ohio has 15,130 and North Carolina has 13,850. Texas pays a median of $101,240 and Florida $95,200, so the two largest markets sit near the national figure.

If you’re comparing places, look at both columns. Maryland pays the most, but Texas offers many more openings. The right choice depends on whether you’d rather have a higher salary with fewer employers or a typical salary with plenty of options.

What Is the Job Outlook for Systems Administrators?

This is the part that surprises people. BLS projects employment for network and computer systems administrators to fall 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, a loss of about 13,200 jobs from 323,600. At the same time it expects about 13,400 openings a year, because workers retire or move to other jobs.

A declining total doesn’t mean no openings. It means the openings come from turnover, not from new positions, and it means the work is shifting. What you can reasonably do is look at which nearby jobs are growing.

Information security analysts are projected to grow 21 percent over the same years, with about 14,100 openings a year. Computer network architects are projected to grow 8 percent. Both draw on administrator skills. Moving toward them is a sensible hedge.

What Does Pay Look Like at Different Career Stages?

The survey doesn’t publish pay by years of experience, but the percentiles hint at a ladder. The 10th percentile of $62,640 describes the lowest-paid administrators, many of them early in their careers or at low-paying employers. The 25th percentile of $78,010 is where many junior administrators sit once they’ve been in a role for a while.

The median of $99,130 is where a solid, experienced administrator usually lands. At the 75th percentile of $126,640 and above, you’ll find people who run large environments, lead small teams or specialize in an area such as cloud or network design. The top tenth earn $155,050 or more.

Moving up the ladder isn’t automatic. It happens when your responsibility grows. An administrator who owns backups for a single office is in a different place from one who designs the recovery plan for a whole company.

How Does Pay Compare With Other Jobs Administrators Move Into?

The same federal survey shows where an administrator can go. Computer network architects have a median of $134,050, which is $34,920 above the administrator median of $99,130. Information security analysts have a median of $129,180. Computer and information systems managers have a median of $175,140.

Compliance officers, who check that organizations follow rules and standards, have a median of $80,730 and a 90th percentile of $133,720. That path pays less at the middle, but it can suit someone who likes documentation and audits better than hands-on troubleshooting.

Each of these roles builds on something administrators already do. Architects design the networks administrators keep running. Analysts defend them. Managers plan the staffing and budgets. Choose the one that matches the part of your current job you enjoy most, because that’s the part you’ll be best at.

What Skills Raise a Systems Administrator’s Pay?

The BLS duty list is a good map. Each item can be done at a basic level or at a level that earns more.

Performance work, such as evaluating and optimizing systems, is more valuable than routine upkeep. Security work, such as assigning permissions thoughtfully and maintaining system security, is where the analyst jump begins. Purchasing input shows business judgment, which managers and architects need.

Training users is the underrated one. Administrators who explain things clearly are the ones colleagues trust, and trust is what leads to more responsibility.

If you’re not sure where to build skills, a degree can organize the learning. Programs with labs, such as the ones in our online cybersecurity degrees with internships list, give you practice you can then apply at work.

Does Security Pay More Than Systems Administration?

Yes, at the median. Information security analysts earn $129,180 against $99,130 for administrators. That’s a big step, and the percentile picture shows it isn’t just an artifact of the middle.

An administrator at the 75th percentile earns $126,640, close to the analyst median. An analyst at the 25th percentile earns $97,810, close to the administrator median. The ranges overlap, but the analyst range sits higher. At the top, analysts at the 90th percentile earn $199,850 against $155,050 for administrators.

So the most common move, an administrator at the middle of the range becoming an analyst at the middle of the range, is a raise of roughly the gap between the medians. Our cybersecurity analyst salary page shows the state-by-state view for the target role.

How Do You Move From Systems Administration Into Security?

Start with what you already do. Permissions, patching, backups and monitoring all sit close to security work. Write down the security tasks you’ve handled, because they’re the beginning of a story an employer wants to hear.

Next, fill the gaps. CompTIA recommends Network+ and about two years of experience in a security or systems administrator role before the Security+ exam, which has a maximum of 90 questions and runs 90 minutes. If you have the administrator experience, you’re already inside that recommendation. The CompTIA CySA+ certification is aimed at analyst work and recommends about four years in a SOC or vulnerability analyst role.

Then consider a degree. If you don’t have a bachelor’s, a degree-completion program lets you transfer credits from work and earlier study. If you do, an online master’s builds management and architecture skills. Our online cybersecurity degree completion programs list covers the first option, and our online cybersecurity degrees for working adults list covers programs built around a job.

Which Certifications Make Sense for Administrators?

Certifications give you something to point to when you want a security title. Three are worth knowing about at this stage.

CompTIA Security+ is the foundational one, and it’s a natural fit if you’ve been an administrator for a couple of years.

The ISC2 Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) is aimed at professionals with a year or more of experience in security operations, and it suits administrators who already handle access and monitoring. The ISC2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is advanced and asks for five years of experience in two or more of its domains, so it comes later.

Our CISSP requirements guide explains how the experience rule works, including the credit a degree can earn.

Degree programs sometimes bundle these. Five programs we compare name SSCP preparation, including the Excelsior University bachelor’s and the Rasmussen University bachelor’s. Thirty-four name Security+. Our online cybersecurity degrees with certifications list shows the match.

Which Degree Fits a Working Administrator?

Working adults need flexibility more than anything. Look for asynchronous classes, short terms and generous transfer-credit rules. A program that lets you keep your job and apply what you learn the next day pays for itself in better work performance.

Western Governors University’s online bachelor’s in cybersecurity and information assurance is asynchronous with six-month terms where you complete as many courses as you can, and it lists 16 industry-recognized certifications at no extra tuition. Excelsior University’s bachelor’s in cybersecurity is asynchronous with eight-week terms and lists certification preparation including Security+, CEH and SSCP. Both cater to working adults who already have IT experience.

Prices vary a lot. The median total tuition for the online bachelor’s programs we compare is $54,780, and for master’s programs it’s $25,488. Employer tuition help can lower that, so ask your HR team before you apply.

The most useful question to ask any program is what you’ll be able to do after the first term. If you’re already in an administrator role, a program that gives you security tasks to complete at work is worth more than one that stays in theory.

What Should You Do Next?

Take stock before you act. Write down your current pay, your state’s median from the table on this page, and the analyst median for the same state. The distance between them is the size of the opportunity.

Decide whether you want to stay in administration and deepen it, or move toward security. Both are reasonable. If your employer is cutting infrastructure roles, as the outlook suggests the field overall may see, the security move is safer.

Pull your state’s wage table from this page and compare it with the analyst figures. Then compare programs. Start with the online bachelor’s in cybersecurity list if you need a degree, or go straight to certification if you already have one. Our entry-level cybersecurity jobs guide explains what hiring managers look for in a first security role.