Systems Administration salary

74 market ranges · employer-stated pay · updated Oct 24, 2026

The best-evidenced figure here is for systems administration roles at mid level across the United States: 602 postings where the employer stated pay put the middle half between $93,558 and $148,500, with a median of $117,000.

Pay rises with seniority across the United States: the medians run entry-level $84,050, mid-level $117,000, senior $146,577 and lead $195,000. Moving from entry-level to lead is worth roughly 132% more.

Location moves the number too. Of the 3 cities with at least 25 postings at mid level, Annapolis Junction has the highest median at $152,500 and New York the lowest at $135,000, a gap of roughly 13%.

Every range here is counted from real postings, never modelled. 33 of the 60 ranges in the table rest on fewer than 10 postings and are marked hint: treat those as hints rather than benchmarks.

Every measured range

74 by market and level

Market	Level	Market range	Median	Sample
United States · country-wide	Entry	$76,278 – $99,750	$84,050	50
United States · country-wide	Mid	$93,558 – $148,500	$117,000	602
Canada · country-wide	Mid	CA$83,625 – CA$114,938	CA$97,025	50
United Kingdom · country-wide	Mid	£38,750 – £52,509	£49,383	20
Germany · country-wide	Mid	€77,500 – €97,963	€93,750	6hint
Italy · country-wide	Mid	€46,328 – €66,700	€54,650	6hint
United States · country-wide	Senior	$125,338 – $178,544	$146,577	416
Canada · country-wide	Senior	CA$108,250 – CA$127,500	CA$115,800	34
United Kingdom · country-wide	Senior	£63,408 – £69,550	£67,000	11
United States · country-wide	Lead	$173,125 – $242,035	$195,000	43
Remote · United States	Mid	$93,040 – $131,000	$114,000	47
Remote · United States	Senior	$128,000 – $165,750	$145,000	48
Remote · United States	Lead	$178,063 – $238,993	$196,850	10
Aberdeen Proving Ground	Mid	$121,500 – $139,950	$125,000	5hint
Albuquerque	Mid	$114,875 – $190,000	$116,650	5hint
Annapolis Junction	Entry	$80,450 – $115,763	$90,250	8hint
Annapolis Junction	Mid	$125,000 – $187,500	$152,500	25
Annapolis Junction	Senior	$161,875 – $211,125	$204,000	12
Arlington	Mid	$121,138 – $156,250	$137,500	15
Arlington	Senior	$94,100 – $146,288	$129,575	7hint
Atlanta	Senior	$132,500 – $167,500	$166,803	5hint
Austin	Mid	$115,000 – $190,500	$150,000	11
Austin	Senior	$140,275 – $201,250	$167,300	7hint
Berkeley	Mid	$113,000 – $115,000	$113,000	5hint
Bethesda	Mid	$134,200 – $195,000	$168,100	5hint
Boston	Mid	$100,753 – $138,750	$116,250	6hint
Boston	Senior	$145,000 – $167,500	$145,000	5hint
Chantilly	Mid	$133,863 – $184,756	$165,275	14
Charleston	Mid	$87,878 – $125,063	$116,506	6hint
Charlotte	Senior	$133,125 – $152,875	$137,000	6hint
Chicago	Mid	$89,350 – $140,025	$107,500	15
Chicago	Senior	$121,825 – $150,237	$131,350	7hint
Colorado Springs	Mid	$104,838 – $127,528	$115,605	6hint
Colorado Springs	Senior	$127,594 – $158,213	$132,000	6hint
Columbia	Mid	$114,956 – $173,225	$129,575	7hint
Dallas	Mid	$110,250 – $135,699	$128,500	8hint
Denver	Mid	$74,250 – $161,200	$105,000	9hint
El Segundo	Mid	$108,800 – $182,025	$154,125	8hint
Fort Meade	Mid	$125,377 – $159,625	$144,349	14
Los Angeles	Mid	$91,875 – $137,125	$106,106	12
Los Angeles	Senior	$113,575 – $152,938	$136,500	8hint
Mclean	Mid	$140,600 – $143,948	$142,722	6hint
Mclean	Senior	$145,050 – $161,253	$154,000	6hint
Mountain View	Senior	$211,000 – $253,625	$236,908	8hint
New York	Mid	$92,500 – $177,500	$135,000	35
New York	Senior	$130,000 – $204,500	$168,500	21
Reston	Mid	$132,031 – $170,750	$161,087	7hint
Rochester	Mid	$88,000 – $164,825	$117,000	6hint
San Diego	Mid	$106,750 – $137,225	$116,052	11
San Francisco	Mid	$124,531 – $173,750	$140,000	31
San Francisco	Senior	$157,143 – $209,000	$202,875	18
San Jose	Mid	$115,625 – $141,250	$135,000	8hint
San Jose	Senior	$154,750 – $187,338	$169,500	8hint
Seattle	Mid	$116,250 – $168,750	$117,500	7hint
Springfield	Mid	$133,650 – $147,037	$136,393	8hint
Sunnyvale	Mid	$145,000 – $223,963	$183,750	8hint
Toronto	Mid	CA$96,188 – CA$122,550	CA$111,125	16
Toronto	Senior	CA$101,375 – CA$115,455	CA$108,500	12
Washington	Mid	$93,075 – $142,879	$125,000	23
Washington	Senior	$120,000 – $138,750	$126,800	7hint

Entry is junior titles. Mid is mid-level and manager titles. Senior is senior titles. Lead is director, VP and above. Rows marked hint rest on fewer than 10 postings: read them as a hint, not a benchmark.

Top 60 of 74 ranges by sample size.

Ranges span the 25th to 75th percentile of employer-stated base pay for the market and level. Median is the 50th percentile. Sample is the number of postings measured.

by the team behind remoteroles