2027 Salary Guide · Technology
For security engineers we use the BLS Information Security Analysts occupation, which had a median wage of $129,180 in May 2025, about $137,500 in 2027 terms. Engineers who build and run security controls usually earn between that median and the 90th percentile of $199,850. Specialty, more than title, decides where in that band an offer falls.
Specialties
Most security engineers specialize. These are the areas where employers most often pay toward the top of the range, based on what the work requires rather than on any BLS breakdown.
Securing infrastructure on AWS, Azure or Google Cloud: identity policies, network controls, logging and infrastructure-as-code review. It overlaps with cloud engineering, which keeps demand high.
Threat modeling, secure code review and building security into the release pipeline. These roles need real software engineering skill and are often priced against developer pay.
Single sign-on, privileged access and directory services. Every breach investigation touches identity, so engineers who can design it well are hard to replace.
Writing and tuning the rules a security operations center runs on, often mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, which O*NET lists among this occupation's in-demand technologies.
Pay distribution
The percentiles cover the full Information Security Analysts occupation. The shaded band, median to 90th percentile, is where most security engineering roles fall; entry-level analysts make up much of the lower half.
Typical for the Security Engineer title: $129,180 to $199,850 (50th to 90th percentile of Information Security Analysts)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $75,090 | $80,000 |
| 25th percentile | $97,810 | $104,000 |
| Median | $129,180 | $137,500 |
| 75th percentile | $163,500 | $174,000 |
| 90th percentile | $199,850 | $212,500 |
About the data
O*NET keeps a separate profile called Information Security Engineers (15-1299.05). BLS does not publish wages for it on its own; it rolls that profile into Computer Occupations, All Other, a catch-all group that also includes blockchain engineers, penetration testers and IT project managers. That group's median was $116,580 in May 2025.
This page uses Information Security Analysts (15-1212) instead, because it is the dedicated security occupation and its sample titles include IT Security Analyst, Network Security Analyst and Information Systems Security Officer, the kinds of jobs security engineers move between.
Either way, the figures describe an occupation, not the exact title. Treat the median-to-90th band as the planning range for security engineer roles, and the city table as the better guide for any specific offer.
Local pay
Seattle's 10th percentile, $101,980, is the highest floor among the metros we track, and its median of $161,780 is second only to San Francisco's $162,310. Raleigh posts a $143,640 median, ahead of New York, at a far smaller market size of about 2,510 jobs.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | $162,310 +26% | $61,860 – $246,070 | 3,730 |
| Seattle | $161,780 +25% | $101,980 – $213,750 | 4,700 |
| Washington, DC | $148,950 +15% | $96,550 – $209,290 | 16,560 |
| Raleigh | $143,640 +11% | $78,870 – $168,050 | 2,510 |
| New York City | $140,470 +9% | $86,860 – $216,280 | 11,330 |
| Baltimore | $138,170 +7% | $78,110 – $218,620 | 4,600 |
| Denver | $136,670 +6% | $86,660 – $209,990 | 3,580 |
| Boston | $136,550 +6% | $86,970 – $225,300 | 5,220 |
| Austin | $134,100 +4% | $79,500 – $186,680 | 2,390 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $133,610 +3% | $82,140 – $178,000 | 7,080 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | $132,560 +3% | $75,830 – $186,530 | 2,710 |
| San Diego | $132,120 +2% | $70,790 – $206,510 | 1,330 |
| Atlanta | $131,490 +2% | $79,200 – $186,180 | 4,550 |
| Charlotte | $131,440 +2% | $81,430 – $192,300 | 2,640 |
| Hartford | $131,410 +2% | $79,760 – $175,590 | 560 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $130,710 +1% | $84,030 – $167,890 | 2,240 |
| Phoenix | $130,360 +1% | $79,280 – $178,000 | 2,590 |
| Los Angeles | $129,630 +0% | $54,230 – $195,820 | 4,820 |
| Houston | $126,370 -2% | $74,290 – $178,560 | 2,110 |
| Chicago | $125,310 -3% | $79,460 – $174,450 | 3,480 |
| Miami | $125,310 -3% | $76,620 – $170,690 | 3,300 |
| Tampa | $118,970 -8% | $76,810 – $171,390 | 2,460 |
| Buffalo | $116,290 -10% | $77,920 – $166,850 | 400 |
| Providence | $109,940 -15% | $74,870 – $185,270 | 710 |
| Detroit | $108,990 -16% | $67,350 – $167,580 | 1,520 |
| Albany | $103,890 -20% | $67,220 – $165,750 | 470 |
| Pittsburgh | $103,630 -20% | $66,500 – $158,140 | 1,130 |
BLS metro estimates, May 2025. Percent compares the metro median with the national median. "Jobs" is BLS estimated employment in the metro; blank where BLS does not publish it.
Career path
BLS does not report pay by experience. These stages map common security career steps onto the occupation's percentiles.
About $98,000 to $129,000 (25th percentile to median)
Often a move from systems administration, networking, development or a SOC analyst role. Engineers at this stage usually own one tool set, such as endpoint protection or vulnerability scanning.
About $129,000 to $164,000 (median to 75th percentile)
Designs and runs controls for a domain such as cloud, identity or application security, and handles escalations from the security operations team.
About $164,000 to $200,000+ (75th to 90th percentile)
Leads a security domain across the company, sets standards for other engineers and often feeds into architecture decisions.
Compare
Penetration testers are reported in the broader Computer Occupations, All Other group, with a $116,580 median. DevOps engineers, counted as software developers, have a higher median of $135,980.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security Engineer | $129,180 | $137,500 | Much faster than average |
| Security Architect | $129,180 | $137,500 | Much faster than average |
| Penetration Tester | $116,580 | $124,000 | Faster than average |
| DevOps Engineer | $135,980 | $144,500 | Much faster than average |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $129,180 | $137,500 | Much faster than average |
Outlook
BLS expects much faster than average growth for the occupation and about 14,100 openings a year, from a base of 192,900 jobs. That is a small workforce relative to the number of employers that need security engineering.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Information Security Analysts as a whole.
FAQ
BLS groups security engineers with Information Security Analysts, whose median was $129,180 in May 2025. Security engineering roles usually fall between that median and the 90th percentile of $199,850. Adding two years of wage growth at 3.1% a year gives a 2027 planning median of about $137,500.
Few people start in security engineering straight from school; most move in from IT, networking or a SOC role. For those first engineering jobs, the occupation's 25th percentile, $97,810, is a reasonable marker. The 10th percentile, $75,090, mostly reflects entry-level analyst roles.
No official cloud premium exists, because BLS does not report pay by security specialty. Cloud security work combines security and cloud engineering skills, and roles that need both are commonly priced toward the upper half of the occupation's range, above the $129,180 median.
Two could apply. O*NET's Information Security Engineers profile is counted in Computer Occupations, All Other (median $116,580). This guide uses Information Security Analysts (median $129,180), the dedicated security occupation, as the closer match for most security engineering jobs.
In May 2025, San Francisco ($162,310) and Seattle ($161,780) had the highest medians for information security analysts among the 29 metros in this guide, followed by Washington, DC at $148,950 and Raleigh at $143,640.
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