2027 Salary Guide · Technology
Network and computer systems administrators earned a median of $99,130 in May 2025, according to BLS, or roughly $105,500 projected to 2027. Unlike most technology occupations, BLS projects employment to decline through 2035 as some tasks shift to DevOps-focused software developers and outsourced network services and routine work is automated. Even so, the occupation still has about 13,400 openings a year, and the pay gap between metros is wider than the gap to the next job up.
Outlook
BLS projects a decline of 1% or more in employment from 2025 to 2035 for the occupation's 323,600 jobs. Openings remain, about 13,400 a year, mainly to replace people who retire or move into other roles, often the cloud and DevOps jobs below.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Network and Computer Systems Administrators as a whole.
Where sysadmins go next
These are the most common moves out of systems administration, with the BLS median for the occupation each one is reported under.
| Next role | BLS occupation used | BLS median (May 2025) and gap |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud engineer | Computer Occupations, All Other | $116,580, about $17,450 above sysadmins |
| Network engineer or architect | Computer Network Architects | $134,050, about $34,920 above |
| DevOps or site reliability engineer | Software Developers | $135,980, about $36,850 above |
Systems administrator median: $99,130. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 via O*NET OnLine. Gaps compare national medians only.
Pay distribution
BLS reports systems and network administrators as one occupation, and the title maps to it directly, so the full range is shaded.
Typical for the Systems Administrator title: $78,010 to $126,640 (25th to 75th percentile of Network and Computer Systems Administrators)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $62,640 | $66,500 |
| 25th percentile | $78,010 | $83,000 |
| Median | $99,130 | $105,500 |
| 75th percentile | $126,640 | $134,500 |
| 90th percentile | $155,050 | $165,000 |
Staying in the role
Fewer jobs does not mean lower pay for the ones that remain. These are the factors that most often move a systems administrator up the range.
Administrators who manage servers with scripts and configuration tools rather than by hand do work that looks like cloud engineering. O*NET flags Ansible, Bash and PowerShell among the technologies used in the occupation.
Most employers that still run their own servers also use a cloud platform. Administrators who handle both sides are harder to replace than those who know one.
For this occupation, Washington and Baltimore have the second and third highest medians of the 29 metros. Government and contractor roles there can require a security clearance.
Moving from Pittsburgh's median of $80,440 to San Francisco's $129,680 is a bigger jump than most promotions. The city table shows each metro's full range.
Local pay
San Francisco ($129,680), Washington, DC ($125,430) and Baltimore ($122,950) lead the 29 metros. Pittsburgh is lowest at $80,440, about $49,240 below San Francisco. New York has the most administrators, about 17,690, followed by Dallas at 11,740.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | $129,680 +31% | $82,760 – $193,250 | 3,910 |
| Washington, DC | $125,430 +27% | $78,450 – $180,360 | 9,920 |
| Baltimore | $122,950 +24% | $74,430 – $192,160 | 4,620 |
| New York City | $119,390 +20% | $75,810 – $171,470 | 17,690 |
| Boston | $116,770 +18% | $79,730 – $169,530 | 6,760 |
| Los Angeles | $106,290 +7% | $70,870 – $159,750 | 8,770 |
| Hartford | $105,580 +7% | $73,040 – $155,170 | 770 |
| San Diego | $105,170 +6% | $72,470 – $154,710 | 2,510 |
| Denver | $105,090 +6% | $76,390 – $156,690 | 4,670 |
| Austin | $104,520 +5% | $65,600 – $162,440 | 5,030 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $104,440 +5% | $73,000 – $165,160 | 5,530 |
| Raleigh | $103,380 +4% | $60,650 – $161,220 | 2,730 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $103,260 +4% | $66,780 – $158,120 | 11,740 |
| Chicago | $103,170 +4% | $68,990 – $162,290 | 6,950 |
| Portland | $102,950 +4% | $73,380 – $138,500 | 2,820 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $102,790 +4% | $71,780 – $160,030 | 3,200 |
| Tampa | $101,560 +2% | $62,280 – $153,200 | 4,720 |
| Providence | $101,450 +2% | $69,680 – $152,110 | 1,370 |
| Houston | $101,430 +2% | $66,770 – $157,980 | 6,330 |
| Atlanta | $101,000 +2% | $66,520 – $151,840 | 6,140 |
| Philadelphia | $100,460 +1% | $64,960 – $148,110 | 4,050 |
| Miami | $97,180 -2% | $61,700 – $154,370 | 6,340 |
| Detroit | $96,400 -3% | $64,880 – $140,110 | 3,010 |
| Albany | $95,140 -4% | $65,060 – $127,420 | 1,060 |
| Buffalo | $93,830 -5% | $63,880 – $131,720 | 970 |
| Phoenix | $93,730 -5% | $63,630 – $140,940 | 4,370 |
| Nashville | $93,170 -6% | $63,590 – $132,360 | 1,790 |
| Charlotte | $89,990 -9% | $23,700 – $136,870 | 4,180 |
| Pittsburgh | $80,440 -19% | $59,760 – $124,020 | 1,570 |
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 a typical progression onto the occupation's percentiles.
About $63,000 to $78,000 (10th to 25th percentile)
Often promoted from IT support. Handles user accounts, patching, backups and routine server tasks. O*NET's survey found new hires split between an associate's degree (30%) and a bachelor's (27%).
About $78,000 to $127,000 (25th to 75th percentile)
Owns servers, directory services and backups for a site or business unit, and is part of the on-call rotation.
About $127,000 to $155,000+ (75th to 90th percentile)
Designs infrastructure, leads migrations and automates operations. Many people at this level move into cloud, network or DevOps titles.
Compare
Every common next step pays more at the median. DevOps engineers, counted as software developers, lead at $135,980; IT support specialists, the usual entry route, trail at $61,860.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Systems Administrator | $99,130 | $105,500 | Decline |
| Cloud Engineer | $116,580 | $124,000 | Faster than average |
| Network Engineer | $134,050 | $142,500 | Much faster than average |
| DevOps Engineer | $135,980 | $144,500 | Much faster than average |
| IT Support Specialist | $61,860 | $66,000 | Decline |
FAQ
The BLS median for network and computer systems administrators was $99,130 in May 2025. The middle half earned $78,010 to $126,640, and the top tenth more than $155,050. With two years of wage growth at 3.1% a year, the 2027 planning median is about $105,500.
Junior sysadmin pay is not a BLS figure, but the 10th percentile, $62,640, and 25th percentile, $78,010, cover most junior administrator salaries. Many people enter from IT support, where the BLS median for computer user support specialists is $61,860.
BLS projects employment in the occupation to decline from 2025 to 2035, but not to disappear. There are still about 13,400 openings a year across 323,600 jobs. BLS links the decline to tasks shifting to DevOps-focused software developers, outsourcing to network-as-a-service providers and automation, which is why many administrators retrain toward cloud and DevOps roles.
Operating system is not a pay category in BLS data. Both appear in the same occupation, and O*NET lists both Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Microsoft Windows Server among the technologies the occupation uses. Pay differences come mostly from scope, automation skills and the metro.
The most common moves are cloud engineering ($116,580 BLS median for its occupation group), network engineering ($134,050) and DevOps or SRE work ($135,980, counted as software developers). All three medians are above the $99,130 sysadmin median.
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