Cyber security salary calculator

Get accurate salary data for cybersecurity roles. Start planning now.

What drives Cyber Security salary ranges

Location makes a significant difference

Where you work has a huge impact on cyber security salaries for entry-level positions. Big tech hubs like San Francisco, New York, and Seattle usually pay way more to offset how expensive it is to live there—we're talking $15,000 to $25,000 more than the national average just to start. Remote work has started changing this though. Some companies adjust your pay based on where you're actually living, while others pay everyone the same no matter where they are. Mid-sized cities like Austin, Denver, and Raleigh have growing cyber security scenes too, with solid pay that makes more sense when you factor in cheaper rent and living expenses. When you're looking at job offers, don't just focus on the salary number. Think about local taxes, what housing costs, and whether you can work remotely. Geographic arbitrage—working remotely from somewhere cheap while pulling in a salary from an expensive market—has become a real option for people breaking into the field.

Education and certifications impact starting pay

If you've got certifications like Security+, CEH, or CISSP (even the associate level), you'll usually start at a higher salary than someone with just a degree. That said, plenty of newcomers get into the field without a traditional four-year degree by doing intensive bootcamp programs, like the ones TripleTen offers, which focus on hands-on skills and building actual portfolio projects. The data science major salary path can overlap with cyber security when you're looking at roles involving threat detection, analyzing data, or security analytics. These days, employers care more about what you can actually do than what pieces of paper you have, though having both obviously doesn't hurt. People who taught themselves and have solid GitHub portfolios plus relevant certifications can negotiate good packages, especially if they can show they know how to solve real problems during interviews.

Industry sector affects compensation structure

The industry you pick makes a big difference in your starting salary for cyber security roles. Financial services and healthcare companies usually pay more right out of the gate because of tight regulations and how sensitive their data is. Government jobs, whether federal or state, often have set pay scales that might start lower but come with strong benefits, pension plans, and job security you won't find in most private sector gigs. Tech companies and startups might give you a lower base salary but make up for it with equity, faster raises, and quicker career advancement. Defense contractors and consulting firms tend to land somewhere in the middle, with steady pay and chances to earn overtime or project bonuses. Knowing these industry-specific patterns helps you look at the whole compensation package instead of just fixating on base salary.

Why use the salary calculator?

Make informed decisions

Having accurate salary data helps you negotiate confidently and choose opportunities that match your financial goals and career ambitions.

Avoid underpayment

Knowing market rates protects you from accepting offers significantly below what your skills and location should command in today's job market.

Plan your career path

Understanding how entry level Cyber Security salary grows over time helps you set realistic expectations and map out your professional development strategy.

How to use the salary explorer?

1Set your filters – choose the location and the title that you want.

2View salary data – explore entry-level cyber security pay averages, medians, and ranges.

3Compare & plan – see how annual cyber security salaries change across cities and experience.

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Dedicated salary views for cyber security jobs that require no experience, including NYC, CA, TX, FL, Seattle, Chicago.

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How much do Cyber Security engineers make compared to other tech roles?

Entry-level cybersecurity salaries land somewhere in the middle when you compare them to other tech jobs. Software engineers and data scientists with the same amount of experience usually make a bit more—think $70,000 to $90,000 starting out—while IT support and help desk positions typically start lower, around $40,000 to $55,000.

But here's the thing: cybersecurity has faster salary growth potential than a lot of other tech paths. Within 2-3 years, security professionals often see their pay jump by 30-40% as they pick up specialized skills.

The field also has pretty solid job security since every industry needs security, not just tech companies. When you look at total compensation, it can include security clearances (which make you more valuable on the market), bonuses for being on-call, getting your certifications paid for, and sometimes equity if you're at a private company.

What is the entry-level Cyber Security salary in the US?

Entry-level cyber security professionals in the United States usually make between $50,000 and $80,000 a year, depending on where you work, your education, and what exactly you're doing. The national average for starting positions is around $65,000, but it varies a lot.

Big cities like San Francisco, New York, and Washington D.C. often have starting salaries over $75,000, while smaller markets might be more like $50,000 to $60,000.

What are cybersecurity entry-level job roles?

Security Analyst is probably the most common way to get your foot in the door. You're watching networks for threats, looking into security incidents, going through logs, and helping deal with breaches when they happen. It's a good foundational role where you actually learn how attacks work and how to catch them.

SOC (Security Operations Center) Analyst means you're part of a team monitoring security systems all day and night. You're the first line of defense—staring at dashboards, sorting through alerts, and passing along the serious stuff to senior people. The shifts can suck since SOC teams usually run 24/7, but you see a massive amount of real-world situations really fast.

Junior Penetration Tester or Ethical Hacker roles are about trying to break into systems legally so you can find weak spots before the actual bad guys do. These usually want some certifications or proof you know your stuff, but they're fun if you're into the offensive side of security. You'll run vulnerability scans, try exploits in safe environments, and write up what you found.

IT Security Specialist positions mix regular IT support with security work. You might be dealing with user access, running security awareness training, managing antivirus software, and making sure systems follow security rules. It's less focused on one thing but you get your hands in a lot of different areas.

Cybersecurity Consultant roles at the entry level usually mean working on projects for clients, doing security assessments, helping set up security tools, and writing up compliance stuff. You're learning from multiple companies and industries at once, which speeds up how much you understand pretty dramatically.

Incident Response Analyst jobs are all about what happens after things go sideways. You're gathering evidence, stopping threats from spreading, figuring out how breaches happened, and helping get systems back online. It's intense but you pick up crisis management skills really quickly.

GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) Analyst positions are less about the technical stuff and more about policies. You're working on security documentation, getting ready for audits, doing risk assessments, and making sure the company meets different compliance requirements like HIPAA or PCI-DSS.

Can I get a Cyber Security starting role with no degree?

Yeah, plenty of people get into cyber security without a traditional four-year degree. Employers are caring more and more about what you can actually do, what certifications you have, and whether you can prove you know your stuff, rather than just looking at formal education. Certifications like CompTIA Security+, Network+, or Certified Ethical Hacker can replace a degree in a lot of hiring situations. Bootcamp programs have become a pretty popular way in—these are intensive training programs that teach you practical skills in months instead of years, and people who finish them often land jobs just as good as folks with traditional degrees.

How fast can I get into cyber security?

If you already know IT basics like networking, Linux or Windows, and scripting, a focused plan with labs, SOC tickets, a home lab, and a few specific certifications can get you into entry-level cyber security jobs in a few months. If you don't have any IT experience, it's going to take longer. Without experience, you can start with help desk or IT support jobs and look for junior analyst internships. While you're doing that, you can build a portfolio that shows off SIEM dashboards, detections, and vulnerability scans.

Will AI take over cyber security jobs?

AI speeds up detection and analysis, but that doesn't mean we don't need humans anymore. Actually, it's the opposite—AI also makes phishing, malware, and social engineering easier and harder to spot. That's going to make skilled analysts and engineers even more in demand. To analyze more, check out our AI job risk analyzer to know which jobs AI will replace.

What is the lowest salary in cyber security?

Entry-level or trainee roles—think intern, SOC Tier 1, or junior analyst—pay the least in cyber security. Internships usually pay somewhere around $15-25 an hour, which comes out to about $30,000-50,000 a year if you're working full-time. SOC Tier 1 analysts generally start in the $40,000-55,000 ballpark, while junior analyst spots might be a bit higher at $45,000-60,000.

These numbers jump around a lot based on where you're working and what industry you're in. Government and education positions might start you at around $40,000-50,000, which is lower than private sector jobs that usually kick off at $50,000-65,000, but government and education typically give you better benefits and more training. Once you start handling more stuff like being on-call, dealing with incident response, cloud work, or compliance tasks, your pay usually shoots up pretty quickly—you could see increases of 20-40% in just your first couple years.