Best US Cities for Cloud Architects
Top US cities for Cloud Architects ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $221,600 | 1.45× | +$61,600 |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $206,900 | 1.30× | +$46,900 |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $202,200 | 1.35× | +$42,200 |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $199,500 | 1.32× | +$39,500 |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $198,100 | 1.21× | +$38,100 |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $197,600 | 1.30× | +$37,600 |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $195,100 | 1.18× | +$35,100 |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $192,300 | 1.15× | +$32,300 |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $190,200 | 1.22× | +$30,200 |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $190,200 | 1.22× | +$30,200 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $221,600 | $107/hr |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $206,900 | $99/hr |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $202,200 | $97/hr |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $199,500 | $96/hr |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $198,100 | $95/hr |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $197,600 | $95/hr |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $195,100 | $94/hr |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $192,300 | $92/hr |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $190,200 | $91/hr |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $190,200 | $91/hr |
| 11 | Long Beach, CA | $186,300 | $90/hr |
| 12 | Scottsdale, AZ | $186,300 | $90/hr |
| 13 | Denver, CO | $185,400 | $89/hr |
| 14 | Austin, TX | $182,500 | $88/hr |
| 15 | Aurora, CO | $182,500 | $88/hr |
| 16 | Chandler, AZ | $181,500 | $87/hr |
| 17 | Gilbert, AZ | $179,600 | $86/hr |
| 18 | Portland, OR | $178,900 | $86/hr |
| 19 | Sacramento, CA | $178,900 | $86/hr |
| 20 | Orlando, FL | $178,600 | $86/hr |
| 21 | Yonkers, NY | $177,600 | $85/hr |
| 22 | Raleigh, NC | $177,600 | $85/hr |
| 23 | North Las Vegas, NV | $177,600 | $85/hr |
| 24 | Boise, ID | $177,600 | $85/hr |
| 25 | Anchorage, AK | $177,600 | $85/hr |
| 26 | Colorado Springs, CO | $176,600 | $85/hr |
| 27 | Madison, WI | $176,600 | $85/hr |
| 28 | Anaheim, CA | $175,800 | $85/hr |
| 29 | Mesa, AZ | $174,700 | $84/hr |
| 30 | Baltimore, MD | $174,300 | $84/hr |
| 31 | Frisco, TX | $174,300 | $84/hr |
| 32 | Fort Worth, TX | $173,700 | $84/hr |
| 33 | Tucson, AZ | $173,700 | $84/hr |
| 34 | Albuquerque, NM | $171,700 | $83/hr |
| 35 | Phoenix, AZ | $171,500 | $82/hr |
| 36 | Philadelphia, PA | $171,500 | $82/hr |
| 37 | Reno, NV | $171,500 | $82/hr |
| 38 | Charleston, SC | $171,500 | $82/hr |
| 39 | Salt Lake City, UT | $171,500 | $82/hr |
| 40 | Miami, FL | $170,600 | $82/hr |
| 41 | Virginia Beach, VA | $169,600 | $82/hr |
| 42 | Worcester, MA | $169,600 | $82/hr |
| 43 | Newark, NJ | $168,800 | $81/hr |
| 44 | Riverside, CA | $168,800 | $81/hr |
| 45 | Dallas, TX | $168,600 | $81/hr |
| 46 | Houston, TX | $165,900 | $80/hr |
| 47 | Chicago, IL | $164,400 | $79/hr |
| 48 | Stockton, CA | $164,400 | $79/hr |
| 49 | Hialeah, FL | $164,400 | $79/hr |
| 50 | Las Vegas, NV | $163,500 | $79/hr |
| 51 | Minneapolis, MN | $163,500 | $79/hr |
| 52 | Plano, TX | $163,500 | $79/hr |
| 53 | San Antonio, TX | $163,000 | $78/hr |
| 54 | Columbus, OH | $162,200 | $78/hr |
| 55 | Kansas City, MO | $162,200 | $78/hr |
| 56 | Atlanta, GA | $161,800 | $78/hr |
| 57 | Tampa, FL | $161,800 | $78/hr |
| 58 | Henderson, NV | $161,800 | $78/hr |
| 59 | El Paso, TX | $161,200 | $78/hr |
| 60 | St. Louis, MO | $161,200 | $78/hr |
| 61 | Winston-Salem, NC | $161,200 | $78/hr |
| 62 | Wilmington, DE | $160,000 | $77/hr |
| 63 | St. Paul, MN | $160,000 | $77/hr |
| 64 | Chesapeake, VA | $160,000 | $77/hr |
| 65 | Fresno, CA | $160,000 | $77/hr |
| 66 | Memphis, TN | $159,300 | $77/hr |
| 67 | Oklahoma City, OK | $159,300 | $77/hr |
| 68 | Nashville, TN | $159,100 | $76/hr |
| 69 | Bakersfield, CA | $159,100 | $76/hr |
| 70 | St. Petersburg, FL | $159,100 | $76/hr |
| 71 | Norfolk, VA | $158,200 | $76/hr |
| 72 | Jacksonville, FL | $157,400 | $76/hr |
| 73 | Charlotte, NC | $157,400 | $76/hr |
| 74 | Wichita, KS | $156,600 | $75/hr |
| 75 | Mobile, AL | $156,600 | $75/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $156,500 | $75/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $156,500 | $75/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $156,500 | $75/hr |
| 79 | Pittsburgh, PA | $155,600 | $75/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $155,600 | $75/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $155,600 | $75/hr |
| 82 | Milwaukee, WI | $154,700 | $74/hr |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | $154,700 | $74/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $153,800 | $74/hr |
| 85 | Detroit, MI | $153,000 | $74/hr |
| 86 | Cincinnati, OH | $153,000 | $74/hr |
| 87 | Lexington, KY | $153,000 | $74/hr |
| 88 | Corpus Christi, TX | $153,000 | $74/hr |
| 89 | Buffalo, NY | $153,000 | $74/hr |
| 90 | Greensboro, NC | $153,000 | $74/hr |
| 91 | Knoxville, TN | $153,000 | $74/hr |
| 92 | Cleveland, OH | $152,100 | $73/hr |
| 93 | Indianapolis, IN | $151,200 | $73/hr |
| 94 | Louisville, KY | $151,200 | $73/hr |
| 95 | Omaha, NE | $151,200 | $73/hr |
| 96 | Lincoln, NE | $150,300 | $72/hr |
| 97 | Birmingham, AL | $149,400 | $72/hr |
| 98 | Toledo, OH | $149,400 | $72/hr |
| 99 | Lubbock, TX | $149,400 | $72/hr |
| 100 | Fort Wayne, IN | $147,700 | $71/hr |
Does location actually decide Cloud Architect pay?
Cloud Architect work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $147,700 in Fort Wayne to $221,600 in San Francisco — a spread of 50%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The nominal ranking and the useful ranking are not the same. In San Francisco, $221,600 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $185,600 a year after housing. In Fort Wayne, $147,700 against $850 leaves about $137,500. The top still wins after rent, but by $48,100 rather than the $73,900 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
What puts a metro near the top here is employer density, not price level. San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom); Oakland (Kaiser Permanente (HQ), Port of Oakland). Where tech employers compete for the same candidates, offers rise above what the local cost of living alone would predict.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.