Best US Cities for Database Administrators
Top US cities for Database Administrators ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $128,500 | 1.45× | +$28,500 |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $122,700 | 1.30× | +$22,700 |
| 3 | San Diego, CA | $119,100 | 1.21× | +$19,100 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $119,000 | 1.35× | +$19,000 |
| 5 | Seattle, WA | $118,000 | 1.18× | +$18,000 |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $117,900 | 1.32× | +$17,900 |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $117,100 | 1.30× | +$17,100 |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $116,900 | 1.15× | +$16,900 |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $114,200 | 1.22× | +$14,200 |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $114,200 | 1.22× | +$14,200 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $128,500 | $62/hr |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $122,700 | $59/hr |
| 3 | San Diego, CA | $119,100 | $57/hr |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $119,000 | $57/hr |
| 5 | Seattle, WA | $118,000 | $57/hr |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $117,900 | $57/hr |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $117,100 | $56/hr |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $116,900 | $56/hr |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $114,200 | $55/hr |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $114,200 | $55/hr |
| 11 | Denver, CO | $114,100 | $55/hr |
| 12 | Austin, TX | $113,000 | $54/hr |
| 13 | Aurora, CO | $113,000 | $54/hr |
| 14 | Long Beach, CA | $112,700 | $54/hr |
| 15 | Scottsdale, AZ | $112,700 | $54/hr |
| 16 | Chandler, AZ | $112,600 | $54/hr |
| 17 | Gilbert, AZ | $111,800 | $54/hr |
| 18 | Orlando, FL | $111,400 | $54/hr |
| 19 | Raleigh, NC | $111,000 | $53/hr |
| 20 | North Las Vegas, NV | $111,000 | $53/hr |
| 21 | Boise, ID | $111,000 | $53/hr |
| 22 | Colorado Springs, CO | $110,700 | $53/hr |
| 23 | Madison, WI | $110,700 | $53/hr |
| 24 | Mesa, AZ | $109,900 | $53/hr |
| 25 | Portland, OR | $109,700 | $53/hr |
| 26 | Sacramento, CA | $109,700 | $53/hr |
| 27 | Fort Worth, TX | $109,400 | $53/hr |
| 28 | Tucson, AZ | $109,400 | $53/hr |
| 29 | Albuquerque, NM | $108,700 | $52/hr |
| 30 | Baltimore, MD | $107,900 | $52/hr |
| 31 | Frisco, TX | $107,900 | $52/hr |
| 32 | Yonkers, NY | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 33 | Anchorage, AK | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 34 | Phoenix, AZ | $106,700 | $51/hr |
| 35 | Philadelphia, PA | $106,700 | $51/hr |
| 36 | Reno, NV | $106,700 | $51/hr |
| 37 | Charleston, SC | $106,700 | $51/hr |
| 38 | Salt Lake City, UT | $106,700 | $51/hr |
| 39 | Anaheim, CA | $106,300 | $51/hr |
| 40 | Virginia Beach, VA | $106,000 | $51/hr |
| 41 | Worcester, MA | $106,000 | $51/hr |
| 42 | Dallas, TX | $105,700 | $51/hr |
| 43 | Houston, TX | $104,500 | $50/hr |
| 44 | Miami, FL | $104,200 | $50/hr |
| 45 | San Antonio, TX | $103,500 | $50/hr |
| 46 | Newark, NJ | $103,500 | $50/hr |
| 47 | Riverside, CA | $103,500 | $50/hr |
| 48 | Columbus, OH | $103,000 | $50/hr |
| 49 | Kansas City, MO | $103,000 | $50/hr |
| 50 | El Paso, TX | $102,700 | $49/hr |
| 51 | St. Louis, MO | $102,700 | $49/hr |
| 52 | Winston-Salem, NC | $102,700 | $49/hr |
| 53 | Memphis, TN | $102,000 | $49/hr |
| 54 | Oklahoma City, OK | $102,000 | $49/hr |
| 55 | Chicago, IL | $101,800 | $49/hr |
| 56 | Stockton, CA | $101,800 | $49/hr |
| 57 | Hialeah, FL | $101,800 | $49/hr |
| 58 | Las Vegas, NV | $101,400 | $49/hr |
| 59 | Minneapolis, MN | $101,400 | $49/hr |
| 60 | Plano, TX | $101,400 | $49/hr |
| 61 | Wichita, KS | $100,800 | $48/hr |
| 62 | Mobile, AL | $100,800 | $48/hr |
| 63 | Atlanta, GA | $100,700 | $48/hr |
| 64 | Tampa, FL | $100,700 | $48/hr |
| 65 | Henderson, NV | $100,700 | $48/hr |
| 66 | Wilmington, DE | $100,000 | $48/hr |
| 67 | St. Paul, MN | $100,000 | $48/hr |
| 68 | Chesapeake, VA | $100,000 | $48/hr |
| 69 | Fresno, CA | $100,000 | $48/hr |
| 70 | Nashville, TN | $99,700 | $48/hr |
| 71 | Bakersfield, CA | $99,700 | $48/hr |
| 72 | St. Petersburg, FL | $99,700 | $48/hr |
| 73 | Norfolk, VA | $99,300 | $48/hr |
| 74 | Jacksonville, FL | $99,000 | $48/hr |
| 75 | Charlotte, NC | $99,000 | $48/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $98,600 | $47/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $98,600 | $47/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $98,600 | $47/hr |
| 79 | Pittsburgh, PA | $98,300 | $47/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $98,300 | $47/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $98,300 | $47/hr |
| 82 | Milwaukee, WI | $97,900 | $47/hr |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | $97,900 | $47/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $97,600 | $47/hr |
| 85 | Detroit, MI | $97,200 | $47/hr |
| 86 | Cincinnati, OH | $97,200 | $47/hr |
| 87 | Lexington, KY | $97,200 | $47/hr |
| 88 | Corpus Christi, TX | $97,200 | $47/hr |
| 89 | Buffalo, NY | $97,200 | $47/hr |
| 90 | Greensboro, NC | $97,200 | $47/hr |
| 91 | Knoxville, TN | $97,200 | $47/hr |
| 92 | Cleveland, OH | $96,900 | $47/hr |
| 93 | Indianapolis, IN | $96,500 | $46/hr |
| 94 | Louisville, KY | $96,500 | $46/hr |
| 95 | Omaha, NE | $96,500 | $46/hr |
| 96 | Lincoln, NE | $96,200 | $46/hr |
| 97 | Birmingham, AL | $95,800 | $46/hr |
| 98 | Toledo, OH | $95,800 | $46/hr |
| 99 | Lubbock, TX | $95,800 | $46/hr |
| 100 | Fort Wayne, IN | $95,100 | $46/hr |
Does location actually decide Database Administrator pay?
A caveat that matters more here than for most occupations: this role can be done fully remotely. The 35% gap between San Francisco and Fort Wayne is real for on-site jobs, but the better play for a remote Database Administrator is often to earn on one metro's scale and spend on another's.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The nominal ranking and the useful ranking are not the same. In San Francisco, $128,500 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $92,500 a year after housing. In Fort Wayne, $95,100 against $850 leaves about $84,900. The top still wins after rent, but by $7,600 rather than the $33,400 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); San Diego (US Navy, Qualcomm). 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.