Best US Cities for DevOps Engineers
Top US cities for DevOps Engineers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $167,100 | 1.45× | +$37,100 |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $159,500 | 1.30× | +$29,500 |
| 3 | San Diego, CA | $155,000 | 1.21× | +$25,000 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $154,700 | 1.35× | +$24,700 |
| 5 | Seattle, WA | $153,400 | 1.18× | +$23,400 |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $153,300 | 1.32× | +$23,300 |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $152,300 | 1.30× | +$22,300 |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $151,800 | 1.15× | +$21,800 |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $148,400 | 1.22× | +$18,400 |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $148,400 | 1.22× | +$18,400 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $167,100 | $80/hr |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $159,500 | $77/hr |
| 3 | San Diego, CA | $155,000 | $75/hr |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $154,700 | $74/hr |
| 5 | Seattle, WA | $153,400 | $74/hr |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $153,300 | $74/hr |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $152,300 | $73/hr |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $151,800 | $73/hr |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $148,400 | $71/hr |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $148,400 | $71/hr |
| 11 | Denver, CO | $148,300 | $71/hr |
| 12 | Austin, TX | $146,900 | $71/hr |
| 13 | Aurora, CO | $146,900 | $71/hr |
| 14 | Long Beach, CA | $146,500 | $70/hr |
| 15 | Scottsdale, AZ | $146,500 | $70/hr |
| 16 | Chandler, AZ | $146,300 | $70/hr |
| 17 | Gilbert, AZ | $145,300 | $70/hr |
| 18 | Orlando, FL | $144,900 | $70/hr |
| 19 | Raleigh, NC | $144,300 | $69/hr |
| 20 | North Las Vegas, NV | $144,300 | $69/hr |
| 21 | Boise, ID | $144,300 | $69/hr |
| 22 | Colorado Springs, CO | $143,700 | $69/hr |
| 23 | Madison, WI | $143,700 | $69/hr |
| 24 | Portland, OR | $142,700 | $69/hr |
| 25 | Sacramento, CA | $142,700 | $69/hr |
| 26 | Mesa, AZ | $142,700 | $69/hr |
| 27 | Fort Worth, TX | $142,300 | $68/hr |
| 28 | Tucson, AZ | $142,300 | $68/hr |
| 29 | Albuquerque, NM | $141,300 | $68/hr |
| 30 | Baltimore, MD | $140,200 | $67/hr |
| 31 | Frisco, TX | $140,200 | $67/hr |
| 32 | Yonkers, NY | $139,100 | $67/hr |
| 33 | Anchorage, AK | $139,100 | $67/hr |
| 34 | Phoenix, AZ | $138,800 | $67/hr |
| 35 | Philadelphia, PA | $138,800 | $67/hr |
| 36 | Reno, NV | $138,800 | $67/hr |
| 37 | Charleston, SC | $138,800 | $67/hr |
| 38 | Salt Lake City, UT | $138,800 | $67/hr |
| 39 | Anaheim, CA | $138,200 | $66/hr |
| 40 | Virginia Beach, VA | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 41 | Worcester, MA | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 42 | Dallas, TX | $137,300 | $66/hr |
| 43 | Houston, TX | $135,900 | $65/hr |
| 44 | Miami, FL | $135,500 | $65/hr |
| 45 | Newark, NJ | $134,600 | $65/hr |
| 46 | Riverside, CA | $134,600 | $65/hr |
| 47 | San Antonio, TX | $134,400 | $65/hr |
| 48 | Columbus, OH | $134,000 | $64/hr |
| 49 | Kansas City, MO | $134,000 | $64/hr |
| 50 | El Paso, TX | $133,500 | $64/hr |
| 51 | St. Louis, MO | $133,500 | $64/hr |
| 52 | Winston-Salem, NC | $133,500 | $64/hr |
| 53 | Memphis, TN | $132,500 | $64/hr |
| 54 | Oklahoma City, OK | $132,500 | $64/hr |
| 55 | Chicago, IL | $132,300 | $64/hr |
| 56 | Stockton, CA | $132,300 | $64/hr |
| 57 | Hialeah, FL | $132,300 | $64/hr |
| 58 | Las Vegas, NV | $131,800 | $63/hr |
| 59 | Minneapolis, MN | $131,800 | $63/hr |
| 60 | Plano, TX | $131,800 | $63/hr |
| 61 | Wichita, KS | $131,000 | $63/hr |
| 62 | Mobile, AL | $131,000 | $63/hr |
| 63 | Atlanta, GA | $130,900 | $63/hr |
| 64 | Tampa, FL | $130,900 | $63/hr |
| 65 | Henderson, NV | $130,900 | $63/hr |
| 66 | Wilmington, DE | $130,000 | $63/hr |
| 67 | St. Paul, MN | $130,000 | $63/hr |
| 68 | Chesapeake, VA | $130,000 | $63/hr |
| 69 | Fresno, CA | $130,000 | $63/hr |
| 70 | Nashville, TN | $129,500 | $62/hr |
| 71 | Bakersfield, CA | $129,500 | $62/hr |
| 72 | St. Petersburg, FL | $129,500 | $62/hr |
| 73 | Norfolk, VA | $129,100 | $62/hr |
| 74 | Jacksonville, FL | $128,600 | $62/hr |
| 75 | Charlotte, NC | $128,600 | $62/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $128,200 | $62/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $128,200 | $62/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $128,200 | $62/hr |
| 79 | Pittsburgh, PA | $127,700 | $61/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $127,700 | $61/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $127,700 | $61/hr |
| 82 | Milwaukee, WI | $127,300 | $61/hr |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | $127,300 | $61/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $126,800 | $61/hr |
| 85 | Detroit, MI | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 86 | Cincinnati, OH | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 87 | Lexington, KY | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 88 | Corpus Christi, TX | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 89 | Buffalo, NY | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 90 | Greensboro, NC | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 91 | Knoxville, TN | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 92 | Cleveland, OH | $125,900 | $61/hr |
| 93 | Indianapolis, IN | $125,500 | $60/hr |
| 94 | Louisville, KY | $125,500 | $60/hr |
| 95 | Omaha, NE | $125,500 | $60/hr |
| 96 | Lincoln, NE | $125,000 | $60/hr |
| 97 | Birmingham, AL | $124,500 | $60/hr |
| 98 | Toledo, OH | $124,500 | $60/hr |
| 99 | Lubbock, TX | $124,500 | $60/hr |
| 100 | Fort Wayne, IN | $123,600 | $59/hr |
Does location actually decide DevOps Engineer pay?
Geography constrains this career less than most. Since DevOps Engineer work can be done fully remotely, the 35% pay spread across these metros is something you can arbitrage rather than something you have to move for — provided your employer pays by role rather than by location tier.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $167,100 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $131,100 a year after housing. In Fort Wayne, $123,600 against $850 leaves about $113,400. The top still wins after rent, but by $17,700 rather than the $43,500 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom); San Diego (US Navy, Qualcomm). A DevOps Engineer at a large employer in a metro where tech work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
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.