Best US Cities for Network Administrators
Top US cities for Network Administrators ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $124,700 | 1.45× | +$34,700 |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $116,400 | 1.30× | +$26,400 |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $113,700 | 1.35× | +$23,700 |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $112,100 | 1.32× | +$22,100 |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $111,400 | 1.21× | +$21,400 |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $111,200 | 1.30× | +$21,200 |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $109,800 | 1.18× | +$19,800 |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $108,100 | 1.15× | +$18,100 |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $107,000 | 1.22× | +$17,000 |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $107,000 | 1.22× | +$17,000 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $124,700 | $60/hr |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $116,400 | $56/hr |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $113,700 | $55/hr |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $112,100 | $54/hr |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $111,400 | $54/hr |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $111,200 | $53/hr |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $109,800 | $53/hr |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $108,100 | $52/hr |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 11 | Long Beach, CA | $104,800 | $50/hr |
| 12 | Scottsdale, AZ | $104,800 | $50/hr |
| 13 | Denver, CO | $104,300 | $50/hr |
| 14 | Austin, TX | $102,700 | $49/hr |
| 15 | Aurora, CO | $102,700 | $49/hr |
| 16 | Chandler, AZ | $102,100 | $49/hr |
| 17 | Gilbert, AZ | $101,000 | $49/hr |
| 18 | Portland, OR | $100,700 | $48/hr |
| 19 | Sacramento, CA | $100,700 | $48/hr |
| 20 | Orlando, FL | $100,500 | $48/hr |
| 21 | Yonkers, NY | $99,900 | $48/hr |
| 22 | Raleigh, NC | $99,900 | $48/hr |
| 23 | North Las Vegas, NV | $99,900 | $48/hr |
| 24 | Boise, ID | $99,900 | $48/hr |
| 25 | Anchorage, AK | $99,900 | $48/hr |
| 26 | Colorado Springs, CO | $99,300 | $48/hr |
| 27 | Madison, WI | $99,300 | $48/hr |
| 28 | Anaheim, CA | $98,900 | $48/hr |
| 29 | Mesa, AZ | $98,200 | $47/hr |
| 30 | Baltimore, MD | $98,100 | $47/hr |
| 31 | Frisco, TX | $98,100 | $47/hr |
| 32 | Fort Worth, TX | $97,700 | $47/hr |
| 33 | Tucson, AZ | $97,700 | $47/hr |
| 34 | Albuquerque, NM | $96,600 | $46/hr |
| 35 | Phoenix, AZ | $96,500 | $46/hr |
| 36 | Philadelphia, PA | $96,500 | $46/hr |
| 37 | Reno, NV | $96,500 | $46/hr |
| 38 | Charleston, SC | $96,500 | $46/hr |
| 39 | Salt Lake City, UT | $96,500 | $46/hr |
| 40 | Miami, FL | $95,900 | $46/hr |
| 41 | Virginia Beach, VA | $95,400 | $46/hr |
| 42 | Worcester, MA | $95,400 | $46/hr |
| 43 | Newark, NJ | $95,000 | $46/hr |
| 44 | Riverside, CA | $95,000 | $46/hr |
| 45 | Dallas, TX | $94,900 | $46/hr |
| 46 | Houston, TX | $93,300 | $45/hr |
| 47 | Chicago, IL | $92,500 | $44/hr |
| 48 | Stockton, CA | $92,500 | $44/hr |
| 49 | Hialeah, FL | $92,500 | $44/hr |
| 50 | Las Vegas, NV | $92,000 | $44/hr |
| 51 | Minneapolis, MN | $92,000 | $44/hr |
| 52 | Plano, TX | $92,000 | $44/hr |
| 53 | San Antonio, TX | $91,700 | $44/hr |
| 54 | Columbus, OH | $91,200 | $44/hr |
| 55 | Kansas City, MO | $91,200 | $44/hr |
| 56 | Atlanta, GA | $91,000 | $44/hr |
| 57 | Tampa, FL | $91,000 | $44/hr |
| 58 | Henderson, NV | $91,000 | $44/hr |
| 59 | El Paso, TX | $90,600 | $44/hr |
| 60 | St. Louis, MO | $90,600 | $44/hr |
| 61 | Winston-Salem, NC | $90,600 | $44/hr |
| 62 | Wilmington, DE | $90,000 | $43/hr |
| 63 | St. Paul, MN | $90,000 | $43/hr |
| 64 | Chesapeake, VA | $90,000 | $43/hr |
| 65 | Fresno, CA | $90,000 | $43/hr |
| 66 | Memphis, TN | $89,700 | $43/hr |
| 67 | Oklahoma City, OK | $89,700 | $43/hr |
| 68 | Nashville, TN | $89,500 | $43/hr |
| 69 | Bakersfield, CA | $89,500 | $43/hr |
| 70 | St. Petersburg, FL | $89,500 | $43/hr |
| 71 | Norfolk, VA | $89,000 | $43/hr |
| 72 | Jacksonville, FL | $88,500 | $43/hr |
| 73 | Charlotte, NC | $88,500 | $43/hr |
| 74 | Wichita, KS | $88,100 | $42/hr |
| 75 | Mobile, AL | $88,100 | $42/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $88,000 | $42/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $88,000 | $42/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $88,000 | $42/hr |
| 79 | Pittsburgh, PA | $87,500 | $42/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $87,500 | $42/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $87,500 | $42/hr |
| 82 | Milwaukee, WI | $87,000 | $42/hr |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | $87,000 | $42/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $86,500 | $42/hr |
| 85 | Detroit, MI | $86,000 | $41/hr |
| 86 | Cincinnati, OH | $86,000 | $41/hr |
| 87 | Lexington, KY | $86,000 | $41/hr |
| 88 | Corpus Christi, TX | $86,000 | $41/hr |
| 89 | Buffalo, NY | $86,000 | $41/hr |
| 90 | Greensboro, NC | $86,000 | $41/hr |
| 91 | Knoxville, TN | $86,000 | $41/hr |
| 92 | Cleveland, OH | $85,500 | $41/hr |
| 93 | Indianapolis, IN | $85,100 | $41/hr |
| 94 | Louisville, KY | $85,100 | $41/hr |
| 95 | Omaha, NE | $85,100 | $41/hr |
| 96 | Lincoln, NE | $84,600 | $41/hr |
| 97 | Birmingham, AL | $84,100 | $40/hr |
| 98 | Toledo, OH | $84,100 | $40/hr |
| 99 | Lubbock, TX | $84,100 | $40/hr |
| 100 | Fort Wayne, IN | $83,100 | $40/hr |
Does location actually decide Network Administrator pay?
Network Administrator work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $83,100 in Fort Wayne to $124,700 in San Francisco — a spread of 50%.
Licensing adds friction the ranking does not show. Network Administrator requires CompTIA Network+ and/or Cisco CCNA expected by most employers, and licenses are issued state by state. Moving for a higher salary can mean re-credentialing, which takes time and sometimes additional exams — check reciprocity with the destination board before treating a pay gap as attainable.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The nominal ranking and the useful ranking are not the same. In San Francisco, $124,700 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $88,700 a year after housing. In Fort Wayne, $83,100 against $850 leaves about $72,900. The top still wins after rent, but by $15,800 rather than the $41,600 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.