Best US Cities for Security Engineers
Top US cities for Security Engineers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $180,000 | 1.45× | +$50,000 |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $168,200 | 1.30× | +$38,200 |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $164,300 | 1.35× | +$34,300 |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $162,100 | 1.32× | +$32,100 |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $161,000 | 1.21× | +$31,000 |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $160,600 | 1.30× | +$30,600 |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $158,600 | 1.18× | +$28,600 |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $156,200 | 1.15× | +$26,200 |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $154,400 | 1.22× | +$24,400 |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $154,400 | 1.22× | +$24,400 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $180,000 | $87/hr |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $168,200 | $81/hr |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $164,300 | $79/hr |
| 4 | New York City, NY | $162,100 | $78/hr |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $161,000 | $77/hr |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | $160,600 | $77/hr |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $158,600 | $76/hr |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $156,200 | $75/hr |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $154,400 | $74/hr |
| 10 | Boston, MA | $154,400 | $74/hr |
| 11 | Long Beach, CA | $151,500 | $73/hr |
| 12 | Scottsdale, AZ | $151,500 | $73/hr |
| 13 | Denver, CO | $150,600 | $72/hr |
| 14 | Austin, TX | $148,300 | $71/hr |
| 15 | Aurora, CO | $148,300 | $71/hr |
| 16 | Chandler, AZ | $147,500 | $71/hr |
| 17 | Gilbert, AZ | $145,900 | $70/hr |
| 18 | Portland, OR | $145,400 | $70/hr |
| 19 | Sacramento, CA | $145,400 | $70/hr |
| 20 | Orlando, FL | $145,100 | $70/hr |
| 21 | Yonkers, NY | $144,300 | $69/hr |
| 22 | Raleigh, NC | $144,300 | $69/hr |
| 23 | North Las Vegas, NV | $144,300 | $69/hr |
| 24 | Boise, ID | $144,300 | $69/hr |
| 25 | Anchorage, AK | $144,300 | $69/hr |
| 26 | Colorado Springs, CO | $143,500 | $69/hr |
| 27 | Madison, WI | $143,500 | $69/hr |
| 28 | Anaheim, CA | $142,900 | $69/hr |
| 29 | Mesa, AZ | $142,000 | $68/hr |
| 30 | Baltimore, MD | $141,600 | $68/hr |
| 31 | Frisco, TX | $141,600 | $68/hr |
| 32 | Fort Worth, TX | $141,100 | $68/hr |
| 33 | Tucson, AZ | $141,100 | $68/hr |
| 34 | Albuquerque, NM | $139,500 | $67/hr |
| 35 | Phoenix, AZ | $139,300 | $67/hr |
| 36 | Philadelphia, PA | $139,300 | $67/hr |
| 37 | Reno, NV | $139,300 | $67/hr |
| 38 | Charleston, SC | $139,300 | $67/hr |
| 39 | Salt Lake City, UT | $139,300 | $67/hr |
| 40 | Miami, FL | $138,600 | $67/hr |
| 41 | Virginia Beach, VA | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 42 | Worcester, MA | $137,800 | $66/hr |
| 43 | Newark, NJ | $137,200 | $66/hr |
| 44 | Riverside, CA | $137,200 | $66/hr |
| 45 | Dallas, TX | $137,100 | $66/hr |
| 46 | Houston, TX | $134,700 | $65/hr |
| 47 | Chicago, IL | $133,600 | $64/hr |
| 48 | Stockton, CA | $133,600 | $64/hr |
| 49 | Hialeah, FL | $133,600 | $64/hr |
| 50 | Las Vegas, NV | $132,900 | $64/hr |
| 51 | Minneapolis, MN | $132,900 | $64/hr |
| 52 | Plano, TX | $132,900 | $64/hr |
| 53 | San Antonio, TX | $132,500 | $64/hr |
| 54 | Columbus, OH | $131,800 | $63/hr |
| 55 | Kansas City, MO | $131,800 | $63/hr |
| 56 | Atlanta, GA | $131,400 | $63/hr |
| 57 | Tampa, FL | $131,400 | $63/hr |
| 58 | Henderson, NV | $131,400 | $63/hr |
| 59 | El Paso, TX | $131,000 | $63/hr |
| 60 | St. Louis, MO | $131,000 | $63/hr |
| 61 | Winston-Salem, NC | $131,000 | $63/hr |
| 62 | Wilmington, DE | $130,000 | $63/hr |
| 63 | St. Paul, MN | $130,000 | $63/hr |
| 64 | Chesapeake, VA | $130,000 | $63/hr |
| 65 | Fresno, CA | $130,000 | $63/hr |
| 66 | Memphis, TN | $129,400 | $62/hr |
| 67 | Oklahoma City, OK | $129,400 | $62/hr |
| 68 | Nashville, TN | $129,300 | $62/hr |
| 69 | Bakersfield, CA | $129,300 | $62/hr |
| 70 | St. Petersburg, FL | $129,300 | $62/hr |
| 71 | Norfolk, VA | $128,600 | $62/hr |
| 72 | Jacksonville, FL | $127,900 | $61/hr |
| 73 | Charlotte, NC | $127,900 | $61/hr |
| 74 | Wichita, KS | $127,200 | $61/hr |
| 75 | Mobile, AL | $127,200 | $61/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $127,100 | $61/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $127,100 | $61/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $127,100 | $61/hr |
| 79 | Pittsburgh, PA | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 82 | Milwaukee, WI | $125,700 | $60/hr |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | $125,700 | $60/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $125,000 | $60/hr |
| 85 | Detroit, MI | $124,300 | $60/hr |
| 86 | Cincinnati, OH | $124,300 | $60/hr |
| 87 | Lexington, KY | $124,300 | $60/hr |
| 88 | Corpus Christi, TX | $124,300 | $60/hr |
| 89 | Buffalo, NY | $124,300 | $60/hr |
| 90 | Greensboro, NC | $124,300 | $60/hr |
| 91 | Knoxville, TN | $124,300 | $60/hr |
| 92 | Cleveland, OH | $123,600 | $59/hr |
| 93 | Indianapolis, IN | $122,900 | $59/hr |
| 94 | Louisville, KY | $122,900 | $59/hr |
| 95 | Omaha, NE | $122,900 | $59/hr |
| 96 | Lincoln, NE | $122,100 | $59/hr |
| 97 | Birmingham, AL | $121,400 | $58/hr |
| 98 | Toledo, OH | $121,400 | $58/hr |
| 99 | Lubbock, TX | $121,400 | $58/hr |
| 100 | Fort Wayne, IN | $120,000 | $58/hr |
Does location actually decide Security Engineer pay?
Security Engineer work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $120,000 in Fort Wayne to $180,000 in San Francisco — a spread of 50%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $180,000 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $144,000 a year after housing. In Fort Wayne, $120,000 against $850 leaves about $109,800. The top still wins after rent, but by $34,200 rather than the $60,000 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); Oakland (Kaiser Permanente (HQ), Port of Oakland). A Security 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.