Security Engineer Salary: $142K US Median

The 2026 US national median Security Engineer salary is $142,000 per year. Entry-level (25th percentile) starts at $92,300, while experienced professionals (90th percentile) earn $234,300 or more. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, blended with 2026 market data from Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, and Robert Half.

Yes — Security Engineer salaries grew approximately 520.0% year-over-year, from $22,903 in 2025 to $142,000 in 2026 (+$119,097). This reflects the Technology sector's 2025-2026 wage growth, driven by demand for zero-trust and cloud security (AWS/GCP).

The 5 highest-paying US cities for Security Engineers: San Francisco, CA ($220K); Oakland, CA ($199K); New York, NY ($192K); Seattle, WA ($187K); Washington, DC ($185K). Note these higher salaries usually correspond to higher cost-of-living — see individual city pages for purchasing-power-adjusted figures.

Lowest-paying metros for Security Engineers: Wichita ($121K), El Paso ($121K), Tulsa ($125K). However, these cities also have proportionally lower cost-of-living, so real purchasing power may exceed expensive metros.

Security engineer demand projected to grow 32% through 2034 — among the fastest in tech. Severe talent shortage with 700K+ unfilled US cybersecurity roles. BLS projects 32% employment growth from 2024-2034 — much faster than average compared to all US occupations.

The hottest 2026 skills are: zero-trust, cloud security (AWS/GCP), threat modeling, EDR/XDR, Kubernetes security, AI security. These appear in the highest-paying job listings, command 15-30% salary premiums, and are heavily weighted by ATS keyword filters. Adding them to your resume — naturally and in context — significantly improves your match rate.

Bachelor's degree + security certifications (or equivalent experience). However, the 2026 market increasingly values demonstrable skills, portfolios, and certifications alongside (or in place of) traditional degrees — particularly in Technology. Top recognized credentials: CISSP, Security+, OSCP.

Based on levels.fyi data and what I'm seeing from comparable offers, total compensation for this level is closer to $X base plus equity. Can we close the gap on base or front-load the RSU grant? Key leverage points for Technology: Reference levels.fyi total compensation data for your level (L4/L5/etc.) at comparable companies; Quantify recent shipped impact: latency reduced, revenue driven, on-call incidents resolved; Hold a competing offer (or credible interview pipeline) before the salary conversation. Beyond base salary, negotiate: Sign-on bonus ($25K-$100K is standard at Big Tech), RSU refreshers and accelerated vesting cliffs, Remote/hybrid flexibility and home-office stipend, Annual learning budget and conference allowance.

Major US employers hiring Security Engineers include: CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Mandiant, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Cloudflare, Okta. Most use ATS software (Workday, Greenhouse, Taleo, iCIMS) to screen resumes — meaning your resume must be ATS-optimized to even reach a human recruiter.

Entry-level (0–1 year) Security Engineers typically earn around $101,899. By year 2–3, salary climbs to $110,760. With 7–10 years of experience, Security Engineers earn $187,440 on average. Senior/lead roles (15+ years) reach $210,870 or more.