Cybersecurity jobs in the US: what 2,330 open roles ask for and pay
On November 10, 2026 there were 2,330 open cybersecurity jobs in the US in our data: 1,473 security engineer roles and 857 cybersecurity analyst roles. They come from employers' own hiring systems. The two roles pay ver
On November 10, 2026 there were 2,330 open cybersecurity jobs in the US in our data: 1,473 security engineer roles and 857 cybersecurity analyst roles. They come from employers' own hiring systems.
The two roles pay very differently. Security engineers have a median advertised base salary of $179K. Cybersecurity analysts have $145K.
Salaries here are the midpoint of each posted annual range. Bonuses and equity are not included.
Engineer or analyst
| Security Engineer | Cybersecurity Analyst | |
|---|---|---|
| Open jobs | 1,473 | 857 |
| With a posted salary | 1,076 | 572 |
| Median salary | $179K | $145K |
| Middle half of listings | $149Kβ$216K | $119Kβ$183K |
| Fully remote | 309 (21%) | 128 (15%) |
| Intern and entry level | 36 (2%) | 99 (12%) |
The analyst role has about five times the share of beginner jobs.
Pay by level
| Level | Security Engineer | Cybersecurity Analyst |
|---|---|---|
| Intern | β | $80K |
| Entry level | $108K | $96K |
| Mid level | $158K | $135K |
| Senior | $182K | $151K |
| Lead / Staff | $203K | $166K |
| Manager | $240K | $233K |
From mid level to lead, engineers earn $23K to $37K more. At entry level the gap is $12K, and at manager level it almost closes: $240K against $233K.
What the job posts ask for
Security engineer postings, out of 1,473:
| Skill | Postings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Python | 710 | 48% |
| AWS | 634 | 43% |
| CI/CD | 517 | 35% |
| Vulnerability management | 474 | 32% |
| Incident response | 455 | 31% |
| Azure | 425 | 29% |
Cybersecurity analyst postings, out of 857:
| Skill | Postings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Incident response | 335 | 39% |
| Vulnerability management | 273 | 32% |
| CISSP | 271 | 32% |
| NIST | 270 | 32% |
| CompTIA certifications | 189 | 22% |
| SIEM | 182 | 21% |
Engineer postings read like software jobs: Python and cloud come first. Analyst postings read like compliance jobs: frameworks and certificates. CISSP is named in almost a third of analyst postings.
Who is hiring
Defense and government contractors post the most. For security engineers: Booz Allen (64 open roles), RTX (51), CACI (43), Leidos (36), General Dynamics IT (33). For analysts: Booz Allen (55), Northrop Grumman (52), Leidos (23).
They are not the top payers. The highest medians for security engineers are at Anthropic ($362K), OpenAI ($356K), Roblox ($343K) and Lambda ($330K).
Where
Security engineers earn the most in the San Francisco Bay Area ($231K), Seattle and New York (both $216K). Remote security engineer jobs pay $190K, above the national median.
Washington, DC has the third-largest number of salaried security engineer listings, 195, after remote and the Bay Area, but pays $168K, below the median.
FAQ
How many cybersecurity jobs are open in the US?
In our November 10 count, 2,330: 1,473 security engineer and 857 cybersecurity analyst roles.
How much do cybersecurity jobs pay?
Security engineers have a median advertised base salary of $179K, cybersecurity analysts $145K.
What is the best entry level cybersecurity job?
Cybersecurity analyst. 12% of analyst postings are for interns and entry level, against 2% for security engineers. Entry-level analysts have a median of $96K.
Do I need a certification for a cybersecurity job?
For analyst roles it helps: CISSP is named in 32% of postings and CompTIA certifications in 22%. Engineer postings ask more for Python and cloud.
Are there remote cybersecurity jobs?
Yes. 21% of security engineer jobs and 15% of analyst jobs are fully remote.
Which companies hire the most cybersecurity people?
Defense contractors: Booz Allen, RTX, Northrop Grumman, CACI and Leidos.
Source, updated daily: security engineer salaries and cybersecurity analyst salaries on Sudo Get Job.
This post was written with AI assistance and checked against the source data.
Originally published by Dev.to Security. Aggregated on AIWithGhost for educational purposes β full credit and traffic to the original publisher.