Side-by-side distribution
Application Security
$179,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 50.4%
- Live roles
- 500
CISO
$267,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 30.6%
- Live roles
- 147
Highest-paying jobs
Staff+ Application Security Engineer - M&A
Staff+ Application Security Engineer
Security Engineer, Application Security
Security Engineer, Application Security
Security Engineer, Application Security
Principal Software Engineer II - Product Security
Senior Software Engineer, Application Security
Principal Security Software Engineer, Application Security
Security Engineer, Product
Security Engineer, Application Security
Highest-paying jobs
Head of National Security Sales (DoW/IC)
Chief Information Security Officer
Vice President of Cybersecurity & Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Chief Information Security Officer
Member of Technical Staff, Head of Security
Advisory CISO
Head of Security
VP, Global Head of Product Security and Risk
Head of Security
Head of Security & Trust
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
SpaceX
|
$175,000 | 8 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,450 | 7 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$204,500 | 6 |
DigitalOcean
|
$170,450 | 6 |
Samsara
|
$230,100 | 5 |
| ME Medtronic | $165,000 | 5 |
| BO Boeing | $151,000 | 5 |
Compass
|
$222,050 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Mimecast
|
$196,000 | 2 |
|
Anthropic
|
$625,000 | 1 |
| DP DLA Piper | $600,000 | 1 |
| CI Circle | $341,250 | 1 |
|
Profound
|
$337,500 | 1 |
|
Harvey
|
$323,000 | 1 |
|
AeroVironment
|
$319,250 | 1 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$317,000 | 1 |
Application Security salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $237,500 | 38 |
| New York | $232,500 | 36 |
| Chicago | $199,600 | 11 |
| Seattle | $198,750 | 18 |
| Los Angeles | $197,500 | 7 |
| Boston | $196,043 | 12 |
| Atlanta | $184,775 | 8 |
| Austin | $179,000 | 11 |
| Toronto | $161,250 | 9 |
| Denver | $158,400 | 7 |
CISO salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | $341,250 | 3 |
| Boston | $311,250 | 4 |
| New York | $284,375 | 18 |
| San Francisco | $277,500 | 8 |
Application Security vs CISO: which pays more?
The median for Application Security is $179,000 per year (typically $143,013–$225,000), versus $267,500 for CISO ($207,500–$295,000). That puts CISO about 49% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Application Security and CISO are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.