Side-by-side distribution
Application Security
$179,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 50.4%
- Live roles
- 500
Cybersecurity
$123,310
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 42.2%
- Live roles
- 1,309
Highest-paying jobs
Staff+ Application Security Engineer
Staff+ Application Security Engineer - M&A
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
Research Engineer, Cybersecurity RL (Reinforcement Learning)
Staff+ Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Full Stack Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Staff Security GRC Analyst
Security Risk Analyst, Risk Engineering
Pre-Sales Engineer, Cybersecurity
Principal Cybersecurity Engineer (Starshield)
Principal Cybersecurity Engineer (Starshield)
Cybersecurity Mid Market Sales Engineer
Principal Security GRC Analyst
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,400 | 50 |
Northrop Grumman
|
$117,700 | 42 |
CACI
|
$143,125 | 20 |
Leidos
|
$122,275 | 19 |
GDIT
|
$137,328 | 16 |
|
SpaceX
|
$162,500 | 11 |
Workday
|
$154,500 | 11 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$45,760 | 11 |
Application Security salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $235,000 | 42 |
| 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 |
Cybersecurity salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $271,450 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $175,000 | 10 |
| Seattle | $158,523 | 14 |
| Denver | $156,600 | 6 |
| Boston | $146,000 | 11 |
| New York | $145,000 | 20 |
| Austin | $133,694 | 9 |
| Atlanta | $131,250 | 9 |
| Chicago | $116,961 | 13 |
| Dublin | $93,980 | 3 |
Application Security vs Cybersecurity: which pays more?
The median for Application Security is $179,000 per year (typically $143,013–$225,000), versus $123,310 for Cybersecurity ($97,638–$152,500). That puts Application Security about 45% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Application Security and Cybersecurity 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.