Side-by-side distribution
Application Security
$190,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 55.2%
- Live roles
- 317
General Counsel
$263,750
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 61.1%
- Live roles
- 185
Highest-paying jobs
Staff+ Application Security Engineer
Staff+ Application Security Engineer - M&A
Staff Engineer - Product Security
Senior Staff Engineer - Product Security
Product & Application Security Engineer
Senior Security Engineer, Product AppSec
Principal Software Engineer II - Product Security
Security Engineer, Application Security
Staff Engineer - Product Security
Principal Security Software Engineer, Application Security
Highest-paying jobs
Chief Legal Officer (CLO) ($1M-$5M salary)
General Counsel
Chief Legal Officer
Chief Legal Officer
General Counsel
Deputy General Counsel
Chief Legal Officer (Pacific Northwest or Hybrid) (964-SLS)
Assistant General Counsel, M&A
Associate General Counsel, Product & Commercial
Deputy General Counsel
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$204,500 | 8 |
Mozilla
|
$85,751 | 5 |
|
Faire
|
$422,240 | 4 |
|
Veeam Software
|
$315,000 | 4 |
Harvey
|
$275,000 | 3 |
Brex
|
$216,000 | 3 |
Airwallex
|
$205,000 | 3 |
SpaceX
|
$202,500 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
FutureSight
|
$5,988 | 10 |
| TT The Trade Desk | $214,050 | 4 |
Hadrian Automation
|
$312,500 | 3 |
| SA Scale AI | $297,900 | 3 |
Fireblocks
|
$257,000 | 3 |
Robinhood
|
$236,000 | 3 |
|
STR
|
$355,000 | 2 |
| AX Axon | $311,345 | 2 |
Application Security salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $237,500 | 27 |
| San Francisco | $232,500 | 47 |
| Chicago | $213,750 | 7 |
| Seattle | $200,000 | 11 |
| Boston | $195,000 | 4 |
| Austin | $187,500 | 5 |
| Toronto | $185,000 | 11 |
| Denver | $177,500 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 7 |
| London | $131,502 | 3 |
General Counsel salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $253,500 | 35 |
| San Francisco | $253,500 | 23 |
| Los Angeles | $233,650 | 9 |
| Boston | $231,345 | 4 |
| Chicago | $214,050 | 7 |
| Austin | $180,000 | 3 |
Application Security vs General Counsel: which pays more?
The median for Application Security is $190,000 per year (typically $159,735–$235,000), versus $263,750 for General Counsel ($214,050–$297,600). That puts General Counsel about 39% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Application Security and General Counsel 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.