Side-by-side distribution
AWS
$168,256
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.8%
- Live roles
- 1,173
System Administrator
$114,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 36.3%
- Live roles
- 408
Highest-paying jobs
Principal .NET Software Engineer- Cloud Payments Platform
Principal .NET Software Engineer - Cloud Payments Platform
Cloud Engineer
Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Staff + Sr. Software Engineer, Cloud Inference Launch Engineering
Staff + Sr. Software Engineer, Cloud Inference
Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure)
Senior Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Security Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Senior Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Highest-paying jobs
Experienced/Lateral - Linux Systems Administrator
Systems Administrator 1 - Linux
Systems Administrator 0-3 - Linux/Ansible/SSP/AWS
Systems Administrator 1 - Linux/IP/Docker/AWS/Crypto/STE/STN/SSP
Systems Administrator 0-3 - Linux/KVM/Ansible/Slat/SSP/STE/STN/Scripting/AWS
Windows Systems Administrator - McLean, VA - TS/SCI
System Administrator (SF)
GTM Systems Administrator
Senior System Administrator II (Storage Engineer)
System Administrator
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$151,800 | 27 |
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 26 |
Crusoe
|
$142,500 | 21 |
TP-Link Systems Inc.
|
$170,000 | 8 |
LIGHTFEATHER IO LLC
|
$140,000 | 8 |
ClickHouse
|
$174,500 | 6 |
Esri
|
$113,360 | 6 |
SMX
|
$110,950 | 6 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Saalex
|
$105,000 | 13 |
Air Apps
|
$62,856 | 10 |
Anduril Industries
|
$138,500 | 8 |
| GR GRVTY | $144,000 | 7 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$156,525 | 6 |
|
SMX
|
$104,250 | 5 |
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 4 |
SpaceX
|
$107,500 | 3 |
AWS salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $225,000 | 44 |
| Atlanta | $222,500 | 5 |
| Seattle | $217,500 | 13 |
| New York | $203,500 | 36 |
| Austin | $197,300 | 11 |
| Chicago | $196,250 | 4 |
| Boston | $175,000 | 9 |
| Los Angeles | $170,000 | 17 |
| Denver | $156,250 | 6 |
| Toronto | $140,000 | 10 |
System Administrator salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $161,500 | 6 |
| San Francisco | $148,500 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $96,250 | 4 |
| Dublin | $67,677 | 4 |
AWS vs System Administrator: which pays more?
The median for AWS is $168,256 per year (typically $136,250–$200,000), versus $114,000 for System Administrator ($90,000–$144,500). That puts AWS about 48% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so AWS and System Administrator 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.