Side-by-side distribution
CISO
$286,750
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33%
- Live roles
- 109
Cybersecurity
$134,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.2%
- Live roles
- 380
Highest-paying jobs
Head of National Security Sales (DoW/IC)
Head of Vulnerability Disclosure & Security Community
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), US
Member of Technical Staff, Head of Security
Deputy Chief Information Security Officer - Bank
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Head of Security
Highest-paying jobs
Staff+ Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Full Stack Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Research Engineer, Cybersecurity RL (Reinforcement Learning)
Senior Cyber-Security Operations Analyst, Product AppSec
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer II - Secret Clearance
Senior Security GRC Analyst
Senior Software Engineer, Cybersecurity
Security GRC Analyst
Cybersecurity Research Engineer
Cybersecurity Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anthropic
|
$493,750 | 2 |
|
Hippo Insurance
|
$313,750 | 2 |
Planet
|
$275,175 | 2 |
| OS Obsidian Security | $340,000 | 1 |
|
Profound
|
$337,500 | 1 |
Cohere
|
$325,868 | 1 |
|
Cape
|
$325,000 | 1 |
|
OKX
|
$313,055 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Saalex
|
$124,750 | 8 |
MetroStar
|
$184,000 | 6 |
| DW Dark Wolf Solutions | $147,500 | 6 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$116,500 | 6 |
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 5 |
CHAOS Industries
|
$150,000 | 4 |
AGE Solutions
|
$85,000 | 4 |
|
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$192,500 | 3 |
CISO salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $313,750 | 3 |
| New York | $305,913 | 12 |
| San Francisco | $280,000 | 11 |
| Seattle | $280,000 | 3 |
Cybersecurity salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $186,591 | 8 |
| New York | $165,000 | 11 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 3 |
| Seattle | $147,500 | 6 |
| Boston | $141,750 | 8 |
CISO vs Cybersecurity: which pays more?
The median for CISO is $286,750 per year (typically $242,500–$305,913), versus $134,500 for Cybersecurity ($109,875–$165,375). That puts CISO about 113% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so CISO 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.