Side-by-side distribution
CISO
$287,775
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 35%
- Live roles
- 100
Security Engineer
$190,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 47.5%
- Live roles
- 1,984
Highest-paying jobs
CISO
Chief Information Security Officer
Head of Security & Compliance
Head of Security & Compliance
Chief Information Security Officer
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Chief Information Security Officer
Field Chief Information Security Officer (Field CISO)
Head of Security & Compliance
Highest-paying jobs
Cyber Security Engineer (5462)
Security Engineer
Senior Security Platform Engineer I
Senior AI Security Engineer II
Lead Security Engineer
Principal Security Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Principal Software Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Offensive Security Engineer, Agent Products
Staff+ Application Security Engineer
Staff+ Application Security Engineer - M&A
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Masabi
|
$482,308 | 3 |
Harvey
|
$317,500 | 2 |
|
Hippo Insurance
|
$313,750 | 2 |
|
DriveWealth
|
$308,750 | 2 |
NexHealth
|
$180,000 | 2 |
| DR DFO Referrals | $530,000 | 1 |
|
Rain
|
$524,500 | 1 |
|
Compass
|
$375,000 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Aurora Innovation
|
$222,000 | 28 |
Anduril Industries
|
$202,000 | 20 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$151,800 | 18 |
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 16 |
Mozilla
|
$86,043 | 16 |
Palantir
|
$170,000 | 14 |
|
OpenAI
|
$339,000 | 13 |
|
Anthropic
|
$362,500 | 12 |
CISO salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | $313,750 | 3 |
| New York | $295,000 | 11 |
| San Francisco | $227,500 | 9 |
| London | $222,500 | 3 |
| Seattle | $201,250 | 4 |
CISO vs Security Engineer: which pays more?
The median for CISO is $287,775 per year (typically $224,375–$319,375), versus $190,000 for Security Engineer ($153,138–$233,100). That puts CISO about 51% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so CISO and Security Engineer 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.