Side-by-side distribution
CISO
$267,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 30.6%
- Live roles
- 147
SOC Analyst
$101,450
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 27.2%
- Live roles
- 169
Highest-paying jobs
Head of National Security Sales (DoW/IC)
Chief Information Security Officer
Vice President of Cybersecurity & Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Chief Information Security Officer
Member of Technical Staff, Head of Security
Advisory CISO
Head of Security
VP, Global Head of Product Security and Risk
Head of Security & Trust
Head of Security
Highest-paying jobs
Cybersecurity SOC Analyst II
SOC Analyst
Cybersecurity Operations Analyst (CSOC Analyst)
Security Operations Analyst
Security Operations Analyst
Security Operations Analyst
Security Operations Analyst
Senior Security Operations Analyst III
Threat Intelligence Analyst, Associate - Security Operations
Senior Sailpoint Security Operations Analyst - Identity & Access Management
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Mimecast
|
$196,000 | 2 |
|
Anthropic
|
$625,000 | 1 |
| DP DLA Piper | $600,000 | 1 |
| CI Circle | $341,250 | 1 |
|
Profound
|
$337,500 | 1 |
|
Harvey
|
$323,000 | 1 |
|
AeroVironment
|
$319,250 | 1 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$317,000 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 4 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$101,450 | 4 |
| KS Knox Systems | $117,500 | 3 |
|
Leidos
|
$97,638 | 3 |
Palantir
|
$97,500 | 2 |
Esri
|
$92,352 | 2 |
Logicalis
|
$81,280 | 2 |
|
CHAOS Industries
|
$208,000 | 1 |
CISO salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | $341,250 | 3 |
| Boston | $311,250 | 4 |
| New York | $284,375 | 18 |
| San Francisco | $277,500 | 8 |
CISO vs SOC Analyst: which pays more?
The median for CISO is $267,500 per year (typically $207,500–$295,000), versus $101,450 for SOC Analyst ($93,676–$131,950). That puts CISO about 164% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so CISO and SOC Analyst 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.