Side-by-side distribution
Network Engineer
$160,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 36.8%
- Live roles
- 682
SRE
$175,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 38.7%
- Live roles
- 1,201
Highest-paying jobs
Network Engineer
Network Engineer, Supercomputing
Optical Network Engineer
Network Security Engineer
Network Engineer - ML Infrastructure (High-Speed Interconnects)
Software Engineer - Network (C++)
Senior Network Engineer
Data Center Network Engineer
Principal Network Engineer
Software Engineer, Core Network Engineering
Highest-paying jobs
Software Engineer (Site Reliability)
Staff Software Engineer, AI Reliability Engineering
Site Reliability Engineer
Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Site Reliability Engineer
Senior Site Reliability Engineer
Site Reliability Engineer
Software Engineer, Reliability
Staff Software Engineer, AI Reliability
Reliability Engineer, Supercomputing
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Saalex
|
$112,500 | 13 |
SpaceX
|
$165,000 | 12 |
Fluidstack
|
$226,500 | 10 |
Anduril Industries
|
$170,000 | 10 |
Sigma Defense
|
$127,500 | 8 |
Crusoe
|
$237,500 | 7 |
Metropolis
|
$220,000 | 5 |
Rocket Lab Corporation
|
$160,000 | 5 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
SpaceX
|
$148,750 | 22 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 20 |
Okta
|
$230,500 | 14 |
MongoDB
|
$187,500 | 12 |
Air Apps
|
$71,586 | 10 |
mthree Recruiting Portal
|
$56,000 | 9 |
Vast
|
$198,996 | 8 |
Advanced Technology Services
|
$115,127 | 8 |
Network Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $221,500 | 40 |
| Austin | $218,000 | 11 |
| Seattle | $210,000 | 22 |
| New York | $205,000 | 37 |
| Denver | $192,500 | 3 |
| Chicago | $175,000 | 5 |
| Boston | $170,000 | 7 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 11 |
| Toronto | $140,000 | 3 |
| Dublin | $114,181 | 3 |
SRE salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $225,000 | 64 |
| Seattle | $210,000 | 13 |
| New York | $189,000 | 64 |
| Austin | $188,000 | 16 |
| Boston | $187,000 | 15 |
| Chicago | $183,750 | 20 |
| Denver | $180,000 | 8 |
| Atlanta | $178,500 | 10 |
| Dublin | $172,404 | 4 |
| Los Angeles | $165,000 | 7 |
Network Engineer vs SRE: which pays more?
The median for Network Engineer is $160,000 per year (typically $125,000–$200,000), versus $175,000 for SRE ($134,225–$208,625). That puts SRE about 9% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Network Engineer and SRE 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.