Side-by-side distribution
Security Engineer
$170,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 44.1%
- Live roles
- 3,615
SOC Analyst
$121,888
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 26.2%
- Live roles
- 183
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Security Platform Engineer I
Staff AI Security Engineer
Principal Software Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Principal Security Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Offensive Security Agent Engineer
Offensive Security Engineer, Agent Products
Staff+ Application Security Engineer
Staff+ Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Staff+ Software Security Engineer
Staff+ Application Security Engineer - M&A
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Analyst - Security Operations
Senior Cyber-Security Operations Analyst, Product AppSec
Cyber-Security Operations Analyst III, Product AppSec
Lead SOC Analyst/Threat Hunter
Security Operations Center Analyst, Senior
Cloud SOC Analyst
Cybersecurity Operations Center Analyst, Senior
Cybersecurity Operations Center Analyst, Senior
Sr. Security Compliance Analyst - PCI DSS & SOC 2 (East Coast)
Security Operations Analyst
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,400 | 61 |
CACI
|
$160,950 | 40 |
SpaceX
|
$146,250 | 32 |
Leidos
|
$151,475 | 29 |
EverAI
|
$104,103 | 21 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 19 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$204,500 | 19 |
Workday
|
$159,600 | 17 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$162,000 | 5 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 4 |
| KS Knox Systems | $117,500 | 3 |
|
Veeam Software
|
$213,500 | 2 |
Fiserv
|
$127,575 | 2 |
|
Leidos
|
$122,275 | 2 |
|
CACI
|
$116,650 | 2 |
PNC
|
$106,250 | 2 |
Security Engineer vs SOC Analyst: which pays more?
The median for Security Engineer is $170,500 per year (typically $135,000–$207,500), versus $121,888 for SOC Analyst ($94,015–$144,375). That puts Security Engineer about 40% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Security Engineer 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.