Side-by-side distribution
AWS
$170,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 32.7%
- Live roles
- 1,160
Cloud Architect
$172,925
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 25.2%
- Live roles
- 230
Highest-paying jobs
Principal .NET Software Engineer- Cloud Payments Platform
Principal .NET Software Engineer - Cloud Payments Platform
Cloud Engineer
Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Staff + Sr. Software Engineer, Cloud Inference
Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure)
Security Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
Staff Software Engineer, Replit Cloud
Software Engineer, Cloud Agents
Senior Cloud Engineer (Chicago)
Highest-paying jobs
Staff Technical Architect, Product Management (AWS/Azure)
Salesforce Solution Architect, Service Cloud Voice
AWS Solution Architect
AWS Technical Architect
Salesforce Solution Architect, Revenue Cloud
Salesforce Solution Architect, Sales Cloud
Cloud Architect/Technical Lead
Principal Data Cloud Architect - Apps
Principal Data Cloud Architect - SI Partners
Specialist Solutions Architect - Google Cloud Platform & Infrastructure
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 25 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$153,850 | 24 |
TP-Link Systems Inc.
|
$152,500 | 9 |
LIGHTFEATHER IO LLC
|
$130,000 | 9 |
Crusoe
|
$175,250 | 8 |
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 7 |
Illumio
|
$198,250 | 6 |
Esri
|
$113,360 | 6 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| CA Caylent | $208,000 | 6 |
| NP NeuraFlash, Part of Accenture | $180,350 | 5 |
|
Snowflake
|
$204,656 | 4 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$179,325 | 4 |
3Cloud
|
$158,350 | 3 |
Stafford Gray
|
$168,480 | 2 |
CHAOS Industries
|
$150,000 | 2 |
|
Veeam Software
|
$357,750 | 1 |
AWS salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | $230,500 | 5 |
| San Francisco | $225,000 | 36 |
| New York | $205,969 | 30 |
| Seattle | $193,000 | 15 |
| Austin | $192,400 | 8 |
| Atlanta | $178,825 | 4 |
| Denver | $175,000 | 5 |
| Boston | $174,000 | 8 |
| Toronto | $171,093 | 3 |
| Los Angeles | $167,500 | 16 |
AWS vs Cloud Architect: which pays more?
The median for AWS is $170,000 per year (typically $136,500–$200,000), versus $172,925 for Cloud Architect ($140,000–$190,781). That puts Cloud Architect about 2% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so AWS and Cloud Architect 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.