It pays to work in cybersecurity.
A March report from the IT support company Electric shows the average cybersecurity salary in Seattle is $130,000. That's the fifth-highest average cybersecurity salary among U.S. metros, the report noted.
"With data breaches on the rise lately, it’s no surprise that cybersecurity positions have drawn the highest pay in and around Silicon Valley," the report said. "Other metro areas with high concentrations of tech workers also reward them handsomely."
San Jose had the highest average salary for cybersecurity workers at $148,000. San Francisco ($137,000), New York City ($135,000) and Austin, Texas, ($134,000) rounded out the top five. Los Angeles came in sixth with $127,000.
Multiple Seattle cybersecurity companies have landed funding rounds recently. SpecterOps, for example, raised $25 million on Tuesday, while Oleria launched out of stealth with $8 million in seed funding in March.
Seattle did slightly worse when it came to IT support jobs, where it has the seventh-highest average salary at $80,000. Washington, D.C., pays IT support workers the highest average salary at $96,000. The report also found the state of Washington had the second-highest demand for IT and cybersecurity workers, following only Montana. Oregon had the third-highest demand.
"Pay and demand for cybersecurity and IT support jobs have appeared to remain high," the report read. "California’s Silicon Valley, New York City and Washington, D.C. offer the top pay for these positions. But demand for these workers’ skills is strongest in the northwestern U.S. and southern cities like Miami, Atlanta and Orlando."
Electric pulled data from Indeed, Upwork and Google Trends to put together its report.
According to a March report from the IT training organization CompTIA, the Seattle area gained 13,438 tech jobs last year, which was the third-highest among U.S. metros. Only New York City and Dallas had more. This year, CompTIA projects the Seattle area will gain 10,431 tech jobs.
