Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) salary: $256K median
The median advertised Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) salary is $256K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $220K to $295K: counted from 41 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $123 an hour or $21,333 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $317K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll chief information security officer (CISO) jobs
$256Kmedian advertised salary
$220K – $295Kmiddle half of roles
$257Kaverage advertised salary
41roles counted
Skills that pay more for Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Threat modeling | $305K | +$49K | 5 |
| Application security | $288K | +$32K | 8 |
| Risk management | $280K | +$24K | 11 |
| Threat intelligence | $275K | +$19K | 6 |
| LLM | $274K | +$18K | 10 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|
Highest-paying open Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) roles
All chief information security officer (CISO) jobs- CISOGlean · 🇺🇸Mountain View, CA$424K - $489KLLMZendeskAI agents
- Executive Director, Security & Classified Operations and Chief Security OfficerRAND · 🇺🇸Santa Monica, CA (Greater Los Angeles Area); Pittsburgh…$273K - $397KLead and aboveLLMAgileSAP
- Chief Information Security OfficerAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$252K - $382KLead and aboveCI/CDComputer VisionSecurity clearance
- Advisory CISOHarvey · 🇺🇸New York$272K - $374KHybrid
- Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)Cape · 🇺🇸Hybrid: New York, NY$300K - $350KHybridLead and above
- Head of Security & TrustValkai · Remote$200K - $350KRemoteLead and aboveAzureAWS
- Head of SecurityMorpho · 🇫🇷Paris$265K - $345KRemoteLead and aboveCI/CDIncident responseApplication security
- Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)Obsidian Security · 🇺🇸Palo Alto, CA$280K - $340KLead and aboveGCPLLMSnowflake
- Chief Information Security OfficerQualified Health Pbc · 🇺🇸United States - Remote$260K - $330KRemoteLead and aboveLLM
- Vice President, Information SecurityStellar Health · Remote$290K - $330KRemoteLead and aboveAWSCISSPCISM
- Deputy CISOEthos Life · 🇺🇸Remote US$185K - $327KRemoteLLMCI/CDAWS
- Head of SecurityLightfield · 🇺🇸HQ: San Francisco$250K - $325KLead and above
- Head of SecurityMoment · 🇺🇸New York, NY$275K - $325KLead and aboveGoKubernetesAWS
- Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)Insurity · 🇺🇸Remote - US$216K - $325KRemoteLead and aboveMachine LearningLLMCI/CD
- CISORain · 🇺🇸New York, NY$250K - $325KRails
- Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)CAIS · 🇺🇸New York City$270K - $320KLead and aboveMachine LearningCISSPCISM
- Director of Security EngineeringAbnormal Security · 🇺🇸Remote - USA$214K - $308KRemoteLead and aboveKubernetesAWSCloud security
- Head of Security & ComplianceCasca · 🇺🇸San Francisco$200K - $300KLead and aboveGCPLLMAWS
- Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)Ursa Major · 🇺🇸Longmont, Colorado$240K - $300KLead and aboveSAP
- Virtual CISO & Cybersecurity Practice LeadInterdependence · Remote$200K - $300KRemoteLead and above
Questions about Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) pay
- What is the average Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) salary?
- $257K a year on average and $256K at the median, across 41 open Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) postings at companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.
- What is the typical range?
- The middle half of the postings offer $220K to $295K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Where do these figures come from?
- From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.
- Is a chief information security officer (ciso) a high-paying job?
- The median Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) posting advertises $256K a year, more than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 47% above the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a chief information security officer (ciso)?
- A tenth of the postings offer $317K a year or more; the highest open Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) role advertises up to $489K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $256K a year is about $123 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $21,333 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $106 to $142 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) roles?
- Postings that ask for Threat modeling (+$49K, 5 postings), Application security (+$32K, 8 postings), Risk management (+$24K, 11 postings) advertise more than the $256K median of all Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) postings with pay.
Writing about this? A sentence you can quote
The median advertised salary for Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) roles at companies is $256K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $220K to $295K. Counted from 41 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/ciso/
Free to use with the link.