Security clearance salary: $175K median
The median advertised Security clearance salary is $175K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $150K to $213K: counted from 3,191 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $84 an hour or $14,583 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $247K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll Security clearance jobs
$175Kmedian advertised salary
$150K – $213Kmiddle half of roles
$183Kaverage advertised salary
3,191roles counted
Security clearance salary by level
Senior roles advertise a median of $186K, 62% more than junior roles ($115K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | $115K | $90K–$136K | 19 |
| Senior | $186K | $170K–$211K | 1,012 |
| Lead and above | $222K | $203K–$257K | 629 |
| No level in the title | $154K | $136K–$188K | 1,531 |
Security clearance salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸Seattle, WA | $218K | 107 |
| 🇺🇸New York, NY | $216K | 38 |
| 🇺🇸Boston, MA | $213K | 31 |
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $198K | 108 |
| 🇺🇸Denver, CO | $196K | 110 |
| 🇺🇸Washington, DC | $195K | 300 |
| 🇺🇸California | $179K | 1,747 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $175K | 3,087 |
| 🇺🇸Texas | $170K | 31 |
| 🇺🇸Atlanta, GA | $168K | 27 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles, CA | $166K | 328 |
Skills that pay more for Security clearance roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| C++ | $194K | +$20K | 585 |
| Python | $186K | +$12K | 1,087 |
| Computer Vision | $183K | +$8K | 1,789 |
| Sensor fusion | $178K | +$2K | 1,783 |
| Hardware testing | $178K | +$2K | 388 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | $349K | 18 |
| OpenAI | $287K | 15 |
| Trm Labs | $276K | 5 |
| Twenty | $265K | 46 |
| LangChain | $242K | 3 |
| Shield AI | $220K | 70 |
| Deepgram | $219K | 4 |
| Thread Ai | $215K | 7 |
| Scale AI | $210K | 35 |
| HawkEye 360 | $208K | 3 |
| Okta | $206K | 14 |
| Pure Storage | $204K | 4 |
| Muon Space | $204K | 39 |
| SixGen, Inc. | $200K | 5 |
| Captivation Software | $200K | 79 |
| Databricks | $197K | 20 |
| Saronic | $197K | 8 |
| Cursor | $194K | 3 |
| True Anomaly | $194K | 110 |
| Skydio | $190K | 3 |
| Fuse | $190K | 5 |
| Swarmaero | $190K | 21 |
| Astranis | $188K | 13 |
| BlackSky | $185K | 5 |
| Armada | $184K | 3 |
Highest-paying open Security clearance roles
All Security clearance jobs- Head of National Security Sales (DoW/IC)Anthropic · 🇺🇸Washington, DC$550K - $700KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceFedRAMPPerformance management
- Senior Director, Business Development - Civil & CommercialRocket Lab · 🇺🇸Chantilly, VA$214K - $522KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceMS ProjectCRM
- Senior Director, Business Development - National Security (TS/SCI Clearance)Rocket Lab · 🇺🇸Chantilly, VA$214K - $522KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceMS ProjectCRM
- Senior Global Security InvestigatorOpenAI · 🇺🇸US - Remote$230K - $500KRemoteSeniorSecurity clearanceThreat intelligenceSIEM
- Staff+ Software Engineer, Public SectorAnthropic · 🇺🇸Remote-Friendly, United States; San Francisco, CA | New Y…$405K - $485KRemoteLead and aboveSecurity clearanceFedRAMPBenefits administration
- Director, Software EngineeringTwenty · 🇺🇸Arlington, VA$224K - $470KLead and abovePythonTypeScriptReact
- Forward Deployed Data Engineer – TS/SCI (Full Scope Poly)Twenty · 🇺🇸Chantilly, VA$192K - $455KGoPythonTypeScript
- VP & GM, Public SectorMongoDB · 🇺🇸Washington DC$200K - $450KLead and aboveGCPAzureAWS
- Vice President, SoftwareSwarmaero · Remote$230K - $450KRemoteLead and aboveROSSecurity clearanceComposites
- Forward Deployed Security EngineerOpenAI · 🇺🇸Washington, DC$266K - $445KHybridGoPythonTerraform
- State Estimation Engineer (R4602)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Dallas, TX, US$275K - $412KC++LinuxCUDA
- Regional Director, Forward Deployed Engineering - Public SectorCursor · 🇺🇸Washington, D.C.$350K - $400KLead and abovePythonTypeScriptJavaScript
- Principal Thermal Engineer - Aircraft Avionics & Thermal Systems (R3930)Shield AI · 🇺🇸Seattle, WA, US$267K - $400KLead and aboveSecurity clearanceCADAviation
- Executive Director, Security & Classified Operations and Chief Security OfficerRAND · 🇺🇸Santa Monica, CA (Greater Los Angeles Area); Pittsburgh…$273K - $397KLead and aboveLLMAgileSAP
- Federal Sales Manager, Intelligence CommunityOkta · 🇺🇸Washington, DC$288K - $396KMachine LearningSecurity clearanceFedRAMP
- Head of Strategic Supply ChainAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$298K - $395KLead and aboveComputer VisionSecurity clearancePerformance management
- Mission Systems LeadAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Costa Mesa, California, United States$298K - $395KLead and aboveComputer VisionSecurity clearanceNetwork engineering
- Infrastructure LeadIntelligence Security Laboratories · 🇺🇸Washington, D.C.$205K - $375KHybridLead and aboveDockerLinuxCI/CD
- AI Engineer - Public SectorUnstructured · Remote$205K - $365KRemotePythonSQLDocker
- Team Lead, ARC Software Engineering TeamScale AI · 🇺🇸Washington, DC$287K - $359KLead and aboveDockerTerraformGCP
Questions about Security clearance pay
- What is the average Security clearance salary?
- $183K a year on average and $175K at the median, across 3,191 open Security clearance 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 $150K to $213K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Security clearance pay?
- Anthropic ($349K), OpenAI ($287K), Trm Labs ($276K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a security clearance a high-paying job?
- The median Security clearance posting advertises $175K a year, more than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 1% above the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a security clearance?
- A tenth of the postings offer $247K a year or more; the highest open Security clearance role advertises up to $700K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Security clearance salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $175K a year is about $84 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $14,583 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $72 to $102 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Security clearance roles?
- Postings that ask for C++ (+$20K, 585 postings), Python (+$12K, 1087 postings), Computer Vision (+$8K, 1789 postings) advertise more than the $175K median of all Security clearance postings with pay.
- What does an entry-level security clearance make?
- 19 junior and intern Security clearance postings state pay, with a median of $115K a year ($55 an hour).
- 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.
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The median advertised salary for Security clearance roles at companies is $175K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $150K to $213K. Counted from 3,191 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/security-clearance/
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