Cyber Defender Salary
$34K - $47K
5% of jobs
$47K - $60K
0% of jobs
$60K - $73K
4% of jobs
$73K - $86K
7% of jobs
$96.5K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$86K - $99K
11% of jobs
$99K - $112K
6% of jobs
The median wage is $117.3K / yr.
$112K - $125K
43% of jobs
$125K - $138K
10% of jobs
$138K - $151K
12% of jobs
$151K - $164K
2% of jobs
$164K - $177K
0% of jobs
$34K
$115.5K
$176K
$112,871
/year
$54.26
/hour
Cyber Defender Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$112,871
Columbus
Ohio
$109,022
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How much does a Cyber Defender make?
As of Aug 8, 2026, the average annual pay for a Cyber Defender in the United States is $112,871 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $54.26 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,170/week or $9,405/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $176,000 and as low as $34,000, the majority of Cyber Defender salaries currently range between $91,500 (25th percentile) to $130,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $140,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Cyber Defender varies greatly (by as much as 38500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Cyber Defender in your area makes on average $109,022 per year, or $3,849 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $112,871. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Cyber Defender salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Cyber Defender jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Cyber Defender on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Cyber Defender Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Cyber Defender job is above the national average. Topping the list is Honolulu County, HI, , with Pennington County, SD, and Nome, AK, close behind in the second and third positions. Nome, AK, beats the national average by $27,145 (24.0%), and Honolulu County, HI, furthers that trend with another $41,002 (36.3%) above the $112,871 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Cyber Defender appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 14% between Honolulu County, HI, and San Francisco, CA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Cyber Defender role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Honolulu County, HI | $153,873 | $73.98 |
Pennington County, SD | $146,648 | $70.50 |
Nome, AK | $140,016 | $67.32 |
Milford, CT | $138,374 | $66.53 |
Berkeley, CA | $138,203 | $66.44 |
Columbia, WA | $137,862 | $66.28 |
Sitka, AK | $135,973 | $65.37 |
Rillito, AZ | $133,519 | $64.19 |
Palo Alto, CA | $133,017 | $63.95 |
San Francisco, CA | $132,981 | $63.93 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Cyber Defender Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Cyber Defender job category, we found that Cyber Intelligence Analyst jobs have average salaries similar than Cyber Defender jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Cyber Intelligence Analyst | $109,848 | $52.81 |
Cyber Incident Response Analyst | $96,618 | $46.45 |
Incident Response Engineer | $86,808 | $41.73 |
Siem Analyst | $76,273 | $36.67 |
Mitre Corporation | $30,662 | $14.74 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
