Defense Salary
$59K - $66K
7% of jobs
$66K - $73K
9% of jobs
$77.2K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$73K - $80K
15% of jobs
$80K - $87K
18% of jobs
The median wage is $87.7K / yr.
$87K - $94K
14% of jobs
$100.3K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$94K - $101K
14% of jobs
$101K - $108K
8% of jobs
$108K - $115K
7% of jobs
$115K - $122K
5% of jobs
$122K - $129K
2% of jobs
$129K - $136K
2% of jobs
$59K
$88.5K
$136.5K
$92,575
/year
$44.51
/hour
Defense Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$92,575
Columbus
Ohio
$89,418
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How much does a Defense make?
As of Sep 8, 2026, the average annual pay for a Defense in the United States is $92,575 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $44.51 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,780/week or $7,714/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $136,500 and as low as $59,000, the majority of Defense salaries currently range between $77,500 (25th percentile) to $103,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $120,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Defense varies greatly (by as much as 26000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Defense in your area makes on average $89,418 per year, or $3,157 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $92,575. Ohio ranks number 39 out of 50 states nationwide for Defense salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Defense jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Defense on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Defense Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Defense job is above the national average. Topping the list is El Cajon, CA, , with Pennington County, SD, and Irvine, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Irvine, CA, beats the national average by $31,741 (34.3%), and El Cajon, CA, furthers that trend with another $33,139 (35.8%) above the $92,575 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Defense appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 11% between El Cajon, CA, and Fulton, MI, , 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 Defense role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
El Cajon, CA | $125,714 | $60.44 |
Pennington County, SD | $124,478 | $59.85 |
Irvine, CA | $124,316 | $59.77 |
Milford, CT | $117,455 | $56.47 |
Hudson, WI | $117,052 | $56.27 |
Sanford, ME | $116,929 | $56.22 |
Hermiston, OR | $115,018 | $55.30 |
Nome, AK | $114,839 | $55.21 |
Berkeley, CA | $113,353 | $54.50 |
Fulton, MI | $112,186 | $53.94 |
What are Top 0 Best Paying Related Defense Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Defense job category, we found that related job jobs have average salaries similar than Defense jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
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About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
