Mainframe Tester Salary
$40K - $49.5K
7% of jobs
$49.5K - $59K
8% of jobs
$68.3K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$59K - $68.5K
10% of jobs
$68.5K - $78K
18% of jobs
The median wage is $82.7K / yr.
$78K - $87.5K
14% of jobs
$87.5K - $97K
5% of jobs
$97K - $106.5K
11% of jobs
$107.8K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$106.5K - $116K
13% of jobs
$116K - $125.5K
8% of jobs
$125.5K - $135K
4% of jobs
$135K - $144.5K
1% of jobs
$40K
$83K
$145.5K
$90,490
/year
$43.50
/hour
Mainframe Tester Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$90,490
Columbus
Ohio
$87,405
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How much does a Mainframe Tester make?
As of Aug 7, 2026, the average annual pay for a Mainframe Tester in the United States is $90,490 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $43.50 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,740/week or $7,540/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $145,500 and as low as $40,000, the majority of Mainframe Tester salaries currently range between $69,500 (25th percentile) to $109,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $127,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Mainframe Tester varies greatly (by as much as 39500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Mainframe Tester in your area makes on average $87,405 per year, or $3,085 (3.409%) less than the national average annual salary of $90,490. Ohio ranks number 42 out of 50 states nationwide for Mainframe Tester salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Mainframe Tester jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Mainframe Tester on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Mainframe Tester Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Mainframe Tester job is above the national average. Topping the list is Nome, AK, , with Berkeley, CA, and Cupertino, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Cupertino, CA, beats the national average by $21,152 (23.4%), and Nome, AK, furthers that trend with another $21,763 (24.1%) above the $90,490 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Mainframe Tester appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 5% between Nome, AK, and Sunnyvale, 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 Mainframe Tester role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Nome, AK | $112,253 | $53.97 |
Berkeley, CA | $112,132 | $53.91 |
Cupertino, CA | $111,642 | $53.67 |
Sitka, AK | $109,012 | $52.41 |
Mountain View, CA | $106,695 | $51.30 |
San Francisco, CA | $106,613 | $51.26 |
Palo Alto, CA | $106,373 | $51.14 |
Stanford, CA | $106,322 | $51.12 |
Santa Clara, CA | $106,275 | $51.09 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $106,204 | $51.06 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Mainframe Tester Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Mainframe Tester category.
For example Senior Mainframe Developer jobs pay as much as $29,426 (32.5%) more than the average Mainframe Tester salary of $90,490. If you're qualified, finding work as a Senior Mainframe Developer may help you make more money than that of the average Mainframe Tester position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Senior Mainframe Developer | $119,916 | $57.65 |
Jcl | $115,241 | $55.40 |
Mainframe Cobol Programmer | $112,558 | $54.11 |
Cics Systems Programmer | $103,470 | $49.75 |
Parallel Learning | $82,507 | $39.67 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
