Penetration Testing Engineer Salary
$11K - $26.5K
0% of jobs
$26.5K - $42K
13% of jobs
$42K - $57.5K
0% of jobs
$57.5K - $73K
0% of jobs
$79.1K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$73K - $88.5K
30% of jobs
The median wage is $95.3K / yr.
$88.5K - $104K
15% of jobs
$104K - $119.5K
4% of jobs
$134.2K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$119.5K - $135K
14% of jobs
$135K - $150.5K
7% of jobs
$150.5K - $166K
9% of jobs
$166K - $181.5K
9% of jobs
$11K
$102K
$183K
$109,565
/year
$52.68
/hour
Penetration Testing Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$109,565
Columbus
Ohio
$105,829
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How much does a Penetration Testing Engineer make?
As of Jul 27, 2026, the average annual pay for a Penetration Testing Engineer in the United States is $109,565 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $52.68 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,107/week or $9,130/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $183,000 and as low as $11,000, the majority of Penetration Testing Engineer salaries currently range between $80,000 (25th percentile) to $143,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $173,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Penetration Testing Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 63000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Penetration Testing Engineer in your area makes on average $105,829 per year, or $3,736 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $109,565. Ohio ranks number 39 out of 50 states nationwide for Penetration Testing Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Penetration Testing Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Penetration Testing Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Penetration Testing Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Penetration Testing Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Whitehorse, YT, , with Haines Junction, YT, and Duncan, BC, close behind in the second and third positions. Duncan, BC, beats the national average by $26,821 (24.5%), and Whitehorse, YT, furthers that trend with another $28,303 (25.8%) above the $109,565 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Penetration Testing Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 4% between Whitehorse, YT, and Sitka, AK, , 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 Penetration Testing Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Whitehorse, YT | $137,868 | $66.28 |
Haines Junction, YT | $137,316 | $66.02 |
Duncan, BC | $136,386 | $65.57 |
Oak Bay, BC | $136,137 | $65.45 |
Victoria, BC | $135,561 | $65.17 |
Berkeley, CA | $134,156 | $64.50 |
Saint John, NB | $133,054 | $63.97 |
Kelowna, BC | $132,775 | $63.83 |
West Kelowna, BC | $132,750 | $63.82 |
Sitka, AK | $131,991 | $63.46 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Penetration Testing Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Penetration Testing Engineer job category, we found that Cyber Threat Analyst jobs have average salaries greater than Penetration Testing Engineer jobs.
Significantly, Cyber Threat Analyst jobs pay $3,306 (3.0%) more than the average Penetration Testing Engineer salary of $109,565. If you're qualified, finding work as a Cyber Threat Analyst may help you make more money than that of the average Penetration Testing Engineer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Cyber Threat Analyst | $112,871 | $54.26 |
Offensive Analyst | $97,659 | $46.95 |
Soc Threat Intelligence Incident Response Analyst | $96,618 | $46.45 |
Malware Analysis | $86,474 | $41.57 |
Work From Home Threat Intelligence Analyst | $82,454 | $39.64 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
