Cybersecurity analyst salary centers on one federal number. The median hit $129,180 per year in May 2025. That equals $62.11 per hour, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure covers 192,900 analysts across every sector. Around that midpoint, sector choice and role scope move pay most.
The job sits high on the tech pay ladder. Network and computer systems administrators earn a median of $99,130. Support staff earn between $61,860 and $76,220. Analyst pay clears the set. Demand keeps the floor firm, with 21% growth projected through 2035. About 14,100 openings appear each year, per the Bureau.
The Median for Cybersecurity Analyst Salary
A median splits the field in half. The Bureau tracked 192,900 analysts in 2025. It projects 233,400 by 2035. About 14,100 openings appear each year. That flow keeps offers near the middle. Pay below the median reflects a smaller firm or a narrow scope. Pay above it reflects sector first, skill second.
The range around the median stays wide. Sector explains much of it. Firm size and scope explain more. Two analysts with the same title can sit $40,000 apart on those three facts alone.
Sectors That Pay Above the Median
Five sectors employ most analysts, and each carries its own median. The information sector leads at $138,650. Computer systems design pays $132,410 and employs 22% of the field. Finance and insurance pays $130,630 across a 17% share. Management of companies pays $128,950. Consulting pays $125,420 across 6% of jobs.
Cybersecurity analyst salary spreads by sector first. The spread tops $13,000 between the high and low medians. Sector choice can move an offer more than a raise. The gaps come from May 2025 federal data. We covered a connected angle in The Cybersecurity Analyst: The Day, the Tools and the Alerts.
The shares matter as much as the medians. Computer systems design holds the most seats, so its $132,410 anchors the field norm. The information sector pays more but holds fewer jobs. A high median with few seats is a narrow door.
Levers That Hold
Three levers survive a check. The first is sector, per the medians above. The second is scope. A role that owns response and recovery pays above one that watches alerts. The third is the schooling mix. O*NET finds 53% of firms require a bachelor's degree. Another 23% want an advanced certificate. Thirteen percent accept an associate degree. Meeting a posted bar is table stakes. Beating it rarely reprices an offer without scope to match.
Tools shift offers at the margin. O*NET lists Splunk, Wireshark and cloud platforms in demand for the role. A skill that matches a live posting moves the number more than a generic skill list. The mix of the three levers sets the offer. For related coverage, see Cybersecurity Salary: What Moves the Number, Role by Role.
On-call load works as a fourth lever in practice. Watching is a core duty, and watches run around the clock. Shops that never sleep lean on shift differentials. The base median does not carry that spread.
Talks From a Federal Baseline
Public data changes the tone of a pay talk. A candidate anchored to the May 2025 median starts from a number the firm knows. Sector medians sharpen the anchor. Shift work and on-call load deserve a premium line. Watch desks run around the clock. Any counter should name the job code and the year. Numbers with no source and no date are noise.
Timing plays its part. Firms with open headcount and a live posting move fast. Firms building a bench wait and bargain. The calendar of a search changes the math.
Conclusion: Anchoring the Offer
The test is the gap between an offer and the median for the sector and scope. Offers near or above the sector median reward the exact skill mix. Offers far below need a reason in writing. Anchor each figure to federal data with its year. A cybersecurity analyst salary case stands on sourced numbers. The same test works inside a firm. A raise case anchored to sector medians lands better than one anchored to sentiment. Data persuades faster than feelings do.
