US Network Administrator Salary & Employment Study – How Much Does a Network Admin Make by State?

Network administrators play an integral role in the day-to-day operations of many companies all over the US – from selecting monitoring tools and running updates to troubleshooting and support.

In 2021, the average salary for a network and computer systems administrator was $91,250 per year, 7.6 percent more than 2020’s average of $84,810. However, the number of people in these roles actually decreased by 6.8 percent (340,530 to 317,430) from 2020 to 2021. Over the next 10 years (2021 to 2031), the estimated job growth for these roles is 3 percent, which is slightly lower than the average job growth rate of 5 percent. It’s also significantly lower than the 35 percent growth predicted for information security analysts–as seen in our recent study. While net admins help with the day-to-day running of organizations’ networks, information security analysts are monitoring networks and systems for vulnerabilities. This suggests that organizations are focusing more on shoring up their cybersecurity measures when looking to add new talent. 

So how is the job landscape for network administrators changing and how do the roles shape up on a state-by-state basis (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico)?

We compared data from the last couple of years to find out. And we reveal where the network admin job hotspots are, including where you’ll get the highest salary, where the most jobs are, and where the best long-term projections for these roles are. To establish these rankings, we’ve compared each state based on ten criteria, with each criterion being equally weighted to give us our overall scores.

How has the network admin job market changed in recent years?

As you can see from the above chart, one state, in particular, has seen a dramatic change in rankings this time around. In our previous update, Montana ranked 17th, but it has taken the top spot in this edition.

Montana saw increases in 4 out of the 5 main categories: annual salary increased 11 percent from $73,340 to $81,370, the number of people in these roles increased by 56 percent (680 to 1,060), employment per 1,000 jobs increased by 51 percent, and long-term growth jumped from 3.3 percent (2018-2028) to 8.3 percent (2020-2030). The only category that saw a decline was job vacancies with a 64 percent decline from 25 to 9 (but declines in this category were seen across the board). 

Colorado, California, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia remain toward the top but with a few changes in rankings. Last year’s top-scoring state, Maryland, has plummeted through the rankings, dropping from first to 16th. 

This sharp decline stems from low scores in our 1- and 5-year changes in employment and annual salaries in these roles. Maryland saw a 27 percent and 34 percent decline in employment in these roles over a 1- and 5-year period, respectively. The average annual salary also decreased over one year, falling from $113,840 in 2020 to $106,480 in 2021. Nevertheless, this salary is still more than $10,000 above average and the decline in roles does follow US-wide trends.

Average US-wide changes:

• Average annual salary for network administrators increased by 7.6 percent from $84,810 (2020) to $91,250 (2021)
• # of people in network administrators roles decreased by 6.8 percent from 340,530 (2020) to 317,430 (2021)
• Employment per 1,000 people (the number of jobs in the given occupation per 1,000 jobs in the given area) decreased by 8 percent from 2.41 (2020) to 2.22 (2021)
• # of vacancies available decreased by 47.55 percent from 14,022 (2020) to 7,354 (2021)
• 10-year growth projection for roles decreased from 5 percent for 2020-2030 to 3 percent for 2021-2031 (according to the latest BLS data)

As you can see above, there are positive and negative changes to the net admin employment outlook. Salaries have increased, on average, and the growth projection for these roles remains high. That said, employment rates within these roles have declined. As employers continue to navigate an ever-changing world post-pandemic, many employers are making cuts and changes, especially when it comes to hiring new employees. 

Our recent studies demonstrate how ransomware attacks are an ongoing threat to all types of organizations. Companies must invest in digital security to safeguard their daily operations and customer data. Furthermore, the fact that we have seen an increase in annual salary for the majority of states suggests that these roles are still developing and improving year on year.

Annual salary

The biggest average salary increases for network and computer server administrators were observed in Montana (10.95 percent), Utah (9.76 percent), Wisconsin (8.43 percent), and Iowa (8.25 percent). These increases could be facilitated by Biden’s latest billion-dollar state and local cybersecurity grant program that aims to make local governments resilient to cyber threats. 

One state that saw a significant decline in average salary for these roles was Pennsylvania (dropping by 7.15 percent from $80,310 to $74,570). This was in spite of the fact that average salaries across all types of employment increased in the state (from $53,950 to $55,490).

Number of people in roles

The number of people in network administration roles increased the most in Montana, rising by 55.88 percent from 680 to 1,060. In sharp contrast, Kansas saw a huge decline of 38 percent, with figures dropping from 4,450 to 2,740 over the space of a year. 

Available job vacancies

The number of job vacancies available this time around dropped significantly across the board. Only two states had an increased number of job vacancies (the District of Columbia and Oregon increasing 237 percent and 160 percent respectively) and one remained the same (South Dakota with 14 job vacancies). The total number of jobs recorded in 2020 was 14,022 compared to 7,354 this time (a decrease of 47.55 percent). 

The largest decline in job vacancies was in Tennessee with nearly an 80 percent decrease in available jobs (dropping from 294 to 59). North Dakota and Maine also saw high decreases, however, the number remained low for both years (from 17 to 4 and 25 to 6). 

Long-term growth projections

Please note: while BLS data provides estimates from 2021 to 2031, state-by-state projections are only available for 2020 to 2030 (via Projects Central). 

Perhaps the most interesting comparisons are the changes in long-term growth projections, which indicate how fast employment is expected to increase or decrease during the projection period. The state that saw the most positive increase was New Jersey. Projections from 2018 to 2028 were placed at -0.2 percent, but the projections from 2020 to 2030 were revised to grow by 3.8 percent.

Some notable declines in long-term growth projections were observed in the District of Columbia (dropping from 15.6 percent to 5.4 percent) and Maine (dropping from 2.5 percent to 1.3 percent). DC’s sharp decline is perhaps due to a high number of roles currently available in the area, leading to some saturation within the market. 

Overall, long-term growth in these roles does look positive. In our 2021 study, which looked at long-term growth from 2018 to 2028, the average growth across all 52 states was 6.76 percent. Now, from 2020 to 2030, it’s 9.43 percent. This suggests that once again, cybersecurity roles are becoming more prevalent post-pandemic. Filling these roles is non-negotiable for companies looking to have a safe and secure online network.

The top-scoring states for cybersecurity roles

According to our research, Montana is the best state to be a network administrator. It was the highest-ranking state for its 5-year annual salary increase and 1-year increase in employment and salary. Montana also scores well when comparing the average state salary across all types of employment to the average salary for net admin jobs ($49,340 compared to $81,370).  

However, not everything was rosy for the state, as it was one of the lowest-scoring states for the number of people currently in network admin roles (1,060). Likewise, there were only nine open vacancies for this year’s study, suggesting that although Montana may have scored well across most categories, it might not provide many opportunities to move there for these specific roles.

Oregon, Colorado, Texas, and Virginia were the other four states that made up the top five. All of these states offer an above-average salary for net admin roles. Equally, Texas was the top-scoring state for the number of people currently in these roles (30,810), Colorado had the highest employment per 1,000 jobs (4.431), and Oregon saw the biggest five-year increase in employment (rising by 73 percent). 

Despite these states making it to the top five overall, there were another six states that ranked higher when it came to the average annual salary for net admin roles. California, DC, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York all offer an average net admin annual salary of over $100,000.  So, if a large paycheck is your highest priority, these may be the best states to choose from. 

The top 5 at a glance

The highest-scoring states per category were:

• Highest average annual salary – New Jersey– $108,860
• Highest % difference to state average annual salary for all types of employment – Nevada – 56.58%
• Highest number of people currently in these roles – Texas – 30,810
• Highest employment per 1,000 jobs – Colorado – 4.431
• Highest number of jobs currently being advertised for – District of Columbia – 1,088
• Best long-term projection for roles – Utah – 29.9% growth
• Best 5-year increase in employment numbers (from 2016 to 2021) – Oregon – 72.98%
• Best 5-year increase in average annual salary (from 2016 to 2021) – Montana – 33.11%
• Best 1-year increase in employment (from 2020 to 2021) – Montana– 55.88% growth
• Best 1-year increase in average annual salary (from 2020 to 2021) – Montana– 10.95% growth

The lowest-scoring US states and territories for cybersecurity roles

At the bottom of our table was Puerto Rico—it scored lowest for annual salary ($47,770) employment per 1,000 jobs (at a rate of 0.801), and 5-year changes in annual salary (a decline of 2.45 percent). Puerto Rico also had a low number of job vacancies (16), and had a very low figure for the number of people in these roles (680).

Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, and Arkansas were the other four states in the bottom five. Arkansas, Vermont, and Maine all had very low numbers of people currently employed in these roles (1,590, 540, and 850, respectively) and were also low for job vacancies (19, 13, and 6). Maine was the lowest scoring for long-term growth (2018 to 2020) with a decline of 1.9 percent. Similarly, Vermont saw the biggest decline (60.29 percent) in five-year changes in employment with 1,360 people employed in net admin roles in 2016, compared to just 540 in 2021. 

The bottom 5 states at a glance

The lowest-scoring states and territories per category were:

• Lowest average annual salary – Puerto Rico – $47,770
• Lowest % difference to state average annual salary for all types of employment – District of Columbia – 6.03%
• Lowest number of people currently in these roles – Wyoming and North Dakota – 490
• Lowest employment per 1,000 jobs – Puerto Rico – 0.801
• Lowest number of jobs currently being advertised for – North Dakota – 4
• Worst long-term projection for roles – Maine – 1.9% decline
• Worst 5-year change in employment numbers (from 2016 to 2020) – Vermont – 60.29% decline
• Worst 5-year change in average annual salary (from 2016 to 2020) – Puerto Rico – 2.45% decline
• Worst 1-year change in employment numbers (from 2020 to 2021) – Kansas – 38.43% decline
• Worst 1-year increase in average annual salary (from 2020 to 2021) – Pennsylvania – 7.15% decline

Which state should you head to for the best network administrator roles?

Initially, you may consider Montana thanks to its great growth in employment figures and salaries for net admins over a one- and five-year period. Or, you might opt for New Jersey for its high salary ($108,860) and high employment rate of 3.642 per 1,000 jobs. 

You could even look somewhere like the District of Columbia, which has the highest number of job vacancies (1,088) and a high average salary ($104,490). But, as we noted above, some lower scores in other areas suggest the job market for net admins is becoming somewhat saturated in DC. 

Utah could be a good choice, too, as it offers the best long-term projections for these roles with a growth of nearly 30 percent projected over the next 10 years. That said, Utah has a lower average salary than many states at just $89,720. But with a 13 percent increase in the annual salary over the last five years, it might not be long until you’re enjoying the same or better salary.

Ultimately, the majority of states offer great prospects for net admin roles, so it’s worth looking into which state will offer you the most benefits. It’s also worth mentioning that 51 states and territories show some positive growth (when looking at the long-term projections) with only Maine showing a decline (by 1.9 percent). And all 52 states and territories have higher salaries for net admin roles than the average annual salary by state for all types of employment.

Our methodology: how did we find the best and worst states for cybersecurity roles?

To figure out how well (or poorly) these roles were represented in each state, we used ten different criteria, each of which was equally weighted to give us our overall scores. These were:

• The average state annual salary for network administration roles
• The % difference of the annual salary for network administration roles to the average annual salary of all types of employment in each state
• The number of people employed in network administration roles in the state
• The number of people in network administration roles per 1,000 jobs (the number of jobs–employment–in the given occupation per 1,000 jobs in the given area)
• The number of network administration roles currently being advertised for by the state
• The long-term projections for network administration roles in each state (over a 10-year period)
• The 5-year change in employment numbers (from 2016 to 2021) in each state
• The 5-year change in average annual salaries (from 2016 to 2021) in each state
• The 1-year change in employment numbers (from 2020 to 2021) in each state
• The 1-year change in average annual salaries (from 2020 to 2021) in each state

To score each criterion, we gave each state a point based on where it appeared between the highest- and lowest-scoring states. The state that received the best score for a criterion got 100 points, while the lowest-scoring stats received a zero. Then, all of the states in between these two figures were ranked on a percentile basis to give them their scores.

To achieve the total score we averaged the state’s score across all ten of the categories.

Researcher: Charlotte Bond

Sources

https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151244.htm

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/network-and-computer-systems-administrators.htm

https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Network%20and%20Server%20Administrator&l=Alabama&vjk=cdd539c586a40073

https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm

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