Cybersecurity Analyst Salary

Bureau of Labor Statistics title: Information Security Analysts

The median cybersecurity analyst salary in the United States is $129,180 per year ($62.11/hour). Salaries range from $75,090 at the entry level to $199,850+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 190,650 cybersecurity analyst jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 28.5% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Also known asCybersecurity AnalystSecurity EngineerInfoSec AnalystPenetration TesterEthical HackerSOC Analyst
Median Salary
$129,180
per year
Hourly Rate
$62.11
per hour
Employment
190,650
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$75,090
25th percentile
$97,810
Median
$129,180
75th percentile
$163,500
90th percentile
$199,850

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+28.5%
Much faster than average

Annual Openings

16,000
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

Bachelor's degree
+ Less than 5 years experience

Cybersecurity Analyst Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for cybersecurity analysts.

Cybersecurity analysts protect systems from breaches. Roles split by track: SOC analyst (monitoring, detection, incident response), security engineer (building defenses, IAM, network security), red team / pentester (offensive testing), GRC (governance, risk, compliance), and CISO track. Compensation heavily favors offensive + engineering roles. Employers screen for: hands-on technical skills, certification portfolio (Security+, CISSP, OSCP), incident response experience, and calm under pressure.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

SIEM + log analysis
Splunk, ELK, Sentinel, QRadar. Writing correlation rules, hunting for indicators of compromise.
Incident response
NIST IR framework: preparation, detection, containment, eradication, recovery, lessons learned. Calm under pressure at 3am.
Network security
TCP/IP, firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPN, zero-trust architecture. Understanding traffic patterns + anomalies.
Endpoint / EDR
CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Defender. Threat hunting on endpoints. Reading process trees + file system indicators.
Scripting
Python + PowerShell + Bash for automation, log parsing, threat intelligence enrichment.
Compliance frameworks
NIST 800-53, ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA. Especially valued at GRC-heavy roles + regulated industries.
Threat intelligence
MITRE ATT&CK framework, IOCs, threat actor tracking, feed integration. Increasingly weighted at senior levels.

How to Become a Cybersecurity Analyst

  1. 1
    Bachelor's + Security+ certification
    IT / CS degree helps but not required. Security+ is the entry-level industry standard cert.
  2. 2
    First role: SOC Tier 1 or IT with security duties
    Home lab + CTFs supplement lack of experience. Many companies hire junior SOC analysts with certs + home lab work.
  3. 3
    Get hands-on: OSCP, CEH, or vendor-specific certs
    OSCP for offensive; CEH for foundational; vendor certs (Splunk, CrowdStrike) for specific tool depth. All at entry-mid level.
  4. 4
    Specialize by year 3
    Detection engineer, threat hunter, red team, security engineering, GRC. Compensation varies 2x between paths.
  5. 5
    CISSP or CISM at senior level
    Management-oriented certs. Required for many senior + leadership positions.
  6. 6
    Move to CISO / VP Security track
    8-12 years of experience + CISSP + leadership. Small companies get first-time CISO opportunities faster.

Career Progression

SOC Analyst / Junior Security
0-2 yrs$65-95k
  • β€’Alert triage in SIEM
  • β€’Escalation of true positives
  • β€’Documentation + playbook execution
Next: Senior SOC or Detection Engineer.
Senior Security Analyst / Engineer
2-5 yrs$95-140k
  • β€’Own detection rules + threat hunting
  • β€’Design + implement security controls
  • β€’Lead incident response for tier 2 issues
Next: Principal Engineer / Manager.
Principal Security Engineer / Team Lead
5-9 yrs$140-200k Β· Big Tech $250-400k+ TC
  • β€’Architecture-level security decisions
  • β€’Cross-team security consultation
  • β€’Mentor + technical hiring
Next: Manager or Distinguished Engineer.
Security Manager / Director of Security
6-10 yrs$160-240k + bonus
  • β€’Manage 5-15 security engineers
  • β€’Team roadmap + hiring
  • β€’Report to CISO
Next: VP Security / CISO.
VP Security / CISO
10+ yrs$220-500k+ + equity + bonus
  • β€’Own entire security function
  • β€’Report to CIO / CEO / board
  • β€’Regulatory + external comms during incidents

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 13 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. You get a SIEM alert about anomalous traffic. Walk me through your response.technical
Recognize + prioritize. Look at raw logs. Check indicators: source IP, geolocation, port, protocol, user context. Correlate with other events. Determine if true positive. If yes: contain (isolate host, block IP), investigate scope, document. Follow NIST IR framework. Never dismiss without investigation.
Q2. Explain a recent security incident you handled.behavioral
STAR. Real event β€” malware, phishing, insider threat, misconfiguration. What alerted you, containment, root cause, remediation. Screens for real incident experience.
Q3. How do you stay current on threats?
Threat intel feeds (subscribed to at least 2). MITRE ATT&CK updates. Vendor blogs (CrowdStrike, Mandiant, Palo Alto). CVE + patch monitoring. Twitter/InfoSec community. Weekly time budget for learning. Screens for engagement.
Q4. Tell me about a time you disagreed with a security policy.behavioral
STAR. Substantive disagreement (control too strict / too loose, missed threat, unbudgeted risk). Brought data. Presented alternative. Outcome. Screens for professional courage + strategic thinking.
Q5. Why cybersecurity?culture
Concrete. Personal story (own breach, family member phished, professional interest). Show real interest in adversarial mindset. Not: 'high demand.'

Resume Template β€” SOC Analyst / Junior Security (0-2 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

SOC Analyst / Junior Security (0-2 yrs)
  • β–ΈAnalyzed 800+ SIEM alerts weekly in Splunk; escalated true positives with 92% accuracy against tier 2 review.
  • β–ΈContributed to incident response for 6 confirmed security events including 1 phishing-based credential compromise.
  • β–ΈBuilt Python automation reducing tier 1 alert triage time from 22 to 8 minutes per alert.
  • β–ΈEarned Security+ within 3 months of hire; CySA+ within 12 months.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—No certifications at entry-level.
  • βœ—Poor at reading logs β€” foundational skill.
  • βœ—Overselling β€” 'led incident response' when you observed.
  • βœ—No home lab or CTF activity (for entry-level).
  • βœ—Panicking in a hypothetical incident scenario.
  • βœ—Bad-mouthing previous security teams.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“OSCP (offensive) β€” worth $10-20k premium for red team.
  • βœ“CISSP β€” required for many senior + leadership.
  • βœ“Government / DoD clearance β€” worth $10-25k premium at defense contractors.
  • βœ“Vendor certifications (Splunk, CrowdStrike, AWS Security).
  • βœ“Big Tech alumni β€” 30-50% pay premium at exit.
  • βœ“Industry specialty (healthcare, financial services) β€” regulated premium.
  • βœ“Sign-on for unvested equity.

Cybersecurity Analyst Resume Review β€” $29

Personalized resume review from someone who has hired cybersecurity analysts. Purchase, email your resume to support@weblabra.com, and receive detailed written feedback within 7 days.

  • βœ“ Occupation-specific critique (not generic)
  • βœ“ Rewrite suggestions for weak bullets
  • βœ“ Missing skills / keywords flagged
  • βœ“ Formatting + ATS-readability feedback
  • βœ“ 7-day turnaround, 100% refund if we miss it

Cybersecurity Analyst Career Kit β€” $19

  • βœ“ All 13 interview questions with expert answers
  • βœ“ 8 real questions aggregated from Glassdoor, Blind, Reddit, LinkedIn
  • βœ“ Interview format intel for 5 top employers
  • βœ“ 3 copy-paste salary negotiation emails
  • βœ“ Resume bullets for every level of the career ladder
  • βœ“ 30–60–90 day plan for your first role
  • βœ“ Cover letter templates specific to this occupation
  • βœ“ Detailed salary negotiation script
  • βœ“ Ranked list of certifications with cost + ROI
  • βœ“ Downloadable PDF for offline access
  • βœ“ Instant access, no expiration, no subscription
βœ“ 7-day money-back guarantee β€” no questions asked

One-time purchase. 7-day refund guarantee.

Sample reviews β€” real customer reviews will appear here as they come in.

β€œThe interview question bank saved me. I got the exact question about 'walking through a DCF' at my Goldman Sachs superday, verbatim.”

β€” Anonymous, Financial Analyst

β€œCopy-paste negotiation emails are worth the price alone. I used the 'accepting with counter' template and got an extra $8k signing bonus.”

β€” Anonymous, Software Developer

β€œThe 30-60-90 day plan for a new grad RN was better than the orientation my hospital gave. Wish I'd bought this in nursing school.”

β€” Anonymous, Registered Nurse

Cybersecurity Analyst Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$82K
$155Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

Washington
$155K
+20%
Maryland
$140K
+8%
California
$139K
+7%
Delaware
$137K
+6%
Massachusetts
$137K
+6%
Colorado
$135K
+5%
District of Columbia
$135K
+5%
Virginia
$135K
+4%
New Jersey
$135K
+4%
New York
$135K
+4%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
Washington$154,940+19.9%
Maryland$139,640+8.1%
California$138,570+7.3%
Delaware$137,030+6.1%
Massachusetts$136,550+5.7%
Colorado$135,220+4.7%
District of Columbia$135,090+4.6%
Virginia$134,900+4.4%
New Jersey$134,820+4.4%
New York$134,660+4.2%
1–10 of 48

Cybersecurity Analyst Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$176,120+36.3%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$162,310+25.6%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$161,780+25.2%
Boulder, CO$154,990+20.0%
Asheville, NC$149,350+15.6%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$148,950+15.3%
Wilmington, NC$145,170+12.4%
Raleigh-Cary, NC$143,640+11.2%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$140,470+8.7%
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$138,170+7.0%
1–10 of 247
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A cybersecurity analyst earning $129,180/year would need 461 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 495 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how cybersecurity analyst salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Cybersecurity Analyst salary trend (2011–2024) β†’