Best cities for security pay after cost of living
Key facts
- #1 San Mateo, CA: $241k
- #2 San Jose, CA: $220k
- #3 San Francisco, CA: $216k
- 10 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $189k across the typical city in our data.
- 1San Mateo CA$241k
- 2San Jose CA$220k
- 3San Francisco CA$216k
- 4New York NY$198k
- 5Austin TX$190k
- 6Sunnyvale CA$183k
- 7Seattle WA$181k
- 8Boston MA$169k
- 9Washington DC$152k
- 10Arlington VA$139k
What stands out
- The lead is wide: San Mateo ($241k) is well clear of Arlington at #10 ($139k).
- San Francisco is the largest market in the top ten, with 191 openings with pay posted behind its figure.
- Cities with fewer than 30 openings with pay posted are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.
The top 25
- 1
San Mateo CA
$241k
- Median posted pay
- $279k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 25
Hiring most here: Roblox, Verkada, Skydio
Based on 25 openings.
- 2
San Jose CA
$220k
- Median posted pay
- $242k
- Local prices vs US average
- +10%
- Openings with pay posted
- 22
Hiring most here: Super Micro Computer, Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems
Based on 22 openings.
- 3
San Francisco CA
$216k
- Median posted pay
- $250k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 191
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 191 openings.
- 4
New York NY
$198k
- Median posted pay
- $223k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 102
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 102 openings.
- 5
Austin TX
$190k
- Median posted pay
- $186k
- Local prices vs US average
- −2%
- Openings with pay posted
- 26
Hiring most here: Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices, Cloudflare
Based on 26 openings.
- 6
Sunnyvale CA
$183k
- Median posted pay
- $203k
- State prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 23
Hiring most here: Applied Intuition, Wayve, Amazon
Based on 23 openings.
- 7
Seattle WA
$181k
- Median posted pay
- $201k
- Local prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 35
Hiring most here: Amazon, Blue Origin, Shield AI
Based on 35 openings.
- 8
Boston MA
$169k
- Median posted pay
- $183k
- Local prices vs US average
- +8%
- Openings with pay posted
- 24
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 24 openings.
- 9
Washington DC
$152k
- Median posted pay
- $166k
- Local prices vs US average
- +9%
- Openings with pay posted
- 81
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Shield AI, CACI International
Based on 81 openings.
- 10
Arlington VA
$139k
- Median posted pay
- $140k
- State prices vs US average
- +1%
- Openings with pay posted
- 25
Hiring most here: Amazon, AWS, Bloomberg Industry Group
Based on 25 openings.
Full ranking
All 10 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo CA | $241k | 25 |
| 2 | San Jose CA | $220k | 22 |
| 3 | San Francisco CA | $216k | 191 |
| 4 | New York NY | $198k | 102 |
| 5 | Austin TX | $190k | 26 |
| 6 | Sunnyvale CA | $183k | 23 |
| 7 | Seattle WA | $181k | 35 |
| 8 | Boston MA | $169k | 24 |
| 9 | Washington DC | $152k | 81 |
| 10 | Arlington VA | $139k | 25 |
How this ranking works
The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for this job family in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the family that post a salary are ranked.
A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.
Sample bar: cities with fewer than 30 openings are not ranked.
Sources: NextChapter job data: posted annual salary ranges; Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024 (metro areas and states). Data as of November 2026.
Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.
Questions
- Which city ranks first: best cities for security pay after cost of living?
- San Mateo leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this job family: its median posted salary buys what $241k buys at average US prices.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 10 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 10 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for this job family in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the family that post a salary are ranked. A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.
- How often is it updated?
- Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.
More rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Best cities for security pay after cost of living,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-security-pay-vs-cost-of-living
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-security-pay-vs-cost-of-living">Best cities for security pay after cost of living (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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