Where to find the best-paying cybersecurity jobs

New analysis includes salary data, cost of living and how easy it is to find a job and identifies cities with the best pay and the most open positions.


Image: iStockphoto/f11photo

Washington, D.C., Singapore and Berlin are the best places for cybersecurity professionals to find a well-paid job, according to a new analysis from TechShielder

The analysis measures job availability, the average salary and the cost of living and combines the three factors to generate an overall score. Singapore has the most open positions but also the highest cost of living and an average salary of $77,491. Luxembourg offers the highest average salary at $154,445 per year but the city scores low on open positions. Cybersecurity jobs in D.C. pay well at $117,998 per year and there are lots of positions available, but the cost of living is high, second only to Singapore. Here is what the top 10 list looks like with the city and its overall score:

  1. Washington, D.C. US:           17.58
  2. Singapore, Singapore:          16.44
  3. Berlin, Germany:                   15.41
  4. Luxembourg, Luxembourg:   14.99
  5. Brussels, Belgium:                 14.77
  6. Ottawa, Canada:                    14.29
  7. Vienna, Austria:                      14.23
  8. London, England:                   14.20
  9. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:             13.63
  10. Tokyo, Japan:                         13:59

Lasse Walstad, co-founder at TechShielder, said in a press release that the cities in the list represent the best career opportunities for cybersecurity professionals.

As Dallon Adams reported for TechRepublic, companies are getting creative in the competition to hire people with cybersecurity skills. This includes flexible work arrangements, signing bonuses and other carrots. Mark Adams, chief security officer at Adobe, said recruiting security talent from nontraditional backgrounds is a significant trend in the industry. This could include looking for internal candidates who are interested in cybersecurity as well. 

SEE: Chinese threat actors have been compromising telecom networks for years, investigation finds (TechRepublic)

Kevin Hanes, the CEO at Cybrary, said companies need to get better at finding people with the right fundamentals, drive and curiosity and then investing in these employees. According to the article, he doesn't think that retraining people motivates them to leave.

"Well-supported employees are more likely to stay as long as they are seeing value in your organization," he said. "The greater risk is having people and not training them nor providing them with development opportunities and a clear path at the organization."

Remote options for cybersecurity professionals

TechShielder also looked at the countries with the most cybersecurity jobs advertised as remote. Here is what that list looks like:

  1. Brazil
  2. Columbia
  3. Portugal
  4. Spain
  5. Italy
  6. Canada
  7. U.S.
  8. Philippines
  9. Switzerland
  10. Ireland

The total number of remote jobs is still relatively small, with 22% of all cybersecurity jobs in Brazil listed as remote. That number drops to 7% in Ireland.

Job availability was measured by counting the total number of cybersecurity positions available on Indeed and Glassdoor and assigning each city a score. The analysis also identified the most in-demand skills, which include network analysis, threat assessment, compliance and cloud skills. 

Also see

By Veronica Combs
