Median pay for database administrators runs from $51,490 in Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area to $138,620 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara — a 2.69× range across 217 metropolitan areas. The national median of $104,620 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
The top tenth of database administrators earn $163,320 or more; the bottom tenth earn under $60,230. That is a 2.71× gap within the same occupation, in the same year. A spread this wide means the job title is not what determines pay — specialisation, employer type, seniority or book of business is. Expect the early years to sit near the bottom of the band rather than the middle, and treat the $104,620 median as a waypoint, not a destination.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) leads and Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area () trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $138,620 | $66.64 | 1.14 | 580 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $133,180 | $64.03 | 1.07 | 1,010 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $132,370 | $63.64 | 1.57 | 1,910 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA | $130,780 | $62.88 | 1.02 | 60 |
| Provo-Orem-Lehi UT | $129,010 | $62.02 | 1.15 | 160 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland CO | $128,780 | $61.92 | 0.84 | 60 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $127,760 | $61.42 | 1.37 | 1,470 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury CT | $125,760 | $60.46 | 1.12 | 200 |
| Vallejo CA | $125,600 | $60.38 | 0.53 | 30 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL | $124,560 | $59.89 | 1.02 | 670 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA | $124,040 | $59.63 | 0.74 | 110 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin TN | $123,920 | $59.58 | 1.52 | 750 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos TX | $123,830 | $59.53 | 1.9 | 1,110 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD | $123,730 | $59.49 | 1.95 | 1,190 |
| Trenton-Princeton NJ | $123,490 | $59.37 | 1.59 | 170 |
| Raleigh-Cary NC | $122,950 | $59.11 | 1.54 | 510 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $122,390 | $58.84 | 1.33 | 2,430 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $121,550 | $58.44 | 0.85 | 3,630 |
| Anchorage AK | $121,260 | $58.30 | 0.65 | 50 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $120,500 | $57.94 | 0.84 | 410 |
| Maryland nonmetropolitan area | $120,280 | $57.83 | 0.83 | 40 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial CO | $120,120 | $57.75 | 1.1 | 800 |
| Columbus GA-AL | $119,740 | $57.57 | 0.68 | 40 |
| Colorado Springs CO | $118,170 | $56.81 | 0.79 | 110 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill NC | $117,950 | $56.71 | 1.42 | 220 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $51,490 | $24.75 | 0.35 | 40 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $53,410 | $25.68 | 0.45 | 140 |
| Huntington-Ashland WV-KY-OH | $57,680 | $27.73 | 0.73 | 50 |
| Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area | $59,340 | $28.53 | 0.69 | 40 |
| Northeast Maine nonmetropolitan area | $59,340 | $28.53 | 1.12 | 30 |
| Central Missouri nonmetropolitan area | $63,100 | $30.34 | 0.45 | 30 |
| Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area | $63,910 | $30.73 | 0.42 | 30 |
| Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent FL | $65,210 | $31.35 | 1.01 | 90 |
| Southwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area | $69,920 | $33.62 | 0.58 | 30 |
| Charleston WV | $70,280 | $33.79 | 1.23 | 60 |
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater has 6.7× the national concentration of database administrators — the densest market in the country for this role, with 390 employed locally. Pay there is $115,330, which does not put it near the top of the pay table. Concentration and compensation are different things — a dense market is easier to get hired in and easier to move around within, but the competition that makes it dense also caps what employers need to offer.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $115,330 | $55.45 | 6.7 | 390 |
| Montgomery AL | $95,370 | $45.85 | 6.57 | 490 |
| Santa Fe NM | $99,860 | $48.01 | 5.82 | 160 |
| Bloomington IN | $104,360 | $50.17 | 3.18 | 100 |
| Tallahassee FL | $85,590 | $41.15 | 3.15 | 260 |
| Helena MT | $83,120 | $39.96 | 3.14 | 60 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $108,750 | $52.29 | 2.65 | 3,730 |
| Lexington Park MD | $116,630 | $56.07 | 2.63 | 80 |
| Huntsville AL | $103,110 | $49.57 | 2.5 | 300 |
| Birmingham AL | $101,850 | $48.96 | 2.31 | 540 |
| Madison WI | $105,680 | $50.81 | 2.23 | 410 |
| Logan UT-ID | $84,740 | $40.74 | 2.13 | 60 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $108,750 | $52.29 | 2.65 | 3,730 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $121,550 | $58.44 | 0.85 | 3,630 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $122,390 | $58.84 | 1.33 | 2,430 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $112,540 | $54.10 | 0.81 | 2,280 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $132,370 | $63.64 | 1.57 | 1,910 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $109,680 | $52.73 | 0.92 | 1,870 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $110,950 | $53.34 | 1.37 | 1,780 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $104,930 | $50.45 | 1.22 | 1,580 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $127,760 | $61.42 | 1.37 | 1,470 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD | $123,730 | $59.49 | 1.95 | 1,190 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos TX | $123,830 | $59.53 | 1.9 | 1,110 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $116,030 | $55.78 | 0.74 | 1,090 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 15-1242. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 217 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 311 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.