What a database administrator earns, by metro
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.
Database Administrator — nationalBLS OEWS · May 2025
$104,620Median annual
$50.30Median hourly
$60,23010th percentile
$163,32090th percentile
69,990Employed nationally
Median means half earn more and half earn less — it says nothing about
how far. The percentile columns are where the information is.
The band is wide — outcomes vary a lot
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.
Where the money is
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.
Highest paying metros
| 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 |
Lowest paying metros
| 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 is the cluster
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.
Where the role is most concentrated
| 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 |
Largest employers by metro
| 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 |
Current openings
Remote Database Administrator
Washington-Arlington-AlexandriaNew York-Newark-Jersey CityDallas-Fort Worth-ArlingtonLos Angeles-Long Beach-AnaheimBoston-Cambridge-NewtonChicago-Naperville-ElginAtlanta-Sandy Springs-RoswellPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington
About this data
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.