Penetration Tester Salary in United States during 2025

💰 The median Penetration Tester Salary in United States during 2025 is USD 138,000

✏️ This salary info is based on 148 individual salaries reported during 2025

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Salary details

The average Penetration Tester salary lies between USD 94,376 and USD 176,000 in the United States. It represents the overall compensation/gross salary amount for the working year (before deductions like social security, taxes and other contributions), not including equity/stock options or similar benefits.

Job title
Penetration Tester
Experience
all levels
Region
United States
Salary year
2025
Sample size
148
Top 10%
$ 207,750
Top 25%
$ 176,000
Median
$ 138,000
Bottom 25%
$ 94,376
Bottom 10%
$ 82,400

Region represents the primary country of residence of an employee during the year (or residence for tax purposes). All data shown are full-time equivalent (FTE) salaries. Part-time salary information has been extrapolated to its FTE value.

Last updated:

Salary trend

Top 20 Job Tags for Penetration Tester roles

The three most common job tag items assiciated with Penetration Tester job listings are Pentesting, Vulnerabilities and OSCP. Below you find a list of the 20 most occuring job tags in 2025 and the number of open jobs that where associated with them during that period:

Pentesting | 267 jobs Vulnerabilities | 219 jobs OSCP | 208 jobs Cloud | 149 jobs Python | 127 jobs Burp Suite | 117 jobs Scripting | 112 jobs Computer Science | 105 jobs Security assessment | 104 jobs Offensive security | 99 jobs Metasploit | 98 jobs Exploit | 98 jobs Red team | 95 jobs OWASP | 95 jobs CEH | 91 jobs GPEN | 91 jobs Linux | 91 jobs Application security | 89 jobs Clearance | 78 jobs Kali | 72 jobs

Top 20 Job Perks/Benefits for Penetration Tester roles

The three most common job benefits and perks assiciated with Penetration Tester job listings are Career development, Health care and Competitive pay. Below you find a list of the 20 most occuring job perks or benefits in 2025 and the number of open jobs that where offering them during that period:

Career development | 179 jobs Health care | 86 jobs Competitive pay | 75 jobs Flex hours | 68 jobs Team events | 54 jobs Flex vacation | 52 jobs Salary bonus | 50 jobs Insurance | 48 jobs Startup environment | 36 jobs Equity / stock options | 32 jobs Conferences | 32 jobs Medical leave | 30 jobs Parental leave | 26 jobs Wellness | 24 jobs 401(k) matching | 22 jobs Fitness / gym | 13 jobs Gear | 6 jobs Flexible spending account | 5 jobs Fertility benefits | 4 jobs Transparency | 3 jobs

Related salaries

Penetration Tester @ $ 126,100 (global) - Mid-level / Intermediate Details
Penetration Tester @ $ 147,683 (global) - Senior-level / Expert Details
Penetration Tester @ $ 135,000 (global) Details
Penetration Tester @ $ 86,000 (global) - Entry-level / Junior Details
Penetration Tester @ $ 128,000 (United States) - Mid-level / Intermediate Details
Penetration Tester @ $ 150,000 (United States) - Senior-level / Expert Details
Penetration Tester @ $ 86,000 (United States) - Entry-level / Junior Details

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