{"id":1312,"date":"2026-07-19T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/boostelearning.com\/?p=1312"},"modified":"2026-07-19T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T19:00:00","slug":"ceh-salary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/boostelearning.com\/de\/resources\/blog\/ceh-salary\/","title":{"rendered":"CEH Salary 2025\u20132026: What Certified Ethical Hackers Earn"},"content":{"rendered":"
Quick answer:<\/strong> In 2025\u20132026, most Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) professionals in the US earn roughly $90,000\u2013$135,000 a year. Payscale reports averages near $95,000 and ZipRecruiter closer to $110,000. Entry roles begin around $65,000\u2013$85,000, while senior penetration testers and red teamers clear $150,000. Pay scales sharply with experience, role, and metro.<\/div>\n

A CEH salary<\/strong> reflects more than a single job title. The Certified Ethical Hacker credential from EC-Council maps to penetration testing, security analysis, vulnerability assessment, and security operations center (SOC) work \u2014 each with its own pay band. The ranges below come from Glassdoor, Payscale, ZipRecruiter, and US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data for 2025\u20132026, split by experience, role, and metro. Salary data shifts with the market, so read every figure as a reported range, not a guarantee.<\/p>\n

What is the average CEH salary in 2025?<\/h2>\n

No single authority tracks “Certified Ethical Hacker” as one occupation, so averages vary by how each source defines the role. Aggregators that list the CEH credential directly tend to report base pay in the low-to-mid $90,000s, while sites that track ethical hacker and penetration tester titles report higher total compensation once bonuses are included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Source (US, 2025\u20132026)<\/th>\nReported CEH \/ ethical hacker pay<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Payscale (CEH credential)<\/td>\n~$85,000\u2013$120,000 base; average near $95,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ZipRecruiter (Certified Ethical Hacker)<\/td>\nAverage ~$110,000; range ~$75,000\u2013$150,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Glassdoor (Ethical Hacker \/ Penetration Tester)<\/td>\nTotal pay ~$100,000\u2013$135,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EC-Council \/ industry surveys<\/td>\nCommonly cite ~$90,000\u2013$115,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Watch the gap between base salary and total compensation. Many ethical hacking roles add performance bonuses, on-call pay, and \u2014 at product companies \u2014 equity, which can lift take-home 10\u201320% above the base figures Payscale lists. When you compare offers, confirm which number each source is actually reporting.<\/p>\n

Averages also hide a wide spread. The same certification can pay $70,000 in an entry SOC seat or north of $160,000 in a senior offensive-security role, so experience and job function matter far more than the credential alone.<\/p>\n

How much does certified ethical hacker pay grow with experience?<\/h2>\n

Experience is the strongest lever on certified ethical hacker pay. Glassdoor and Payscale data consistently show earnings roughly doubling from the first job to a senior title. The bands below reflect common 2025\u20132026 US ranges across SOC, analyst, and penetration testing tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Experience level<\/th>\nTypical roles<\/th>\nReported US range<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Entry (0\u20132 yrs)<\/td>\nJunior SOC analyst, junior pen tester<\/td>\n$65,000\u2013$85,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mid (3\u20135 yrs)<\/td>\nSecurity analyst, penetration tester<\/td>\n$90,000\u2013$120,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Senior (6\u20139 yrs)<\/td>\nSenior pen tester, red team lead<\/td>\n$120,000\u2013$150,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Principal \/ Manager (10+ yrs)<\/td>\nSecurity architect, offensive-security manager<\/td>\n$150,000\u2013$185,000+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The jump from entry to mid-level is usually the fastest. Once a hacker can run engagements independently and write client-ready reports, employers pay for that autonomy \u2014 often a $20,000\u2013$35,000 step within three to five years.<\/p>\n

Titles also lag skills in this field. A self-taught hacker who lands a mid-level penetration testing seat can out-earn a peer with more years in a static SOC role. Because the work is measurable \u2014 vulnerabilities found, systems hardened \u2014 employers reward demonstrated output over tenure, which is why ambitious candidates push for hands-on roles early.<\/p>\n

Which jobs does a CEH certification fit?<\/h2>\n

CEH is a breadth credential. It signals baseline knowledge of reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, and countermeasures, which suits several defensive and offensive roles rather than one narrow path. Pay varies by how offensive and how senior the role is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Role<\/th>\nReported US pay (2025\u20132026)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
SOC analyst (Tier 1\u20132)<\/td>\n$60,000\u2013$95,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Information security analyst<\/td>\n~$112,000\u2013$120,000 (BLS median $120,360, 2023)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vulnerability analyst<\/td>\n$85,000\u2013$120,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Penetration tester<\/td>\n$90,000\u2013$140,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ethical hacker \/ red team<\/td>\n$100,000\u2013$155,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The BLS reports a $120,360 median wage for information security analysts (2023, its most recent release) and projects 33% job growth through 2033 \u2014 far above the average for all occupations. That demand underpins pay across every CEH-adjacent title.<\/p>\n

SOC analyst seats are the most common entry point and the lowest-paid of the group, but they build the detection and response fluency that later commands more. Penetration testing and red team roles sit at the top because they require offensive skill that is harder to hire and directly tied to reducing breach risk.<\/p>\n

How does location change certified ethical hacker salary?<\/h2>\n

Metro matters. The same certified ethical hacker salary can swing 30% between a low-cost inland market and a coastal tech hub. Federal and defense demand also concentrates well-paid security work around Washington, DC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
US market<\/th>\nPay vs national average<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
San Francisco Bay Area<\/td>\n+15% to +30%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New York City<\/td>\n+10% to +20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Washington, DC \/ Northern Virginia<\/td>\n+10% to +20%; dense federal & defense demand<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seattle<\/td>\n+10% to +18%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Austin \/ Dallas<\/td>\nNear national; no state income tax<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Remote (US)<\/td>\nNational to +5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Adjust for cost of living before comparing offers. A $150,000 San Francisco package can leave less take-home spending power than $120,000 in Dallas once housing and state tax are counted.<\/p>\n

Remote work has flattened some of these gaps. As more security teams hire nationally, candidates in lower-cost metros increasingly reach pay once reserved for coastal hubs \u2014 though the very top of the range still concentrates where the biggest employers and clearances sit.<\/p>\n

How does CEH pay compare with other security certifications?<\/h2>\n

Certifications signal different things to employers, and pay tends to track how hands-on and how senior each one is. The table shows rough 2025\u20132026 US averages reported by Payscale, ZipRecruiter, and salary surveys for professionals holding each credential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Certification<\/th>\nFocus<\/th>\nReported US average<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
CompTIA Security+<\/td>\nEntry baseline<\/td>\n$75,000\u2013$95,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CEH (EC-Council)<\/td>\nBroad ethical hacking<\/td>\n$90,000\u2013$115,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CompTIA CySA+<\/td>\nBlue-team analysis<\/td>\n$85,000\u2013$105,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OSCP (OffSec)<\/td>\nHands-on offensive<\/td>\n$100,000\u2013$130,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CISSP ((ISC)\u00b2)<\/td>\nSenior \/ management<\/td>\n$120,000\u2013$150,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Read these as correlations with career stage, not causation. CISSP pays more largely because it targets experienced managers, not because it teaches hacking. CEH sits in the middle \u2014 above entry baselines, below senior management credentials \u2014 which matches its role as a mid-career ethical hacking foundation.<\/p>\n

CEH vs OSCP: which certification pays more?<\/h2>\n

This is the pay question ethical hackers ask most, and the honest answer is that the two credentials serve different buyers. CEH, from EC-Council, is broad and multiple-choice; OSCP, from OffSec, is a 24-hour hands-on exam that requires actually compromising machines.<\/p>\n