Occupation salary profile

Computer Network Architects

SOC 15-1241 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Design and implement computer and information networks, such as local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), intranets, extranets, and other data communications networks. Perform network modeling, analysis, and planning, including analysis of capacity needs for network infrastructures. May also design network and computer security measures. May research and recommend network and data communications hardware and software. Excludes “Information Security Analysts” (15-1212), “Computer Network Support Specialists” (15-1231), and “Network and Computer Systems Administrators” (15-1244).

National median · BLS
$134,050
▲ +2.81% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$140,000
▲ +5.26% YoY · 2,034 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$139,580
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
179,740
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Computer Network Architects

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 2,034 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$79,900$102,329
25th$104,620$116,000
Median (50th)$134,050$140,000
75th$168,200$166,500
90th — top pay$202,680$194,600
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $140,000 for Computer Network Architects — 4.4% above the BLS national median of $134,050.

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Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Computer Network Architects

BLS projects employment of computer network architects to grow 7.7% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 9,600 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
181,800 → 195,800
+14,100 jobs
Projected change
+7.7%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
9,600
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Plus 5 years or more experience
Self-employed
0.4% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $140,000
Change vs prior year +5.26%
After inflation (CPI-U) +2.07%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 212 10.4% $91,458 $100,400 $117,166
Level II 777 38.2% $113,714 $125,091 $142,200
Level III 449 22.1% $138,798 $156,000 $183,618
Level IV 397 19.5% $159,510 $176,322 $201,573
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Computer Network Architects

The 27 most-filed job titles inside SOC 15-1241, from 2,034 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Network Engineer 381 18.73% $110,614 $124,800 $152,000 +7.36%
Network Development Engineer 113 5.56% $142,200 $162,100 $175,000 +5.56%
Cloud Network Engineering 57 2.8% $166,320 $184,800 $196,155 +4.67%
Network Architect 56 2.75% $113,792 $128,846 $155,000 +3.08%
Solutions Architect 49 2.41% $132,585 $154,315 $164,000 +8.11%
Computer Network Architect 37 1.82% $105,186 $125,000 $143,520 +7.93%
Network Developer 35 1.72% $121,678 $138,195 $147,347 +4.14%
Principal Engineer 31 1.52% $127,000 $161,158 $162,482 +0.98%
Solution Architect 30 1.47% $109,049 $134,597 $150,828 -12.23%
Network Security Engineer 29 1.43% $107,141 $129,293 $150,446 +10.04%
Site Reliability Engineer 21 1.03% $118,560 $150,000 $154,648 -3.23%
Infrastructure Engineer 19 0.93% $98,238 $129,293 $148,344 +3.35%
Customer Delivery Architect 15 0.74% $162,500 $166,500 $176,100 +10.42%
Network Implementation Engineer 14 0.69% $119,250 $140,500 $148,500 +16.12%
Systems Engineer 14 0.69% $97,032 $116,838 $134,347 +4.9%
Technical Support Engineer 14 0.69% $111,460 $118,144 $126,747 +11.02%
Software Engineer 14 0.69% $111,197 $121,846 $151,472 +1.54%
Engineer generic 13 0.64% $110,000 $121,846 $125,739 +0.3%
Manager generic 12 0.59% $117,146 $124,004 $148,998 -8.64%
Solutions Engineer 12 0.59% $125,625 $149,400 $165,446 —
Network Production Engineer 12 0.59% $150,128 $184,258 $189,053 +1.24%
DevOps Engineer 11 0.54% $112,857 $128,211 $141,594 —
Technical Project Manager 11 0.54% $143,000 $146,719 $157,830 —
Architect generic 10 0.49% $168,412 $185,000 $190,000 +45.61%
Principal Network Engineer 10 0.49% $149,820 $153,390 $166,531 +3.11%
Cloud Engineer 10 0.49% $114,115 $128,888 $134,946 +19.89%
Technical Architect 10 0.49% $133,325 $155,772 $169,428 +5.69%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Computer Network Architects

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Critical Thinking4.1
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Programming3.9
  • Systems Evaluation3.9
  • Active Listening3.8
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.8
  • Systems Analysis3.8
  • Writing3.6
  • Coordination3.5
Top knowledge areas
  • Computers and Electronics4.7
  • Engineering and Technology4.3
  • Telecommunications4.3
  • English Language3.8
  • Education and Training3.3
  • Design3.2
  • Customer and Personal Service3.1
  • Mathematics3.0
Software and technology used
Amazon Web Services AWS softwareAnsible softwareBorder Gateway Protocol BGPIBM TerraformLinuxMicrosoft Azure softwareMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft PowerShellOracle JavaPythonStructured query language SQLFirewall softwareAdobe After EffectsAJAXAmazon DynamoDBAmazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2Amazon Redshift

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What computer network architects do

  • Develop disaster recovery plans.
  • Develop or recommend network security measures, such as firewalls, network security audits, or automated security probes.
  • Develop and implement solutions for network problems.
  • Maintain networks by performing activities such as file addition, deletion, or backup.
  • Coordinate network operations, maintenance, repairs, or upgrades.
  • Coordinate installation of new equipment.
  • Monitor and analyze network performance and reports on data input or output to detect problems, identify inefficient use of computer resources, or perform capacity planning.
  • Develop network-related documentation.
Also called
Computer Network TechnologistNetwork AnalystSolutions ArchitectSystems EngineerNetwork ConsultantNetwork Systems ConsultantNetworking Systems EngineerSystem ProgrammerWAN Engineer (Wide Area Network Engineer)Wireless Network Engineer
Specialties within this occupation
  • Telecommunications Engineering Specialists
More job titles for this occupation (59)
Cloud ArchitectCloud Network EngineerCommunications AnalystCommunications EngineerCommunications Infrastructure EngineerCommunications Network EngineerCommunications Systems EngineerCommunications Systems Technician (Communications Systems Tech)Computer Network AnalystComputer Network EngineerData Communications AnalystElectrical Design EngineerEngineerEnterprise ArchitectInfrastructure EngineerInternetworking Technician (Internetworking Tech)IT Analyst (Information Technology Analyst)IT Network Engineer (Information Technology Network Engineer)Multimedia Telecommunications Systems IntegratorNetwork ArchitectNetwork Computer ConsultantNetwork Control AnalystNetwork Control Analyst AssistantNetwork DesignerNetwork DeveloperNetwork EngineerNetwork Operations Analyst (Network Ops Analyst)Network Operations Specialist (Network Ops Specialist)Network Security AnalystNetwork Security Systems AnalystNetwork SpecialistNetwork Systems AnalystNetwork Systems EngineerNetwork Systems IntegratorNetworking EngineerNetworking SpecialistNOC Engineer (Network Operations Center Engineer)PC Network Engineer (Personal Computer Network Engineer)Platform ArchitectPrincipal Network EngineerServer EngineerSignal Operations Support Specialist (Signal Ops Support Specialist)Solutions EngineerTarget Network AnalystTelecommunication Design Engineer (Telecom Design Engineer)Telecommunication Engineer (Telecom Engineer)Telecommunications Administrator (Telecommunications Admin)Telecommunications Analyst (Telecom Analyst)Telecommunications Consultant (Telecom Consultant)Telecommunications Engineer (Telecom Engineer)Telecommunications Management Specialist (Telecom Management Specialist)Telecommunications Network EngineerTelecommunications Network Technician (Telecom Network Tech)Telecommunications Operator (Telecom Operator)Telecommunications Specialist (Telecom Specialist)Telecommunications Systems EngineerUnified Communications EngineerVoIP Network Engineer (Voice over Internet Protocol Network Engineer)Wireless Engineer

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.