Occupation salary profile

Database Administrators

SOC 15-1242 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Administer, test, and implement computer databases, applying knowledge of database management systems. Coordinate changes to computer databases. Identify, investigate, and resolve database performance issues, database capacity, and database scalability. May plan, coordinate, and implement security measures to safeguard computer databases. Excludes “Information Security Analysts” (15-1212) and “Database Architects” (15-1243).

National median · BLS
$104,620
▲ +0% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$110,864
▼ -0.75% YoY · 6,077 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$110,090
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
69,990
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 Database Administrators

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 6,077 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$60,230$77,200
25th$79,610$89,586
Median (50th)$104,620$110,864
75th$135,460$138,112
90th — top pay$163,320$167,190
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $110,864 for Database Administrators — 6% above the BLS national median of $104,620.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Database Administrators

BLS projects employment of database administrators to decline 0.1% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%. About 3,300 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
75,000 → 74,900
-100 jobs
Projected change
-0.1%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
3,300
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
1.8% 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-declining 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 $110,864
Change vs prior year -0.75%
After inflation (CPI-U) -3.76%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 829 13.6% $66,000 $73,100 $85,000
Level II 3,009 49.5% $89,336 $99,840 $124,800
Level III 1,127 18.5% $112,160 $127,171 $159,512
Level IV 1,004 16.5% $133,869 $145,000 $169,958
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Database Administrators

The 33 most-filed job titles inside SOC 15-1242, from 6,077 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
Database Administrator 2,780 45.75% $90,000 $116,905 $146,338 +6.08%
Data Engineer 424 6.98% $87,381 $104,660 $134,526 -19.49%
Database Engineer 180 2.96% $82,750 $94,000 $124,960 -22.32%
Data Analyst 116 1.91% $79,375 $89,586 $100,193 +1.61%
Infrastructure Consultant 79 1.3% $84,011 $89,336 $91,062 —
Oracle Database Administrator 77 1.27% $88,608 $95,846 $118,498 +2.81%
Manager generic 70 1.15% $105,352 $113,859 $125,008 +0%
Support Engineer 62 1.02% $91,228 $100,346 $120,184 -4.61%
Database Analyst 53 0.87% $68,500 $87,173 $91,000 -3.14%
Database Developer 51 0.84% $86,180 $97,885 $107,500 +1.02%
Associate generic 43 0.71% $86,091 $91,062 $96,616 +0.75%
Technical Support Engineer 30 0.49% $79,849 $103,501 $122,229 +8.65%
Lead Database Administrator 28 0.46% $131,102 $136,870 $147,444 +4.19%
Oracle DBA 28 0.46% $90,000 $95,035 $110,000 +2.27%
Salesforce Administrator 28 0.46% $95,035 $108,338 $127,601 -0.3%
Solution Specialist 27 0.44% $81,328 $102,000 $129,350 -8.44%
Software Engineer 26 0.43% $94,874 $119,789 $137,602 -20.76%
Principal Database Administrator 24 0.39% $129,156 $136,448 $151,188 +19.45%
SAP Basis Administrator 21 0.35% $94,160 $115,000 $143,218 +1%
Application Database Administrator 20 0.33% $94,151 $107,983 $121,274 -2.11%
SQL Database Administrator 19 0.31% $84,850 $95,035 $103,500 +0.62%
SQL Server DBA 17 0.28% $95,100 $100,500 $123,136 +11.64%
Cloud Engineer 16 0.26% $103,000 $116,000 $136,348 -14.61%
Consultant generic 16 0.26% $94,588 $112,200 $125,000 +3.22%
SQL Server Database Administrator 15 0.25% $97,518 $104,000 $110,076 +1.73%
Systems Engineer 13 0.21% $87,381 $118,250 $127,300 -15.35%
Systems Administrator 13 0.21% $75,000 $100,755 $120,245 +7.24%
Oracle Apps DBA 13 0.21% $87,173 $115,000 $120,000 -1.03%
System Administrator 11 0.18% $86,590 $92,560 $109,080 —
Site Reliability Engineer 11 0.18% $108,332 $134,368 $159,460 +5.08%
Data Governance Analyst 11 0.18% $93,246 $97,760 $99,920 -2.24%
Azure Data Engineer 10 0.16% $81,250 $87,173 $101,234 —
Systems Analyst 10 0.16% $103,250 $115,250 $119,541 —

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 Database Administrators

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
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Active Listening3.8
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.8
  • Reading Comprehension3.8
  • Active Learning3.5
  • Programming3.4
  • Speaking3.4
  • Monitoring3.3
  • Writing3.3
Top knowledge areas
  • Computers and Electronics4.8
  • English Language4.0
  • Customer and Personal Service3.9
  • Mathematics3.5
  • Telecommunications3.5
  • Engineering and Technology3.5
  • Administration and Management3.1
  • Education and Training3.1
Software and technology used
Amazon RedshiftAmazon Web Services AWS softwareApache AirflowApache HadoopApache KafkaApache SparkAtlassian JIRAGitGitHubIBM TerraformInformatica softwareKubernetesLinuxMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft Azure softwareMicrosoft Power BIMicrosoft PowerShellMicrosoft SQL Server

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 database administrators do

  • Modify existing databases and database management systems or direct programmers and analysts to make changes.
  • Plan, coordinate, and implement security measures to safeguard information in computer files against accidental or unauthorized damage, modification or disclosure.
  • Plan and install upgrades of database management system software to enhance database performance.
  • Specify users and user access levels for each segment of database.
  • Test changes to database applications or systems.
  • Test programs or databases, correct errors, and make necessary modifications.
  • Train users and answer questions.
  • Provide technical support to junior staff or clients.
Also called
Database Administration ManagerDatabase Administrator (DBA)Database AnalystSystems Administrator (Systems Admin)Database CoordinatorDatabase EngineerDatabase ManagerDevelopment and Database Administration ManagerIS Admin (Information Systems Administrator)
More job titles for this occupation (31)
Administrator (Admin)Automatic Data Processing Planner (ADP Planner)Cyber Database Administrator (Cyber DBA)Data Administrator (Data Admin)Data EngineerData Management AssociateData Management IT Specialist (Data Management Information Technology Specialist)Data MinerData Recovery PlannerData Security AdministratorData Storage SpecialistDatabase Administration AssociateDatabase Design AnalystDatabase DeveloperDatabase Management System Specialist (DBMS Specialist)Database ProgrammerDatabase Security AdministratorDatabase Software Technician (Database Software Tech)Database SpecialistDatabase Technician (Database Tech)Database TesterDatabases Computer ConsultantDatabases Software ConsultantETL Developer (Extract, Transform and Load Developer)Information Technology Administrator (IT Administrator)Internet Database SpecialistIS Security Manager (Information Systems Security Manager)Picture Archiving and Communication Systems Administrator (PACS Administrator)Security AdministratorSQL DBA (Structured Query Language Database Administrator)Systems Tester Admin (Systems Tester Administrator)

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.