The salary of a Systems Administrator I in the United States varies depending on several factors, including experience, location, education level, marketing trend and company sizes.
As of May 01, 2025, the average hourly pay of Systems Administrator I in the United States is $35. While Salary.com is seeing that the highest pay for Systems Administrator I in the US can go up to $41 and the lowest down to $28, but most earn between $31 and $38. Salary.com shows the average base salary (core compensation), as well as the average total cash compensation for the job of Systems Administrator I in the United States.
| Annual Salary |
Monthly Pay |
Weekly Pay |
Hourly Wage |
|
| 75th Percentile | $38 | $3 | $1 | $0 |
| Average | $35 | $3 | $1 | $0 |
| 25th Percentile | $31 | $3 | $1 | $0 |
As of May 01, 2025, Salary.com is seeing that an entry-level Systems Administrator I with under 1 year experience makes about $72,136. With less than 2 years of experience, a mid-level Systems Administrator I makes around $72,917. After 2-4 years, the Systems Administrator I pay rises to about $74,318. Those senior Systems Administrator I with 5-8 years of experience earn roughly $74,598, and those Systems Administrator I having 8 years or more experience is expected to earn about $74,785 on average.
| Levels | Salary |
|---|---|
| Entry Level Systems Administrator I | $72,136 |
| Intermediate Level Systems Administrator I | $72,917 |
| Senior Level Systems Administrator I | $74,318 |
| Specialist Level Systems Administrator I | $74,598 |
| Expert Level Systems Administrator I | $74,785 |
| Entry Level | 1% |
| Mid Level | 0% |
| Senior Level | 2% |
| Top Level | 3% |
| Experienced | 3% |
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from state to state due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of May 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Systems Administrator I is $80,221 in California and in Massachusetts, the average annual salary goes to $79,152. While in New Jersey, a Systems Administrator I earns $78,832 per year.
What Am I Worth?
Salaries in the United States can vary significantly from city to city due to a multitude of factors, including cost of living, local economic conditions, and industry presence.
For example, as of May 01, 2025, the average yearly salary of Systems Administrator I in San Francisco, CA is $90,832 and in New York, NY, the average annual salary goes to $84,287. While a Systems Administrator I earns $81,116 per year in Boston, MA.
For those exploring the changing dynamics of Systems Administrator I salaries, Salary.com offers detailed insights through our Job Trending in CA Labor Market analysis. As of May 01, 2025, our research highlights a notable shift in Systems Administrator I compensation over the past six years. For instance, the median salary has moved from $64,354 in 2023 to about $63,587 in 2024 (for a comprehensive analysis of Systems Administrator I salary trends, click here). It's crucial to consider several elements, including geographical location, experience level, industry demand, and economic development, as they play a significant role in influencing salary variations.
Salary.com job board provides millions of Systems Administrator I information for you to search for. Click on search button below to see Systems Administrator I job openings or enter a new job title here.
Here are companies hiring for Systems Administrator I and their salaries, click below for more details.
| Core Compensation | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Base Salary | $72,730 | 67.3% | ||
| Bonus | $3,033 | 2.8% | ||
| Value of Benefits | ||||
| Core Compensation | Median | % of Total | ||
| Social Security | $5,796 | 5.4% | ||
| 401K/403B | $3,182 | 2.9% | ||
| Disability | $1,515 | 1.4% | ||
| Healthcare | $8,352 | 7.7% | ||
| Pension | $4,091 | 3.8% | ||
| Time Off | $9,325 | 8.6% | ||
| Total Compensation | $108,025 | 100% | ||
Maintains and supports the integrity of the operating system environment and various computer systems. Performs systems maintenance tasks, such as system back-up, recovery, and file maintenance to promote uptime and efficient performance. Acquires, installs, and tests system software upgrades and computer components. Configures software and resolves technical problems. Maintains documentation of IT infrastructure and troubleshooting procedures. Requires a bachelor's degree. Typically reports to a manager. Work is closely managed. Works on projects/matters of limited complexity in a support role. Typically requires 0-2 years of related experience.
Specify the abilities and skills that a person needs in order to carry out the specified job duties. Each competency has five to ten behavioral assertions that can be observed, each with a corresponding performance level (from one to five) that is required for a particular job.
Troubleshooting: Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes on a machine or a system. It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem in order to solve it, and make the product or process operational again. Troubleshooting is needed to identify the symptoms. Determining the most likely cause is a process of elimination—eliminating potential causes of a problem. Finally, troubleshooting requires confirmation that the solution restores the product or process to its working state. In general, troubleshooting is the identification or diagnosis of "trouble" in the management flow of a system caused by a failure of some kind. The problem is initially described as symptoms of malfunction, and troubleshooting is the process of determining and remedying the causes of these symptoms. A system can be described in terms of its expected, desired or intended behavior (usually, for artificial systems, its purpose). Events or inputs to the system are expected to generate specific results or outputs. (For example, selecting the "print" option from various computer applications is intended to result in a hardcopy emerging from some specific device). Any unexpected or undesirable behavior is a symptom. Troubleshooting is the process of isolating the specific cause or causes of the symptom. Frequently the symptom is a failure of the product or process to produce any results. (Nothing was printed, for example). Corrective action can then be taken to prevent further failures of a similar kind.
Azure: Microsoft Azure, often referred to as Azure, is a cloud computing service operated by Microsoft for application management via Microsoft-managed data centers.
Futures: Futures are derivative financial contracts obligating the buyer to purchase an asset or the seller to sell an asset at a predetermined future date and set price.
