Database Administrator Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 2,903 US job postings by 911 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for database administrators: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 2,903 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for database administrators in US job postings is $133,000 a year (519 postings from 233 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $112,000 to $151,000.
- The skills that most set database administrator postings apart are performance tuning, SQL Server, PostgreSQL.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 5 years of experience.
Database Administrator job postings in the US, October 2026
- $133,000
- Median advertised pay (519 postings)
- $112,000–$151,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 2,903
- US job postings from 911 employers
- 5 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a database administrator make?
The median advertised pay is $133,000 a year, from 519 US job postings by 233 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $179,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 519 US database administrator job postings: median $133,000 a year, middle half $112,000 to $151,000.
- Median: $133,000
- 25th percentile: $112,000
- 75th percentile: $151,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $30K–$40K | 0.5% |
| $40K–$50K | 0.5% |
| $50K–$60K | 0.7% |
| $60K–$70K | 1.2% |
| $70K–$80K | 3.3% |
| $80K–$90K | 4.8% |
| $90K–$100K | 6.4% |
| $100K–$110K | 5.5% |
| $110K–$120K | 10.7% |
| $120K–$130K | 12.4% |
| $130K–$140K | 15.3% |
| $140K–$150K | 12.4% |
| $150K–$160K | 7.2% |
| $160K–$170K | 3.8% |
| $170K–$180K | 5.7% |
| $180K–$190K | 2.9% |
| $190K–$200K | 1.4% |
| $200K–$210K | 1.2% |
| $210K–$220K | 1.9% |
| $220K–$230K | 1.4% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an annual salary | $135,000 | $117K–$151K | 341 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $133,000 | $112K–$151K | 519 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Database Administrators (15-1242) at $105,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a database administrator?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Database administrator levels and pay
Levels as they appear in job titles, ordered by the median experience asked.
| Level in title | Share of postings | Median experience asked | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| No level in title | 86.3% | 5 years | $130,000 |
| Senior | 10.8% | 5 years | – |
Highest-paying database administrator jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Database Administrator (general) | $134,000 | 377 | 167 |
Skills employers ask for in database administrator job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 27% |
| SQL | 23% |
| Oracle | 19% |
| PostgreSQL | 18% |
| SQL Server | 17% |
| Analytical skills | 17% |
| Performance tuning | 17% |
| Python | 16% |
| Problem-solving | 16% |
| MySQL | 13% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set database administrators apart
- Performance tuning105.8× as often as in all postings · 17%
- SQL Server58.3× as often as in all postings · 17%
- PostgreSQL41.2× as often as in all postings · 18%
- Oracle29.8× as often as in all postings · 19%
- SQL12.6× as often as in all postings · 23%
- MySQL50.8× as often as in all postings · 13%
- Pl/sql111.9× as often as in all postings · 10%
- Database administration247.2× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Microsoft sql server97× as often as in all postings · 8%
- Query optimization106.8× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Database design91.4× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Python5× as often as in all postings · 16%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a database administrator job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a database administrator do?
Employers post these jobs as Database Engineer, Database Developer, Oracle DBA, DBA, Senior Database Administrator and other titles. The largest specializations are SQL Developer (26%), Oracle Database Administrator (14%), Database Reliability Engineer (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Database Administrators (15-1242.00). Its most important tasks:
- 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.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a database administrator?
Among 1,484 postings that state a minimum, the median is 5 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 7% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,484 US database administrator job postings: median 5 years, and 7% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 1% |
| 1 yr | 6% |
| 2 yrs | 11% |
| 3-4 yrs | 28% |
| 5-7 yrs | 36% |
| 8-9 yrs | 9% |
| 10+ yrs | 9% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Other names for a database administrator: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Database Administrator | 229 (25.1%) |
| Database Engineer | 129 (14.2%) |
| Database Developer | 81 (8.9%) |
| Oracle DBA | 77 (8.5%) |
| DBA | 68 (7.5%) |
| Senior Database Administrator | 64 (7.0%) |
| SQL DBA | 55 (6.0%) |
| Database Architect | 45 (4.9%) |
| Oracle Database Administrator | 41 (4.5%) |
| Database Analyst | 41 (4.5%) |
| SQL Server DBA | 39 (4.3%) |
| SQL Database Administrator | 39 (4.3%) |
| DB2 DBA | 27 (3.0%) |
| Senior Database Engineer | 27 (3.0%) |
| MySQL DBA | 22 (2.4%) |
| Database Admin | 20 (2.2%) |
| SQL Server Database Administrator | 18 (2.0%) |
| Sr. Database Administrator | 17 (1.9%) |
| Database Administration | 16 (1.8%) |
| Senior Database Developer | 16 (1.8%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Database Administrator compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Database Administrator | $133K | 5 years | 2,903 | – |
| Data Engineer | $145K | 4 years | 6,394 | 10 |
| Solutions Architect | $175K | 5 years | 7,307 | 10 |
| Software Engineer | $164K | 4 years | 66,571 | 9 |
| DevOps Engineer | $152K | 5 years | 7,274 | 9 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Data Engineer | 10 | $145K |
| Solutions Architect | 10 | $175K |
| Software Engineer | 9 | $164K |
| DevOps Engineer | 9 | $152K |
| Data Analyst | 9 | $112K |
| Systems Administrator | 11 | $125K |
Applying for database administrator jobs?
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a database administrator make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 20 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.