Entry-level Network Administrator salary in Washington, DC

Based on 78 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Herndon, Ashburn, Germantown, Reston, Arlington.

Also listed as: Systems Administrator

Median salary$84,000
Middle 50%$80.9k–$93.7k
vs. all levels here−20%comparison median $104,450
Filings78FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $78,223 and $324,790.
PercentileSalary
10th$79,186
25th$80,928
50th (median)$84,000
75th$93,698
90th$104,266

Salary by year

Median salary

$60k $75k $90k FY2020: median $70,600 (61 filings) FY2021: median $69,395 (44 filings) FY2022: median $72,531 (32 filings) FY2023: median $78,603 (27 filings) FY2024: median $79,346 (38 filings) FY2025: median $83,830 (43 filings) FY2026: median $84,000 (35 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 61 filings FY20 FY2021: 44 filings FY21 FY2022: 32 filings FY22 FY2023: 27 filings FY23 FY2024: 38 filings FY24 FY2025: 43 filings FY25 FY2026: 35 filings FY26 61
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$70,600$67,000$83,00061
FY2021$69,395$67,038$86,43244
FY2022$72,531$66,685$88,02032
FY2023$78,603$72,197$88,01527
FY2024$79,346$78,603$89,00038
FY2025$83,830$79,188$93,63043
FY2026$84,000$83,470$93,66535

Cost of living

Washington's median entry-level Network Administrator salary of $84,000 is worth about $77,100 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Washington = 108.9).

Compared with all workers here

All Network and Computer Systems Administrators in the Washington, DC area earned a median of $125,430 in May 2025 (9,920 employed). The H-1B median here is $84,000, 33% lower.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Amazon$98,80011
Hughes Network Systemstoo few9
Copperconetoo few2
St Theresa Nurselinktoo few2
Unisystoo few2
Vision ITtoo few2

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $84,000 78
Mid-level · Level II $104,083 222
Senior · Level III $124,717 57
Expert · Level IV $145,333 51

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$79,186$84,00078
Mid-level · Level II$104,083$104,083222
Senior · Level III$124,717$124,71757
Expert · Level IV$145,330$145,33351

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.