Database Administrator.
Boston.
$128,000
median salary, 22% above the national average
$93,000 to $162,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
A Database Administrator in Boston earns a median of $128,000 in 2026. That is 22% above the national average. The range runs from $93,000 to $162,000, and where you land depends on your experience, your skills, and how well you negotiate. DBAs managing mission-critical Oracle, SQL Server, or PostgreSQL clusters for Fortune 500 companies earn the highest base salaries. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Database Administrator in Boston, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $132,370 for Database Administrators (SOC 15-1242) in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan area, based on 1,910 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$72,510
25th percentile
$96,010
Median
$132,370
75th percentile
$160,060
90th percentile
$176,570
Workers surveyed
1,910
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Database Administrators (SOC 15-1242) rather than Database Administrator specifically. The Bostonrange at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 15-1242Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $115,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$83,000
to $102,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$109,000
to $134,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$141,000
to $166,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$160,000
to $198,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $27,000 to the total package.
Base
$128,000
Equity
$14,000
Bonus
$10,000
Signing
$3,000
Estimated total: $155,000
How Boston compares.
Boston, MA
$128,000
Cost of living: 22% above average
National Average
$105,000
Boston is $23,000 above
Database Administrator salary by city.
Salary by role in Boston.
What you should know.
The Database Administrator landscape in Boston is not what most salary sites will tell you. Boston's job market is powered by world class universities, a thriving biotech corridor, and established finance and healthcare sectors. The Kendall Square area is one of the most concentrated biotech hubs globally. Tech salaries in Boston are competitive with West Coast markets, particularly for roles that intersect with life sciences, AI, and robotics. DBAs managing mission-critical Oracle, SQL Server, or PostgreSQL clusters for Fortune 500 companies earn the highest base salaries. Expertise in performance tuning, disaster recovery design, and database migration to cloud-managed services adds 15 to 20% over general administration. Financial and healthcare data compliance knowledge commands additional premiums.
Junior DBAs start at $58,000 to $75,000, progressing to mid-level at $82,000 to $115,000 within three to four years. Senior DBAs earn $120,000 to $145,000, while database architects and directors of data infrastructure reach $155,000 to $210,000 at enterprise organizations. In Boston, those numbers run higher. The cost of living here is 22% above average, and employers adjust to compete.
Base salary is not the full picture. Annual bonuses of 8 to 12% are standard, with on-call stipends adding $5,000 to $10,000. Many employers cover Oracle or Microsoft certification costs, and senior DBAs at large enterprises receive retention bonuses of $10,000 to $25,000. And on the tax side: massachusetts has a flat 5% income tax on most earnings, plus a 4% surtax on income above $1 million. There is no city income tax in Boston, keeping the total burden moderate. When someone quotes you $128,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Emphasize specialized credentials or advanced degrees. Boston employers, especially in biotech and finance, place a premium on educational pedigree and certifications. The range for Database Administrators in Boston runs from $93,000 to $162,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
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Common questions.
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