Salary report · 2026 to date
QA & Testing jobs in United States advertised a median of $118K a year in 2026 (middle half $99K–$151K), from 227 job postings on JobRipe. Figures come only from pay ranges employers published; estimates are never counted.
Number of postings by yearly midpoint. The first and last bands also hold the lowest and highest 5%.
Every row rests on at least 5 postings; groups with fewer are left out.
| Level | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internship | $50K – $58K | $52K | $25.00 | 7 |
| Entry level | $92K – $103K | $98K | $46.88 | 10 |
| Mid level | $96K – $129K | $112K | $53.81 | 124 |
| Senior | $128K – $185K | $152K | $73.28 | 46 |
| Staff/Principal | $150K – $225K | $156K | $74.76 | 9 |
| Manager | $107K – $185K | $143K | $68.51 | 27 |
| Workplace | Middle half (yearly) |
|---|
JobRipe, "What QA & Testing jobs pay in the United States, 2026", https://jobripe.com/salary-reports/2026/us/qa (23 October 2026).
Journalists and researchers are welcome to quote these figures with a link to this page. Questions about the data: support@jobripe.com
The median advertised pay is $118K a year (about $56.49 an hour), from 227 job postings on JobRipe that published a pay range between 27 January 2026 and 23 October 2026. Half of them fall between $99K and $151K.
One in ten postings advertised $185K a year or more; one in ten advertised $74K or less.
By median advertised pay, among cities with enough postings: Sunnyvale $150K; San Diego $148K; Long Beach $136K; Hawthorne $119K.
Median advertised pay is $118K for remote postings (65) and $118K for on-site ones (161). Remote and on-site roles also differ in seniority and employer, so this is not a like-for-like comparison.
| Median |
|---|
| ≈ hourly |
|---|
| Postings |
|---|
| On-site | $104K – $150K | $118K | $56.49 | 161 |
| Remote | $91K – $150K | $118K | $56.49 | 65 |
| City | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach | $132K – $185K | $136K | $65.38 | 23 |
| Hawthorne | $114K – $135K | $119K | $57.09 | 22 |
| Redmond | $108K – $115K | $109K | $52.28 | 11 |
| San Diego | $125K – $170K | $148K | $71.20 | 7 |
| Sunnyvale | $103K – $175K | $150K | $72.12 | 5 |
| Company | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | $109K – $123K | $115K | $55.29 | 37 |
| Rocket Lab Corporation | $107K – $172K | $134K | $64.21 | 17 |
| Relativity Space | $133K – $185K | $136K | $65.38 | 11 |
| Dexcom | $125K – $160K | $141K | $67.88 | 8 |
| Defense Contract Management Agency | $95K – $115K | $106K | $50.83 | 8 |
| Bright Vision Technologies | $123K – $125K | $124K | $59.50 | 6 |
| Applied | $103K – $168K | $150K | $72.12 | 5 |
| Motional | $114K – $146K | $146K | $70.19 | 5 |
| Company size | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-size | $103K – $181K | $146K | $70.19 | 15 |
| Large | $116K – $178K | $138K | $66.11 | 64 |
| Enterprise | $108K – $143K | $115K | $55.29 | 65 |
| Industry | Middle half (yearly) | Median | ≈ hourly | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware | $93K – $148K | $132K | $63.46 | 15 |
| Health | $89K – $125K | $104K | $49.81 | 7 |