Average SecurityX (CASP+) salary [2025 update]

Formerly known as the CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner, or CASP+, the newly rebranded SecurityX is an advanced-level security certification that certifies roughly 10 years of hands-on practical experience. While the name is changing, the exam itself is largely remaining the same; it’s still an expert-level cybersecurity certification for security architects and senior security engineers responsible for improving an enterprise’s cybersecurity readiness. Ideal for mid-career professionals, SecurityX certification holders typically can garner a high salary, great bonus package and major overall compensation with this highly valuable stamp of recognition. 

Several certifications are common prerequisites to this point in your professional journey, such as the CompTIA Security+, CySA+, or something more specialized like the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). For more information on certifications leading up to SecurityX, take a look at our Cybersecurity certifications and skills roadmap, an eBook covering popular certifications like SecurityX, and how you can use these certs to help shape your ideal career path. 

What is SecurityX? 

The 2025 SecurityX exam is a hands-on, performance-based certification for advanced practitioners (not managers) of cybersecurity. It covers security architecture and engineering, and it is one of the only certifications to qualify technical leaders to assess cyber readiness and design and implement the proper solutions. It’s also compliant with ISO/ANSI 17024 standards. 

SecurityX exam covers: 

• Technical skills for on-premises, cloud-native and hybrid environments 

• Risk and compliance skills 

• Assessing an enterprise’s cybersecurity readiness 

• Leading technical teams to implement enterprise-wide cybersecurity solutions 

As of June 17, 2025, the previous version of the SecurityX exam, the CAS-004 will no longer be available, and the CAS-005 exam will fully replace the exam. While the exam content is not changing dramatically, different domains will receive different weights as the cybersecurity industry landscape changes. 

Overall, the SecurityX certification verifies the following knowledge and skills: 

• Architecting, engineering, integrating and implementing secure solutions across complex environments 

• Utilize monitoring, detection, incident response and automation to support ongoing security operations proactively 

• Apply security practices to cloud, premise, endpoint and mobile infrastructure 

• Utilizing cryptographic technologies and techniques 

• Consider governance, risk and compliance requirements throughout the organization 

SecurityX average salary 

The average SecurityX depends on a variety of factors like industry, job title, career and location; however, the average salary of a SecurityX practitioner is $165,661 in the U.S. For example, security professionals in healthcare versus retail have different salaries; for example, a healthcare cybersecurity analyst makes roughly $132,962 per year. 

SecurityX common job titles 

As the SecurityX exam covers security architecture, security operations, governance and risk, and security engineering and cryptography, there is a wide variety of job titles for CompTIA SecurityX practitioners. Job titles include: 

• Security architect 

• Systems administrator 

• Information security manager 

• Senior security consultant 

• Cybersecurity engineer 

• SOC manager 

• Cyber risk analyst 

• Chief Information Security Officer 

Average salary for SecurityX based on job title 

SecurityX salary can broadly vary depending on a number of variables, but below are the average salaries from standard job titles. 

• Security architect: $164,144 per year (Glassdoor) 

• Systems administrator: $86,216 per year (Glassdoor) 

• Information security manager: $148,405 per year (Glassdoor) 

• Senior security consultant: $144,575 per year (Glassdoor) 

• Cybersecurity engineer: $122,890 per year (ZipRecruiter) 

• SOC manager: $153,939 per year (Glassdoor) 

• Cyber risk analyst: $99,400 per year (ZipRecruiter) 

• Chief Information Security Officer: $235,549 per year (Glassdoor) 

SecurityX average salary based on city 

Different job roles with the SecurityX certification vary the most based on geographic location. Large metropolitan cities typically pay the highest salaries but also have a higher cost of living and taxes. Remote roles might have a lower salary, but professionals can choose where they live and potentially have a lower cost of living. 

According to ZipRecruiter, the highest paying cities for SecurityX professionals are in California – Berkeley, Palo Alto, San Francisco and San Jose. This makes sense because of the variety of technology companies in northern California. 

Take a look at a few other average SecurityX salaries based on city: 

• Security architect in San Francisco, California: $186,101 per year; +21% higher than the national average (Glassdoor) 

• Cybersecurity engineer in Chicago, Illinois: $127,301 per year; 3.6% higher than the national average (Glassdoor) 

• SOC manager in Austin, Texas: $91,541 per year (Glassdoor) 

• Cyber risk analyst in Atlanta, Georgia: $95,589 per year (ZipRecruiter) 

As you can see, location can have the greatest impact on salary. SecurityX certification holders in major technology hubs and big cities make significantly more than those in suburban areas. 

Look at the security architects’ salaries across multiple cities around the U.S.: 

• Security architects in Tampa, Florida: $141,137 per year 

• Security architects in New York City: $165,569 per year 

• Security architects in Los Angeles, California: $169,361 per year 

• Security architects in Seattle, Washington: $164,493 per year 

SecurityX salary based upon job experience level 

In addition, different job titles vary based on different levels of experience. As the SecurityX exam validates almost a decade of security experience, various levels of seniority affect salaries. While more experience does offer more pay, it’s not as impactful of a variable as something like geographic location or industry. 

Between 1-4 years of experience: $84,901 

Between 5-9 years of experience: $90,0077