While chief information security officers in the U.S. make an average of $584,000, up from $509,000 last year, their pay varies widely depending on their industry, according to an annual CISO survey by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.
Here is the average total cash compensation (base and bonus) by sector, the survey of 227 U.S. CISOs in the spring of 2022 found:
1. Financial services or fintech: $847,000
2. Consumer, retail, media: $656,000
3. Technology and telecoms: $551,000
4. Healthcare, biotech, life sciences: $546,000
5. Other: $474,000
6. Industrial, manufacturing, energy: $441,000