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Site Reliability Engineer Salary in Pittsburgh

2026 · Official labour data · 8 comparison cities

$80,440/yr

Last updated: September 2026 · Source: BLS OEWS · May 2025 release · series OEUM003830000000015124413

Typical range: $68,260 $102,010

Very High Confidence · 97/100

✓ Based on official government occupation survey data — not estimated.

How much does a Site Reliability Engineer make in Pittsburgh, PA?

A Site Reliability Engineer in Pittsburgh earns a median of $80,440/year (about $39/hour). Most earn between $68,260 (25th percentile) and $102,010 (75th percentile); top earners (90th percentile) make $124,020 or more — 19% below the US average. Figures are from BLS employer payroll data, not self-reports.

$59,760
Entry (P10)
$80,440
Median (P50)
$102,010
Top 25% (P75)
$124,020
Top 10% (P90)

Understanding these Site Reliability Engineer salary numbers

We report percentiles, not a single average, because pay isn't evenly spread — a handful of very high earners would drag an average upward and mislead you. Here's exactly what each figure means.

Median (P50) — $80,440

Half of Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh earn more than this and half earn less. It's the most honest "typical" salary — better than an average, which gets skewed by a few top earners.

25th percentile (P25) — $68,260

The lower end of the typical range: 75% of Site Reliability Engineers earn more than this. It's common for early-career roles or lower-cost employers. Earning below it is grounds to negotiate.

75th percentile (P75) — $102,010

Your negotiation target: only 25% of Site Reliability Engineers earn above it. Reaching P75 usually means seniority, in-demand specialisations, or simply negotiating from data. See how to negotiate.

90th percentile (P90) — $124,020

Top earners: only 10% of Site Reliability Engineers make this or more — typically senior, highly specialised, or at the best-paying employers.

Gross vs after-tax pay

These figures are gross (before tax). What actually reaches your account depends on your country, state, and deductions. Estimate your net with the take-home calculator.

National vs Pittsburgh pay

City figures apply the local market premium to BLS data, so Pittsburgh differs from the US average by -19%. A higher number isn't always better once cost of living is counted.

Hourly rate — $39/hr

The hourly figure is the annual median divided by 2,080 (40 hours × 52 weeks). If you regularly work more than 40 hours, your real hourly rate is lower than this. Convert any salary with the salary calculator.

Why this differs from Glassdoor or Payscale

Those sites publish what people say they earn (self-reports), which skew high because higher earners report more often. Our figures come from mandatory employer payroll records (BLS OEWS), so they reflect the whole market — not just a vocal subset.

How current and reliable is this number?

This page carries a confidence score of 97/100, based on the data source and coverage. US figures track the latest BLS release and refresh automatically; international figures use OECD/ILO data. See the changelog for live data freshness.

What counts as a "good" Site Reliability Engineer salary in Pittsburgh?

Around the median ($80,440) is solid and $102,010+ is strong — but "good" really depends on local costs. Check what the number is actually worth with the good-salary breakdown for Pittsburgh.

Still curious how we get these numbers? Every figure is traceable to a primary source — see the full methodology and data sources.

Cite or reuse this data

Site Reliability Engineer salary in Pittsburgh, PA: median $80,440 (P75 $102,010), per BLS OEWS via Official Salary, 2026.

Free JSON: /api/salary?job=site-reliability-engineer&city=pittsburgh — no key. API & widgets →

Key insights for Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh

✓ Reviewed by the Official Salary Data TeamUpdated September 2026Source: BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey 2026Confidence: Very HighMethodology
  • Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh earn about 19% less than the national median for the role ($80K vs $99K).
  • Cost of living in Pittsburgh runs about 8% below the US average, so $80K is worth roughly $87K at national prices.
  • After a simplified take-home estimate, $80K nets about $63K/yr — roughly $32K/yr left after typical single-person living costs here.
  • Pay climbs with seniority: a senior/staff Site Reliability Engineer reaches about $119K — a +48% step from mid-level.
Official Salary Verdict™
Typical Range

Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh typically earn $68K–$102K a year.

Market Median

The market median is $80K — half earn above, half earn below.

Top Earners

Top earners (top 10%) make $124K or more.

Above Average

Based on BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey (2026) official survey data.

Official government labour statistics (BLS OEWS)Updated monthly via BLS APIHuman-reviewed methodologyConfidence Score: 97/100Editorial policy →

Site Reliability Engineer Salary Analysis — Pittsburgh

Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh earn a median salary of $80K, which is 19% below the national median of $99K. Pittsburgh's established technology sector sustains above-average demand for this role, supporting premium compensation.

Based on BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) and employer payroll records. Figures represent the median (P50) across all experience levels in Pittsburgh.

Cost of Living Adjustment

Pittsburgh's cost of living is 8% below the US average. Your $80K salary has the equivalent purchasing power of approximately $87K in a city with average US living costs.

$80K
Nominal salary
-8%
CoL vs US avg
$87K
Real value

Salary Distribution — Pittsburgh

5-band distribution from employer payroll records

P10Entry Level
$59,760

New graduates, 0–1 yr exp

P2525th Percentile
$68,260

1–3 years experience

P50Median
$80,440

3–7 years, typical professional

P7575th Percentile
$102,010

Senior / high-performer — target

P90Top 10%
$124,020

Staff / principal / lead

Site Reliability Engineer salary chart for Pittsburgh, PA, 2026: median $80K, top 25% earn $102K+, from BLS employer payroll data
Site Reliability Engineer pay in Pittsburgh — free to share with attributionDownload chart
-19%
vs US avg
+27%
demand growth
Med
AI risk
Data Confidence
97/100A+
BLS.OEWS.2026.v2Updated Sep 2, 2026

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Official Salary Fair Pay Score™

Is $80K a good salary for Site Reliability Engineer in Pittsburgh?

Benchmarked against the official BLS wage distribution for Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh

50
$80K sits exactly at the market median

Half of Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh earn more, half earn less. Enter your own salary in the checker above to see your exact percentile against this distribution.

Bottom 10%: $60K·Median: $80K·Top 10%: $124K
Underpaid← MedianTop earner
Official · 96% confidenceSource reliability: 40/40 (BLS)

Why This Salary?

How we arrived at $80K for Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh

✓ Direct
Official BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey survey
This salary is anchored to a direct government occupational wage survey — not an estimate.
-19%
PA market level
PA pays 19% below the global baseline — lower cost of living often offsets this.
-8%
Pittsburgh metro premium
This city has a lower cost of living, reflected in typical salary ranges.
+7%
High demand for Site Reliability Engineers
27% projected job growth creates upward wage pressure.

Source: BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey. All figures reflect 2026 market conditions.

Site Reliability Engineer Salary by Experience Level in Pittsburgh

How compensation grows from entry-level through staff / lead

Experience LevelYearsPercentileAnnual SalaryMonthlyHourly
Entry00 yrs$54,699$4,558$26
Junior22 yrs$67,570$5,631$32
Mid-LevelTypical44 yrs$76,150$6,346$37
Senior66 yrs$88,162$7,347$42
Staff1010 yrs$119,051$9,921$57
Principal1414 yrs$149,297$12,441$72
Distinguished1818 yrs$156,858$13,072$75

Based on BLS OEWS percentile distribution. Actual salary depends on employer, skills, and negotiation.

Skills That Earn More — Site Reliability Engineer

Estimated premium above the Pittsburgh median based on market demand

SRE+10% ≈ +$8K/yr
Prometheus+7% ≈ +$6K/yr
Kubernetes+9% ≈ +$7K/yr
Python+6% ≈ +$5K/yr
Go+9% ≈ +$7K/yr

Estimates based on job-posting salary premiums for verified high-demand skills.

Site Reliability Engineer Intelligence Report

Career metrics and full compensation breakdown — from BLS demand data

Career Opportunity Score

Composite: demand growth × 1.4 + (100 − AI risk) × 0.4

B64/100
High RiskModerateExceptional
Demand Growth+27%/yr
AI Displacement Risk35% — Moderate
Risk-Adj. Salary Growth+3.1%/yr
Good: Solid career with steady demand. Upskill continuously to stay above automation floor.
BLS Official 10-yr OutlookMuch faster than average
+25%
Growth 2022–2032
+18K
New jobs projected
$86K
In 2 yrs
$94K
In 5 yrs
$110K
In 10 yrs

Total Compensation — Site Reliability Engineer

Beyond base salary: bonus, equity, and benefits

Total Comp Range
$125K$138K
per year
Base (61%)Bonus (10%)Equity (15%)Benefits (13%)
Base Salary
Median market rate
$80,440
Annual Bonus
Typical: 8–25% of base
$13,273
Equity (annualised)
~25% of base — RSUs/options
$20,110
Benefits Value
~22% — healthcare, 401k, PTO
$17,697
Total Comp (mid)
$131,520

Bonus, equity, and benefits are modelled estimates from category norms (not scraped from any single employer); base is BLS. Actual total comp varies by employer, level, and negotiation.

Typical Benefits for Site Reliability Engineers

— show

Often adds 20–35% to your effective pay

Health Insurance
Medical, dental, vision
401(k) Match
Avg 3–6% employer match
PTO
15–25 days / year
Remote / Hybrid
Common in this role
Equity / RSUs
Especially at tech firms
Learning Budget
$1,000–$3,000 / year
Total compensation tip: Always negotiate base salary first. Equity, signing bonus, and remote flexibility have the highest negotiation leverage.

Compare Site Reliability Engineer Salaries by City

How Pittsburgh, PA stacks up against other major markets

CityMedianP75vs US avg
Pittsburgh, PA (current)$80,440$102,010+-19%
New York, NY$119,390$142,410++20%
San Francisco, CA$129,680$163,550++31%
Seattle, WA$104,440$136,710++5%
Austin, TX$104,520$132,390++5%
Boston, MA$116,770$138,710++18%
Chicago, IL$103,170$130,120++4%
Los Angeles, CA$106,290$131,290++7%
Denver, CO$105,090$130,970++6%

Official Salary Career GPS™

What should I do next as a Site Reliability Engineer?

O*NET · US Dept of Labor

Higher-paying roles in the same field

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average Site Reliability Engineer salary in Pittsburgh, PA?

Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), site reliability engineers in the Pittsburgh metro area earn a median of $80,440 per year (BLS series OEUM003830000000015124413). The top 25% earn $102K+ per year.

What is a good Site Reliability Engineer salary in Pittsburgh, PA?

The 75th percentile ($102K/yr) is the professional benchmark — what the top quarter already earns. It's a documented, negotiable target backed by BLS payroll data. Anything above the median ($80K) is above-average for this role in Pittsburgh, PA.

How much does a Site Reliability Engineer earn per hour in Pittsburgh, PA?

Based on the median annual salary of $80K, a Site Reliability Engineer in Pittsburgh, PA earns approximately $39/hr (2,080-hour work year). The P75 rate is ~$49/hr.

Is Pittsburgh, PA a good market for Site Reliability Engineers?

Pittsburgh, PA pays 19% below the US national average for this role. BLS projects 27% employment growth for Site Reliability Engineers over 2022–2032, and AI automation risk is rated moderate for this occupation.

How do I negotiate a higher Site Reliability Engineer salary in Pittsburgh, PA?

Cite the BLS P75 figure ($102K) — it is verifiable public data from government payroll records. Request the full compensation package: base + equity/bonus + benefits. Timing matters: negotiate at the offer stage, not after acceptance. Counter with a specific number, not a range.

What is the entry-level Site Reliability Engineer salary in Pittsburgh, PA?

Entry-level Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh, PA (10th–25th percentile) earn roughly $60K–$68K per year, rising toward the $80K median with experience and in-demand skills.

What does a senior Site Reliability Engineer earn in Pittsburgh, PA?

Senior Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh, PA — the top quartile up to the 90th percentile — earn about $102K–$124K per year, with the top 10% making $124K+.

How Is This Salary Calculated?

Every number is derived from a transparent, reproducible methodology — no estimates, no black boxes.

Where does the salary data come from?

US metro figures are published estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, which covers roughly 1.1 million employer establishments. Where BLS does not publish a figure for an occupation and area, this site shows a modeled estimate and labels it as one.

How is the Pittsburgh figure calculated?

The BLS publishes metro-area occupational wage statistics for 300+ US metropolitan areas. For Pittsburgh, Official Salary uses the BLS metro premium ratio (metro median ÷ national median) and applies it to the national baseline.

What do P10, P25, P50, P75, and P90 mean?

These are salary percentiles from employer payroll records. P50 (median) means 50% of workers earn less. P75 means 75% earn less — this is the recommended negotiation anchor. P10 and P90 represent the bottom 10% and top 10% respectively.

How is take-home pay estimated?

Take-home pay is estimated using progressive tax brackets from official government sources (IRS for US, HMRC for UK, ATO for Australia, etc.). Social contributions (National Insurance, FICA, etc.) are added. These are estimates — actual take-home depends on deductions, filing status, and location.

How often is data updated?

US BLS salary data refreshes every 24 hours via the BLS public API. OECD international wages refresh monthly. ECB currency rates refresh every 4 hours.

Full formulas and source citations on the methodology page.

What a Site Reliability Engineer salary really means in Pittsburgh

Take-home pay, rent affordability, and remote benchmarking — on the $80,440 median.

Estimated take-home

$64,748/yr

$5,396/month net

Gross median
$80,440
Income tax
$9,538
Social / FICA
$6,154
Effective rate
20%

Federal income tax only (FICA included). State income tax varies. Single-filer estimate — not tax advice.

Rent affordability

20%

of take-home on a typical 1-bed (~$1,084/mo)

The 30% rule says housing should stay under 30% of take-home. Here it's comfortably within that line. After all living costs (~$2,580/mo), roughly $2,816/mo is left to save or invest.

Cost-of-living estimate for Pittsburgh; rent ≈ 42% of budget.

Remote vs onsite

$80,440$99,130

typical fully-remote benchmark range

Onsite Site Reliability Engineers in Pittsburgh earn the local median of $80,440. Fully-remote roles are usually benchmarked between the US median ($99,130) and the local rate — employers increasingly set remote pay by national or regional bands, not your city.

Compare all Site Reliability Engineer markets →
✓ Reviewed by the Official Salary Data TeamUpdated September 2026Source: BLS OEWS 2025 metro-area survey 2026Confidence: Very HighMethodology

How to reach the top 25% as a Site Reliability Engineer in Pittsburgh

The gap between a typical Site Reliability Engineer and the top quartile in Pittsburgh is $21,570/year — about $1,798/month more than the median. Reaching the 75th percentile ($102,010) usually comes down to seniority, in-demand specialisations, and negotiating from real data instead of hoping for a raise.

Site Reliability Engineer Salary Trend (2019–2024)

BLS OES historical national medians

Site Reliability Engineer median salary trend, 2019–2025Site Reliability Engineer median salary trend, 2019–2025: median fell from $108K in 2019 to $99K in 2025 (-9%).$90K$110K$130K$150K$171K$108K2019$115K2020$128K2021$141K2022$153K2023$161K2024$99K2025
2019 median
$108K
2024 median
$99K

Source: BLS OEWS 2019–2024. City-level data uses national trend × metro premium.

Inflation note: In 2019 dollars, today's median is ~$66K — 22% of nominal salary is inflation (2019–2025 CPI avg 3.4%/yr).

Education Premium — Site Reliability Engineer

How degree level affects salary · ACS Census data

High School / GED
-28%
~$58K
Associate's Degree
-12%
~$71K
Bachelor's DegreeBASELINE
~$80K
Master's Degree
+24%
~$100K
Doctoral (PhD)
+32%
~$106K
Professional (MBA/JD/MD)
+42%
~$114K

Source: US Census Bureau ACS PUMS · BLS OES wage data.

Negotiation Deep-Dive

Get your data-backed negotiation opening ask and walking-away floor.

📊Your exact market percentile based on BLS distribution
🎯P75 target + 10% stretch as your opening ask price
🚪Walking-away floor so you know when to move on
Pittsburgh benchmarks
$80K
Market median
$102K
P75 target
$124K
Top 10%

Negotiation Calculator

Enter your current salary to see your market position and opening ask

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Site Reliability Engineer in Pittsburgh — Distribution
P10
$60K
P25
$68K
P50
$80K
P75
$102K
P90
$124K
Enter your salary above to see your negotiation position

Data Source & Attribution

This page’s figures are published estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey , May 2025 release, series OEUM003830000000015124413. Verify them directly at bls.gov/oes. International figures draw on OECD Average Wages, Eurostat SES, and ILO ILOSTAT.

BLS.OEWS.2026.v2

Sep 2, 2026

Full methodology →
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