Statistics

Government Contractor and Security-Clearance Staffing Compensation Statistics (2026)

Quick answer

Security-cleared professionals reported average total compensation of $101,395 in ClearanceJobs’ 2022 Compensation Report, covering 2021 survey data drawn from 24,089 usable responses out of 52,028 total participants, per PR Newswire’s coverage of the report. That average climbed to a record $114,946 by 2023, a 6% boost within that year, per ClearanceJobs’ 2024 Security Clearance Compensation Report as reported by FedAgent.

Neither figure is a direct load of ClearanceJobs’ own report, both come from third-party write-ups naming the report directly, and the two data points span different survey cycles two years apart, useful as a trend line rather than a same-year comparison. Between the two reported figures, average cleared compensation rose roughly 13% over that span, VA Horizon’s own calculation from the two published numbers.

By VA Horizon Team · August 17, 2026 · 5 min read

What Cleared Professionals Reported Earning in 2021

ClearanceJobs’ 2022 Compensation Report put average total compensation for security-cleared professionals at $101,395, based on 24,089 usable survey responses filtered from 52,028 total participants, excluding non-cleared, unemployed, active-military, student, and outlier-income respondents. Data collection ran from September 17 to December 31, 2021, per PR Newswire’s coverage of the report’s release.

The Number Reached a Record by 2023

ClearanceJobs’ 2024 Security Clearance Compensation Report, covering 2023 data and reported by FedAgent, found average compensation for cleared professionals climbed to a record $114,946, a 6% boost within that single year alone.

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The Two-Year Trend

Set the two reported figures side by side, $101,395 in 2021 and $114,946 in 2023, and cleared compensation rose roughly 13% over that span, VA Horizon’s own calculation from the two published numbers rather than a trend ClearanceJobs itself publishes as a single line. The two data points come from different survey cycles two years apart, the 2022 report and the 2024 report, so read this as a directional trend rather than a smooth year-by-year climb.

Why These Figures Are Third-Party Write-Ups of a ClearanceJobs Survey

ClearanceJobs’ own site returned either a 403 or a promotional landing page with no embedded figures on every path attempted for this research. Both compensation figures above come from dated news coverage of ClearanceJobs’ own survey, PR Newswire for the 2021 data and FedAgent for the 2023 data, rather than a direct read of ClearanceJobs’ report itself. Treat both as ClearanceJobs’ survey, as reported by its named secondary, rather than as a first-hand primary citation.

What Is Missing: A Federal Contract-Size Figure

Compensation is only half the market picture. USASpending.gov publishes federal contract-obligation data that would size the government-contracting side of this market directly, but its search interface is JavaScript-rendered and did not return extractable figures in this research pass. A future update to this page should pull that data through USASpending’s API route rather than its search UI. The compensation figures above stand on their own without it.

The Numbers

Average total compensation for security-cleared professionals: $101,395 (2021 survey data, 24,089 usable responses of 52,028 total participants).

PR Newswire, ClearanceJobs Releases Annual Compensation Report for Security Cleared Talent

Average compensation for security-cleared professionals rose to a record $114,946 in 2023, a 6% boost within that year alone.

FedAgent, Salary for Workers With Security Clearances Rises to Record

Between the two reported survey cycles, average cleared compensation rose roughly 13% overall, VA Horizon’s own calculation from the two published figures.

FedAgent, Salary for Workers With Security Clearances Rises to Record (VA Horizon calculation)

Sources

The external data in this article draws on the sources below. Figures described in the text as estimates or industry triangulations are directional and are not attributed to a single dataset.

FAQ

What do security-cleared professionals earn on average?

$101,395 in 2021 survey data, climbing to a record $114,946 by 2023, per ClearanceJobs’ own compensation surveys as reported by PR Newswire and FedAgent.

Has cleared compensation been growing?

Yes. It rose 6% within 2023 alone and roughly 13% overall between the 2021 and 2023 reported figures, VA Horizon’s own calculation from the two published numbers.

Is this ClearanceJobs’ own published data?

Not a direct citation. Both figures come from third-party news write-ups, PR Newswire and FedAgent, naming ClearanceJobs’ survey directly, since ClearanceJobs’ own site returned a 403 or a figure-free landing page on every path attempted.

Is there federal contract-market-size data alongside this compensation data?

Not yet on this page. USASpending.gov would supply that figure, but its search interface is JavaScript-rendered and did not return extractable data in this research pass.

Why does government and cleared staffing business development look different from other segments?

It runs on a formal RFP and GSA Schedule procurement process rather than a hiring-manager cold call, a distinct buying motion covered in VA Horizon’s companion piece on winning this work through RFPs.

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