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CISA Salary in 2026: Analysis and Trends
As technology becomes an indispensable part of business and industry, the need for people with the skills to handle tech issues becomes greater. This includes people who know how to handle the security of the tech data that is growing at an increasing rate. Thus, the demand for CISA professionals is higher than ever. Are you looking for more CISA salary info? If you’re curious about how much money you could make as a certified CISA, then this is the post for you.
Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) is a certification issued by ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) to qualified people in charge of ensuring that an organization’s IT and business systems are monitored, managed, and protected. This certification is held by people with titles such as IT auditor, audit manager, consultant, and other security professionals.
I will talk more about the types of job titles a CISA can hold later, but for now, let’s get into the types of salaries you can expect when you hold a CISA certification. Below, I’ll present the details on IT audit salary, together with the premium you can expect to earn if you get a CISA certification.
CISA Salary 2025
What kind of salary can you expect to bring in if you take the time and money investment to get CISA certified? The average salary for an IT auditor, the profession most likely to hold the CISA certification, ranges approximately from $70,250 to $164,750. That’s a wide range, so if you want a more specific answer to “How much does a CISA make?” you’ll need to narrow down the question a bit.
Overall, the most relevant factors to salary are experience, geographic location, and job title. As with most professions, the longer you work, the more you can earn. Similarly, jobs in areas with a higher cost-of-living will pay more than those with a lower cost-of living. And obviously, those with more prestigious job titles will earn more. Additionally, factors such as company size also play a role.
You’re also likely to move up fast and get promotions more quickly with your CISA. We’ll talk more about that later, but people who hold the certification often qualify for raises and promotions more quickly than other employees. First, let’s break down the salary data a few different ways.
CISA Salary by Experience Level
The Robert Half Salary Guide splits IT auditors into three levels of seniority. Those with zero to three years’ experience, senior IT auditors with three or more years’ experience, and managers. Here are the salary ranges for those positions within a corporate accounting firm.
| 25th Percentile | 50th Percentile | 75th Percentile | |
| Junior IT auditor | $70,250 | $89,000 | $97,250 |
| Senior IT auditor | $91,000 | $111,750 | $127,500 |
| IT audit manager | $117,000 | $141,250 | $164,750 |
As you can see, the 50th percentile IT audit salary range increases about 25.5% after about three years of work. Furthermore, the range increases another 26.3% upon earning the title of manager. Here’s a visualization of these data.
CISA Salary by Geographic Location
Now let’s take a look at some different locations with widely varying costs of living. To compare apples to apples, we’ll look solely at the 50th percentile salaries for senior IT auditors.
| Location | Difference from Average | Average CISA Salary |
| Macon, GA | -17% | $92,753 |
| Mobile, AL | -14% | $96,105 |
| Cedar Rapids, IA | -11% | $103,928 |
| Albuquerque, NM | -4.5% | $106,721 |
| National average | 0% | $111,750 |
| Tampa, FL | +2% | $113,985 |
| Sacramento, CA | +11% | $124,043 |
| Philadelphia, PA | +16.5% | $130,189 |
| New York, NY | +36.5% | $152,539 |
As you can see, $93,000 to $152,500 is quite a wide spread. However, $1 goes a lot farther in Macon, GA, than it does in Philadelphia or New York City.
CISA Salary by Job Title
Additionally, your exact job title, which is often linked to seniority and experience, will determine your salary. Here’s some survey data from Payscale to help you get a better idea of how that varies between CISA jobs.
| Job Title | Average Salary |
| Internal Auditor | $82,227 |
| IT Auditor | $88,459 |
| Senior IT Auditor | $96,291 |
| Senior Internal Auditor | $100,495 |
| Information Security Analyst | $100,842 |
| Internal Auditing Manager | $113,163 |
| IT Manager | $126,158 |
| Information Security Officer | $130,273 |
| Information Security Manager | $131,689 |
| Senior Manager Auditor | $144,256 |
| IT Director | $147,891 |
| Internal Audit Director | $155,651 |
| Chief Information Security Officer | $200,045 |
Obviously, managers, directors, and C-suite jobs will earn the most. Below, take a look at how these salaries compare on a graph.
CISA Salary Premium
ISACA, the organization that provides the CISA credential, boasts that more than 151,000 professionals now hold the CISA qualification. Additionally, ISACA claims that the average salary of an employee with a CISA certification is over $149,000. However, does that mean you’ll double your entry-level IT auditor salary just by passing the CISA exam? Unfortunately, no. That average salary combines all experience levels, job titles, and geographic locations.
But how much more can you expect to make when you earn your CISA? There are too many variables to say for sure. However, many IT audit job listings now require or at least prefer a CISA certification. Thus, this title will help you get your foot in the door for jobs you might not otherwise be considered for. Below are some further consideration for CISA salaries and the jobs that go with them.
Internal Auditor vs. IT Auditor Salaries
One way to get a ballpark estimate for the CISA premium is to compare the salaries of general internal auditors, which is a less-specialized profession, with IT auditors of the same experience level. IT auditors are far more likely to have CISA certifications. Turning again to the Robert Half Salary Guide, here’s how the median salaries of those two professions compare.
| Internal Audit | IT Audit | Premium | |
| Junior auditor | $84,750 | $89,000 | 4.7% |
| Senior auditor | $103,250 | $111,750 | 8.2% |
| Audit manager | $131,750 | $141,250 | 7.2% |
As you can see, the difference is largest for mid-career auditors, since the senior IT auditor salary is 8.2% higher than the senior general internal auditor salary. Furthermore, you can visualize this difference on the graph below, where the orange bars represent IT auditor salaries and the blue bars represent internal auditor salaries.
What Jobs Can You Get with CISA Certification?
CISA is not just for IT auditors (although it is for them, too). Here is a list of jobs you can get with a CISA certification:
- Internal auditor
- Public accounting auditor
- IS analyst
- IT audit manager
- IT project manager
- IT security officer
- Network operation security engineer
- Cyber security professional
- IT consultant
- IT risk and assurance manager
- Privacy officer
- Chief information officer
What Does an Internal Auditor Do?
It’s one thing to see a list of job titles, but it’s another to understand what that actually means. What kind of job tasks might you need to perform if you are an internal auditor, for example? In short, IT auditors will look at the total accounting and information systems within a company. They will determine if the controls of the system are strong enough and also if external auditors can rely on the output of the system.
To compare it to financial audit, IT audits usually rely less on actual accounting knowledge and more on information system knowledge. However, it is not exactly computer science. As a Junior IT, here’s what a typical day might look like:
- doing walk-throughs
- reading through the system reports
- reading through IT policies
- doing interviews with clients
- pulling samples and testing them
As an IT manager, your first initial audit is typically the hardest, and then you have to figure out how to test controls and how all the systems will fit together. Once you’ve laid this initial foundation, each year’s work after that is just building on it. If there are changes to application processes, for example, you figure those changes in and do a revised testing strategy.
What Kinds of Hours Does an IT Auditor Work?
As an internal auditor, or anyone in any of the job titles that may hold a CISA certification, you’re going to work long hours. This is fairly standard across the board for anyone in public accounting. However, IT auditors usually see slightly better hours than financial auditors, based on the type of work they do. Usually, they will work 50-55 hours a week during the busy season.
Depending on where you work, you’ll likely start your workday at 8:00-9:00 am and end around 5:00-6:00 p.m. If the firm is understaffed, you could expect to see longer hours during the week, and you might even be asked to work weekends, especially during the busy season.
Do IT Auditors Travel?
You can also expect some travel in your schedule as an IT auditor. When you do travel, it’s usually only for one or two weeks. The work of an internal auditor is less extensive than that of an external audit team. It also tends to be less stressful because you’re not working under the same hard deadlines.
How Many Clients Does an IT Auditor Have?
How many clients might you expect to have at one time? It’s typical for an IT auditor to have between five and seven clients at a time. This is far more than financial auditors who typically only have one or two clients at a time. Seven clients might sound like a lot to juggle, but since you’re doing very specific work for each, it’s not so bad. Also, you will typically do the work in one or two weeks and then move on to the next, so there is rotation in it.
How Long before I Break Even on My CISA?
Unfortunately, earning your CISA represents a financial investment. As of 2025, registering for the test costs $575 for ISACA members and $760 for non-members. Additionally, you’ll need a CISA exam review course to ensure you’re ready for the test. Once you pass it, you’ll also have to pay an application fee of $50 and an annual fee of $45 for members or $85 for non-members. Together, this could put your first-year CISA costs at over $1,600.
However, you’ll likely make that up right away with better job prospects and higher salaries. Any time you look at certification courses like this, know that they are an investment in your career. Therefore, it’s an investment in your future as well. You cannot get a top level job this field without having passed the exam.
How Do I Become CISA Certified?
Does all of this sound like a good career move to you? Well then, how do you become CISA certified? CISA has even stricter requirements for the entire certification process, apart from the exam itself. Here’s a breakdown:
1. Register for the CISA Exam
You may be surprised to know, but there is no prerequisite to take this exam. As long as you believe that the CISA exam is useful for your career, go ahead. However, work experience is required for certification, which we cover in step 3.
First, check ISACA’s PSI system to make sure there’s an exam date and location that works for you. Then, create an ISACA account and purchase exam registration. Once you’ve paid, you’ll have twelve months to take the CISA exam.
2. Pass the CISA Exam
You’ll have two options for taking the CISA exam: at a test center or as a remote online proctored exam. ISACA has greatly expanded the number of available test center dates, so you no longer have to worry about testing windows. Additionally, if you choose remote online proctoring, you can take it nearly any time of day or night.
This is a pencil-and-paper exam that is offered three times each year. It is a 4-hour exam consisting of 200 questions in multiple choice format. Anyone can take the exam as long as they pay the registration fees.
In terms of CISA syllabus, there are five Job Practice Domain Areas, or domains, surrounding the role and responsibility of IT auditors. The CISA passing rate is estimated at around 50%. Successful candidates can work towards the experience requirements and apply for the certificate. If you already have the work experience, you can test and then apply for the certificate right away.
3. Fulfill the Experience Requirement
This is actually the stricter part of the CISA certification process, as mentioned above. You need to have at least five years of experience in information system auditing, control or security. Additionally, you must have experience in at least one out of the five CISA Job Practice Domain Areas.
CISA work experience must be gained within 10 years preceding the application date, or within five years from the date of passing the exam. However, there are some waivers available for similar job experience or education.
4. Maintain the Certification
Once you have the CISA qualification, you must maintain its active status by paying the annual fees ($45 for members, $85 for non-members) and fulfilling all CISA CPE requirements. You’ll need to have at least 20 contact hours per year, and 120 contact hours within a fixed three-year period.
Conclusion
While it’s hard to say that earning a CISA certification will automatically get you a certain dollar amount in increased salary, it’s undoubtedly a boost to any IT auditor’s career. There is a wide range of IT audit salaries depending on your level and the company you work for. As your role involves more supervision and responsibility, the compensation increases considerably. Company size, job title, and geographic location also play large roles.
Thus, consider getting the CISA (or CIA) certification as soon as you can, in order to take advantage of the premium to your salary and the boost to your resume. You can get more information in our CISA FAQ page. Is there anything else you want to know not covered here? Let us know in the comments.
For Your Further Reading
About the Author Stephanie
I am the author of How to Pass The CPA Exam (published by Wiley) and the publisher of this and several accounting professional exam prep sites.
