Admins / Career / Salary

Salesforce Admin Salary Guide (Earn More in 2023)

By Lucy Mazalon

Salesforce Admin salaries are a hot topic. Historically, demand for Salesforce Administrators remained steady, fed by the growing Salesforce economy. More Salesforce customers, more administrators required, right?

Surprising findings, gathered by the Salesforce Talent Ecosystem Report, claimed that there was a global decrease in Administrator supply (declined by 20% in established markets, and 16% in emerging markets). This was paired with the lowest demand growth the report had recorded in its five years.

What’s behind the numbers? One could argue that the ‘traditional’ view of the Salesforce Administrator has shifted. Administrators are tasked with a broader range of responsibilities which garner varying job titles – essentially, the Salesforce admin role comes with a different job title.

We’re confident in a resurgence of the Salesforce Admin role. “Low code” is here to stay – Salesforce are improving upon their “click not code” configuration with each release. Plus, fields will continue to open up the need for admins, such as DevOps – very much the zeitgeist of the 2020s.

READ MORE: The Salesforce Admin Role: Rise and Resurgence

Professionals with the right approach to upskilling and career progression will still find themselves in a good position.

With this in mind, how much do Salesforce Admins make? Read on to find out – plus which factors influence your earning potential, and tips on how to improve it.

Jump to: Which Factors Influence Salesforce Admin Salaries?

Jump to: How to Improve Your Salesforce Admin Salary

READ MORE: What Does a Salesforce Admin Do?

Salesforce Administrator Salary Averages

North America

Entry levelSenior levelContract
US ($)$103,375$131,750$105.50 p/h
Canada (C$)C$90,000
C$115,000C$75 p/h

These figures may appear high. Please note that this is the average salary for Salesforce Admins with up to 3 years’ experience. According to recruiter observations with market experience, new Admins just starting out can aim for around $75,000.

Europe

Entry levelSenior levelContract
UK (£)£40,875£57,500£404.50 p/d
Ireland (€)€40,500€60,000€379.50 p/d
France (€)€47,875€59,875€525 p/d
Italy (€)€25,100€30,650€315 p/d
Germany (€)€54,375€70,375€428.5 p/d
Spain (€)€29,250€41,750-
Switzerland (CHF)85,500 Fr.105,000 Fr.-
Netherlands (€ - monthly)€3,540€4,180+-
Belgium (€ - monthly)€2,885€3,945-

Asia-Pacific

Entry levelSenior levelContract
Australia (AU$)AU$101,000AU$121,625AU$862 p/d
Singapore (S$)S$67,750S$90,250-
Japan (¥)¥3,425,000¥5,195,000-

Data source: the data is from the Mason Frank Careers & Hiring Guide, based on self-reported information from 2,500+ Salesforce professionals, spanning a range of job titles, industries, and geographic locations.

Factors that Influence Salesforce Admin Salary

One single salary figure can be misleading, without context. Certain factors at play can result in differences between one professional’s salary, to the next. We will dive into the following factors in this guide:

  • Experience (Seniority)
  • Certifications
  • Generalists vs. Specialists
  • Location

Experience (Seniority)

As with any profession, the more experience and responsibility you take on, the higher your salary expectations should be.

We defined a junior/mid-level/senior Admin based on years of experience and the types of activities they are carrying out in our guide:

READ MORE: What Does a Salesforce Admin Do?

Certifications

Salesforce professionals love gaining certifications – they are a milestone in your career that proves that you know what you are talking about. Certifications can potentially be used as leverage if you are looking for a more senior position internally, or looking for a job in another company.

In the annual career survey, respondents were asked which certifications are likely to increase their worth as a Salesforce professional.

  • 18% believe that holding the Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator is likely to increase your worth (ranked 6th).
  • This is closely followed by Salesforce Certified Administrator, where 16% of respondents agree (ranked 7th).

Note: In the report’s previous edition, Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator ranked 7th. Salesforce Certified Administrator didn’t even make the top 10.

Speaking more generally, the survey also asked if they experienced an increase in their salary after earning (any) certification:

  • 67% did, reporting an average salary increase of 21%
  • 33% did not, their salaries remained the same

Note: In the report’s previous edition, the split was 63% did, 37% did not. While the positive % is higher, the average salary increase has dropped from 26% to 21%.

The chance that your salary could increase the more certifications you earn can’t be ignored but should be taken with a ‘pinch of salt’ alongside the other factors.

Generalists vs. Specialists

There are multiple Admin career pathways that follow a specialist skill set. Usually starting off mastering Sales Cloud, Admins can then verge into a specialization e.g. CPQ, Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

We’ll take a deeper dive into specializations later in the guide. An organization looking for an Admin skilled in more than one platform area will expect to offer more salary, especially for a less common combination of products! However, understanding best practices across multiple feature sets, and business analysis, will also be attractive to organizations that don’t want to lose you.

Location

Salary figures are influenced by location, due to the differences in the cost of living between countries – and within countries (the US is a good example of this economic influence).

Converting all the salaries into US$ makes the geographic comparison easier. Senior Admins in the US reported an average salary of around $132k. The UK Admins on average earn $64.5k, in Spain $41k, and in Australia, the figure is $82k. Please note that at the time of writing, US$ is very strong against £ and €.

How to Improve your Salesforce Admin Salary

If you want to increase your salary, this section is for you. Here are the tips Christine (MVP and long-time Salesforce Admin) and I would like to share with anyone looking to accelerate through this career path.

  1. Specialize
  2. Take Certifications
  3. Nurture “On-demand” Skills
  4. Work in the Right Role and Team
  5. Become Self-sufficient

Tip 1: Specialize

There are multiple Admin career pathways that follow a specialist skillset. Mid-level Admins usually work with Sales Cloud or a suite of clouds (Sales + Service Cloud, etc.), which could result in having a specialism eg. CPQ, Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Combine multi-cloud skills to stand out in the marketplace. An organization looking for an Admin skilled in more than one platform area will expect to offer more salary, especially for a less common combination of products.

There are approximately 30 Salesforce specializations, most of which are totally plausible for a Salesforce Admin. Some specializations require less effort to learn, whereas others are more challenging, with greater pay-off in terms of the “bargaining” chips they give you for your career.

We opened this guide noting that the ‘traditional’ view of the Salesforce Administrator has shifted. These “Admin-adjacent roles” have grown while the supply of “Salesforce Administrators” has dropped. Examples include Business Analyst (+33%), Consultant (+17%), and Solution Architect (+13%) (source). This demonstrates the movement towards specialization.

Tip 2: Take certifications

Certifications are often met with skepticism. Can someone who passes an exam really know what they are talking about?

Experience will always trump certifications, however, certifications will bolster your experience by strengthening your Salesforce best practice knowledge.

Studying for a certification exam requires discipline. You will cover every topic in-depth, and more importantly, learn the trade-offs between different configuration options and when to use them (eg. record types vs. page layouts).

There may be features or concepts you come across in the study guide that you may not have working as a junior Admin, in one, single org.

With a growing number of Salesforce certifications, and once you’ve passed the Salesforce Administrator exam, you have a ‘jumping off’ point into multiple certifications. Depending on which skills you want to nurture, you could choose between:

  • Platform App Builder: Demonstrate your knowledge of building custom applications on the Salesforce platform using clicks, not code.
  • Sales Cloud Consultant: Taking a deep dive into all the features that make up the Sales Cloud.
  • Service Cloud Consultant.
  • Salesforce CPQ Specialist: Prepare to implement complex Quote to Cash requirements and business models.
  • Business Analyst: Prove your skills when obtaining clear business requirements, facilitating project discovery, process mapping, and creating user stories.
READ MORE: Certified Admin? 5 Salesforce Certifications to Achieve Next

While certifications may not directly increase your salary, they will allow you to be considered for job opportunities that require this level of credibility – in other words, certifications on your resume will enable you to get your foot in the door as a proficient candidate. 90% of those with certifications believe they make you more marketable (source).

Tip 3: Nurture “on-demand” skills

Released in 2022, the Salesforce Admin Skills Kit is a blueprint created by Salesforce, detailing the 14 key skills needed to be an awesome Salesforce Admin. Among the usual admin responsibilities (e.g. user management, security management, process automation), you’ll find plenty of “softer” skills (e.g. communication, attention to detail, business analysis).

READ MORE: 14 Skills of a Successful Salesforce Admin (According to Salesforce)

These “softer” aspects could be considered “on-demand” skills, as you may not be able to predict when a situation will arise where you need to exercise these skills. They’re not scheduled as part of a typical day-to-day, requiring intuition that can’t be taught.

It goes without saying – they’re incredibly valuable, especially as these situational skills will get you noticed around the organization, and respected by the higher-ups. You can quickly become indispensable – an advisor to many colleagues.

You may find that you’re the only admin, common in smaller organizations where the budget for headcount is restricted. Wear those many “hats” with style.

Tip 4: Work in the right role and team

Although easier said than done, working in the right environment can help you reach the next level. When it comes to deciding between solo admin or admin team, there are both benefits and drawbacks – and yes, as you can see, it’s totally dependent on the organization itself.

BenefitsDrawbacks
Solo adminAutonomy over your role, more decision-making power, and a reputation as the Salesforce subject matter expert across the organization. The org you’ll be working with could restrict the products/use cases you encounter. Budget for additional purchases/development work will likely be restricted.
Admin teamStep up to a mid-level Admin fast with the right support. Managers (or more experienced Admins) could mentor you and delegate tasks that will stretch your skills, e.g. explaining best practice in a given scenario. Set clear expectations that you want to be challenged, or risk being ‘pigeon-holed’ by only working on a small part of the whole Salesforce operation.

A team environment will mean you can venture further into the unknown and still have their support to rely on. Just ensure that you identify the organization’s culture and promotion opportunities first.

Senior Admins could work for larger Enterprise companies in a product owner position, managing a team or external parties to oversee the development of the Salesforce org. If you are a mid-level solo Admin, perhaps consider shooting for a job opportunity that fits that criteria.

Tip 5: Become self-sufficient

While having the right working environment and team around you is important, you need to know where to go for answers.

When faced with questions or some tricky troubleshooting, you should know what you don’t know – yes, that’s not a typo.

As a mid-level Admin, you should be able to describe what your issue is using the correct terminology, and explore all possible solutions in your research (not jumping at the first answer that seems viable).

Summary

There’s no doubt that Salesforce Admins are deserving of their compensation – they carry out a core function that allows organizations to extend Salesforce beyond declarative (point-and-click) configuration, build apps, and in turn, optimize business operations.

This guide has brought context to what your salary should be (or could be) with information to back up that figure, so that you can be armed with the information required when asking for a raise, or applying for a new role.

READ MORE: Average Salesforce Salaries 2022/23 [Infographic]

The Author

Lucy Mazalon

Lucy is the Operations Director at Salesforce Ben. She is a 10x certified Marketing Champion and founder of The DRIP.

Comments:

    Justin
    September 04, 2019 4:14 pm
    Good article and great analysis. I see a lot of people trying to break into this career by collecting as many certifications as they can but there really is no replacement for work experience. I think you did a great job of communicating this.
    Ben McCarthy
    September 04, 2019 4:41 pm
    Thanks Justin. I don't want to discourage people from taking them, as they are great for career progression and learning, I know this personally. But you need to put the practice the skills learned to justify an increase in salary.
    Norwill Gutierrez
    September 04, 2019 4:54 pm
    As always, great article Ben, do you have any post about Salary for Developers and Architects ?
    Ben McCarthy
    September 04, 2019 5:07 pm
    Hi Norwill, stay tuned, they are on there way :)
    Dianna Stockdale
    September 04, 2019 5:50 pm
    I am wondering what the difference is in salary for these levels in the for profit vs non-profit world?
    MD.Nazeer Ahmed
    September 05, 2019 6:28 am
    Hi Ben,Nice to study about salesforce admin roles and i want to know can we make a career into salesforce as a functional side and where we go in the future.Iam from non technical background B.com (computers) and M.B.A. (Finance&HR).Iam carrying 7 to 8 years of experience into different domains like Finance,Banking,Real estate,Sales and 1 year in salesforce.Please suggest/Advise me on this.Iam not interested into programming/coding side. U can reach me out on 9959389375 whatsapp,Mail id and on Linkedin. MD.Nazeer Ahmed. Mohd.naziarahmed@gmail.com
    Ben McCarthy
    September 05, 2019 8:13 am
    Hi Dianna, good question, I will try and find out and add it to the post for you. Thank, Ben
    Ben McCarthy
    September 05, 2019 8:15 am
    Hi Nazeer, the beauty about Salesforce is that you don't need to be a developer/coder. A lot of functionality and customisations can be made declaratively, which means by using "point and click" functionality. E.g. When this field = "x", trigger an email alert to your manager. The fact that you have experience in other areas such as Finance & Banking is a huge plus point. Half of the value that an Admin or Consultant brings is experience from specific industries. I would advise getting onto Trailhead, looking to complete your Certified Administrator certification, and then looking towards a job you could move into. Hope this helps, Ben
    Harsha vardhan
    September 05, 2019 11:31 am
    Hii ben. Myself Harsha Vardhan and I am graduated in mechanical engineering and now I am interested to learn salesforce. so with mechanical background can I get job in any company as salesforce admin
    Oscar Reyes
    September 10, 2019 8:37 pm
    Hi Ben, Thank you so much for the article, a really informative read. Oscar
    Miguel
    September 12, 2019 8:36 pm
    Nope! The market place is now getting over saturated due to Salesforce over marketing the their certifications and creating a rush (Salesforce really knows marketing and can sell for sure...). Everything is now contract based and when there is an internal job it is hyper competitive. On top of that, the Salesforce world has gotten too clicky with way to many groups, which is very tribal. If companies really want candidates, not just for the Salesforce skill set, but for anything else, we need to get back to basics.... companies taking a chance on 'good PERSONALITY' and then training those individuals . Soon enough, these salaries will drop because of market saturation.... just like the early 2000's and the 'Microsoft MCSE' rush.
    Brittany
    March 02, 2020 4:33 pm
    Thanks! This is a great article and really in depth break down of the Mason Frank survey. I reviewed the survey myself and it doesn't appear to have a breakdown of salaries based on race,gender and class. Though the respondents views/opinions on equality in the ecosystem are interesting, as a Women of Color in the ecosystem, it would be very beneficial to see how our salaries compare to other demographics so if there is inequality we can address it head on. Is this something that could be addressed in future surveys?
    Penny
    March 02, 2020 5:26 pm
    It would be really interesting if there were information on median rather than average salaries for another picture of the data! I wonder if there is a way to feed this back to Mason Frank?
    Lucy Mazalon
    March 09, 2020 10:44 am
    Hi Penny, we will let their team know, thanks!
    Lucy Mazalon
    March 09, 2020 10:45 am
    Interesting idea - we will pass on your suggestion, thanks!
    Anupa
    June 08, 2020 6:48 pm
    Hi Ben, I am a fan of your site and have learned a lot from it. I was laid off due to Covid company restructuring. What is the best way of applying for SF Admin jobs in US these days. I have 2 certification certified App builder and Administrator. Thanks, Anupa
    Ben McCarthy
    June 10, 2020 10:18 am
    Hi Anupa, sorry to hear about your situation. I'm guessing from your question you are not based in the US? I'm not based there so don't understand a huge amount about the visa process, but I think the same as applying for any role, you need to demonstrate that you are an expert in your field. If you are able to, using the time you have off at the moment to study for certifications or possibly do some freelance work is a great way to help build up your resume. Thanks, Ben
    Anupa
    June 10, 2020 9:35 pm
    Hi Ben, Thanks for your concern. I am a US resident. I do not need Visa, I am a Green card holder. I have been applying at LinkedIn and Indeed and slowly getting some response now but not a lot. Ya so that was my main question to you was where and how to apply. I am also studying for the Sales cloud consultant. I will go through your Sales Cloud Consultant Guide & Tips and also doing Trail-mix. I can't express how happy I am to get your guidance. Thanks, Anupa
    Matt
    June 15, 2020 4:58 pm
    Something I would love to see is the difference in nonprofit and for-profit. With Salesforce NPSP, more nonprofit are adapting Salesforce.
    Lucy Mazalon
    June 16, 2020 2:06 pm
    Thanks for your suggestion - it's on our radar!
    Kumar
    February 13, 2021 7:49 am
    Hello Ben, I am planning to go for salesforce marketing cloud. I am new to salesforce but have worked on sap crm(c4c).could you please provide some details about sfmc carrier growth. Where can I find self learning video or materials.
    Christine Marshall
    February 17, 2021 11:04 am
    Hi Kumar, Check out our Marketing Cloud Administrator Certification Guide & Tips! https://www.salesforceben.com/the-drip/marketing-cloud-administrator-certification-guide-tips/
    akacarioca
    June 07, 2021 5:09 pm
    Admin salaries in USA are way inflated. I work from Tampa FL and deal with Admins all over the country. Juniors are top at $60K, mid level around $75K/$90K and seniors over $95K. I don't believe in ANY junior making $140 in Austin TX. Even $154K for San Francisco is high.
    Taha Syed
    July 05, 2021 6:14 pm
    Thanks for the article. There is so much difference in the avg salaries posted by various websites.
    Alineik Mohammed Akram
    September 12, 2021 3:41 pm
    Very Informative and good career guiding path with complete analysis.
    Christine Marshall
    September 13, 2021 9:11 am
    Thank you!
    Ivan
    November 10, 2021 11:54 am
    Hello all, are the presented salaries an actual representation of reality? If so, the location would be the greatest factor influencing salary since I am admin with 2 years of experience and just recently obtained admin certification. My salary is only about to be raised to 20k starting next year.
    Christine Marshall
    November 10, 2021 1:02 pm
    Hi Ivan, There are a lot of factors that can affect salaries and potentially inflate the average. As you say, location is a big factor, and in the UK, London salaries can affect the overall average. That said, in the UK, I wouldn't expect a Junior Salesforce Admin to be on any less than £30K, especially with hands on experience and a cert. I suppose it will depend on where you are based, the type of company you work for, your starting salary there, and how easy it is to get pay increases without moving to a new company. Congrats on getting your Admin cert! Best, Christine
    Maria
    January 21, 2022 9:02 am
    Are therese numbers net or gross?
    Christine Marshall
    January 21, 2022 12:02 pm
    The figures are gross pay.
    Juan Ignacio Coria
    February 14, 2022 1:09 pm
    Fantastic! It would be great to have Latin America also included in the comparison.
    Wendy
    February 15, 2022 6:36 pm
    Great breakdown of salaries. I would be interested to see this same comparison of for profit and non profit organizations?
    Lucy Mazalon
    February 19, 2022 12:32 pm
    Great idea, we'll try our best to gather that data.
    Arlie
    May 04, 2022 4:46 pm
    You responded in 2019, Is this still the case?
    Jeff
    July 18, 2022 3:29 pm
    We're looking to create a position within our money management firm for an IT Systems Associate role. It would be a full-time position with responsibilities that include providing general IT hardware support/troubleshooting, assisting with software installs, serving as a Salesforce admin (with the certification requirements to be obtained down the road), performing data cleanup within SF, monitoring scheduled jobs to/from SF and our Data Warehouse, handling field creation, user management, monitoring workflow automation and report/dashboard creation within our single SF org. I'm trying to get a sense of what kind of salary range a position like this might require. We're in central Virginia. Any ideas?
    Robert Wambold
    August 30, 2022 2:47 pm
    I don't understand how "Salesforce Admin Salary Guide 2022" can have comments from September 2019. What am I missing?
    Christine Marshall
    August 30, 2022 3:06 pm
    Hi Robert! We publish an updated version of the Admin Salary Guide every year. The updated article uses the same URL as the previous years, so the comments from previous years also remain. Hope this helps explain it!
    Majed
    September 10, 2022 2:25 pm
    Thanks for sharing this.
    Bev
    November 28, 2022 4:48 pm
    I'd also be interested in the response to Dianna's question above thanks
    Sonali
    November 29, 2022 5:04 pm
    Hi Ben I am Sonali . I did MCA .I am studying Salesforce Developer from 4 months with your blogs and trailhead. I Certified app Builder. My big issue I have gap after MCA 10 years . Can I apply for Salesforce Developer ??? and How as a Fresher or Experienced??
    Josephine
    December 02, 2022 3:41 am
    It can be tricky to compare apples with apples, so I apreciated that this information included different (identified) currencies, and for Australia, even a contract day rate.

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