Entering the Salesforce ecosystem can be a tempting proposition for young people looking to start their working lives, as well as dissatisfied professionals looking for a career shake-up. But while the sector stretches across the world, it’s no secret that the country you live in plays a large role in determining how much pay you take home each year – whatever your career may be.
In this article, we examine the 10 countries which had the most respondents in the Salesforce Ben salary survey – revealing what you may end up earning yourself if you take the leap into the Salesforce ecosystem.
United States: ‘The Mothership’
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the United States – home to ‘The Mothership’ itself, Salesforce – takes the top spot for average annual salary.
Supply and demand likely have a lot to do with this, with the US enjoying powerhouse status when it comes to technology. In addition, tech hubs like New York or San Francisco can see sector professionals flooding in to work with major players, meaning the cost of living can massively increase – in comparison to other big cities like London.
If we focus specifically on the job of administrator – a common entry point for beginning their Salesforce careers – a clearer picture is revealed for the US, and other countries too. Yearly compensation can be categorized into three experience levels: junior (less than two years experience), mid-level (three to five years experience), and senior (more than five years experience).
According to our survey data, a junior administrator in the US earns around $75,273, while an intermediate takes home $93,158. Those in senior positions get $115,525. This puts the US head and shoulders over every other nation – but Salesforce professionals may want to think twice before packing their bags and buying a one-way ticket to San Francisco.
Figures from Numbeo.com reveal that the cost of living in the Bay Area is 16.7% higher than in London, with rental prices 18.5% greater in San Francisco.
Restaurant prices are 10.4% costlier in San Francisco and groceries are an incredible 66.2% higher than in the UK capital, according to the data. There is also no federal or state minimum for paid vacation or paid public holidays in the US, while in the UK, paid vacation is set at a minimum of 28 days, including eight public holidays. Rights regarding sick leave, maternity leave, and firing staff without notice are also generally more employee-friendly in Britain.
The US leads the way in terms of salary, and some may consider this the single most important factor. But it’s also worth understanding the downsides compared to working in other countries’ Salesforce ecosystems.
Australia, Canada, UK: The Next Best Thing… Or Even Better?
Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom follow behind the US in the salary survey, with similar rates between themselves. However, all three are still around $30,000 lower than their American counterparts.
The figures for these three countries may seem paltry in comparison to American salaries, but it’s important to look at the bigger picture.
For instance, the Labour Rights Index 2024 ranks the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia as ‘Approaching Access to Decent Work’ – their second-best rating. The US, on the other hand, is rated ‘Limited Access to Decent Work’ – the fourth tier out of seven.
The Labour Rights Index only scores countries based on applicable labour laws only, and does not comment on actual working conditions or labour law compliance, so it’s a broad and imprecise proxy – but it echoes the UK-US comparison discussed in the above section.
In terms of our survey figures, the numbers for an administrator in Australia are 76,250 Australian Dollars (AUD) for a junior, 106,200 AUD for an intermediate, and 141,043 AUD for a senior administrator.
Taking an exchange rate of 1 AUD for 0.65 US Dollars, this equates to around $49,490 (in USD) for juniors, $68,930 for mid-level admins, and $91,545 for seniors.
This puts the United States’ clear dominance into perspective, with those in Australia – which came second in the overall rankings of 10 nations – taking home around $20,000 USD less than their American counterparts.
But if we compare the quality of life in San Francisco and Sydney, an argument for working in Australia can be made. The Californian city is rated ‘Low’ on the Numbeo Safety Index, while Sydney is ‘High’. San Francisco also scores ‘High’ on the Cost of Living Index, while the Australian city is just ‘Moderate’. Pollution is also ranked as worse in San Francisco than in Sydney.
Meanwhile, in Canada, a junior administrator can expect a pay packet of around 74,500 Canadian Dollars (CAD); mid-level admins get around 83,403 CAD; while seniors get 105,464 CAD.
Taking a rate of 0.71 USD to 1 CAD, this equates to $52,778 (in USD) for Canadian juniors; $59,086 for intermediates; and $74,714 for seniors.
And in the UK, junior-level administrators get £35,626, while mid-levels get £43,150 and seniors get £61,705, according to our data. Using a rate of £1 for $1.26 (in USD), this translates to $44,817 for juniors, $54,282 for intermediates, and $77,624 for seniors.
Again, the key takeaway so far is that the US leads the way in terms of salary, but if your heart and home belong to Australia, Canada, or the UK, there are undoubtedly arguments to be made for their viability.
Eurozone: Lower Salaries – But Other Benefits
The next four countries on the list – Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Spain – are each Eurozone countries using the same currency, with similar compensation rates, according to our survey. We’ll take a look at the data using €1 (EUR/Euros) for $1.05 (USD).
Junior administrators working within the four EU countries tend to get between €30,000 ($31,406) and €49,000 ($51,297), our figures revealed. Intermediates can expect a salary of around €42,838 ($44,846), while the most experienced admins can get a figure in the ballpark of €75,000 ($78,517).
Once again, a better understanding of where is best to work as a Salesforce Admin might be revealed by looking at other metrics too.
According to the World Happiness Report 2024, the Netherlands ranks sixth in the world in terms of life evaluations, while the United States sits in 23rd place.
Germany, however, is just behind the US at 24th, and France trails behind them both in 27th place, while Spain is even less satisfied, with 36th place.
Comparing San Francisco and Berlin on Numbeo’s Quality of Life Index paints a different picture however, with the German city earning superior rankings in terms of pollution, commuting time, cost of living, and safety.
India and Brazil: Developing Countries
In Brazil, junior administrators get 59,800 Brazilian Real (BRL), intermediates get 122,400 BRL, and seniors get 210,000 BRL. The Brazilian Real is quite weak against USD, with 1 BRL worth $0.17 (in USD). This means the junior position in Brazil gets the equivalent of $10,292 (USD), while an intermediate gets $21,067 and a senior gets $36,145.
Salaries in “developing” nations will, as a rule, be lower than those in “developed” countries, so it may be more helpful to compare Salesforce salaries to national averages.
Brazil has an average annual salary of around 29,100 Real ($4,992 in USD) after tax, according to Yahoo! Finance, making Salesforce skills seem a very appealing career path.
India is the final country on the list of 10, with the country’s currency – the Rupee – worth $0.012 (USD). A junior administrator in India gets 457,200 INR ($5,424 USD), while a mid-level gets 742,778 INR ($8,812) and a senior earns 1,608,667 INR ($19,084), according to our survey.
India‘s average annual salary after tax is around 630,694 INR ($7,472 USD) – slightly above a junior admin’s salary, but after a few years in the role, you could be making double this, our figures suggest. But with businesses looking to streamline costs, it’s worth considering that offshoring to Asia and South America has been known to happen in the tech industry.
We reported in August that, according to LinkedIn, the US Salesforce talent pool was made up of 810,000+ professionals open to work, with 360,000+ classed as “Active Talent”.
The figures, while helpful, provide something of a low-medium resolution picture of the hiring situation, as they take into account users that list Salesforce as a skill, or work with Salesforce in any kind of capacity.
In any case, at the end of July, LinkedIn advertised just 1,915 jobs combined in the categories of Salesforce Developer (989); Marketing Cloud (180); Consultant (69); Business Analyst (150); Architect (255); and Admin (272). Taking an even broader view, according to a report by Growth Market Reports, the IT Services outsourcing market was valued at $525B in 2022 and was reportedly likely to reach $1.6T by 2031.
So while the United States and Europe might seem to be clear winners at the moment, one has to ask the question – will it always be so?
Final Thoughts
Comparing the salaries of separate countries – even using a single currency like USD – may at first seem like an apples-to-apples comparison, but it’s certainly worth bearing in mind that different nations have different economies, tax policies, available benefits, and so on.
The United States and Australia may appear to be the most desirable places – at least in terms of salary alone – when it comes to starting out in Salesforce. But living costs will also be much higher there than the likes of India or Brazil at the lower end of the salary spectrum.
