Salesforce Admin Salary Guide 2022
Salesforce Admin salaries are a hot topic. The steady demand for Salesforce Administrators and the growing Salesforce economy means that these professionals find themselves in a good position.
How much do Salesforce Admins make? Read on to find entry-level Salesforce Admin salaries and senior Salesforce Admin salaries, how to improve your salary, and which factors influence your earning potential.
Jump to: Which factors influence Salesforce Admin salaries?
Jump to: How to improve your Salesforce Admin salary
Read more about roles and responsibilities: What does a Salesforce Admin do?
Salesforce Administrator Salary Averages
North America
| Entry level | Senior level | Contract | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US ($) | $100,750 | $128,000 | $101.5 p/h |
| Canada (C$) | C$85,000 | C$103,000 | C$90.5 p/h |
*This 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 $75,000.
Europe
| Entry level | Senior level | Contract | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK (£) | £39,375 | £55,125 | £387 p/d |
| Ireland (€) | €37,500 | €55,000 | €364.5 p/d |
| Spain (€) | €27,500 | €34,000 | €590 p/d |
| Italy (€) | €25,100 | €30,650 | €315 p/d |
| Switzerland (CHF) | €82,750 | €97,875 | - |
| Netherlands (€ - monthly) | €3,325 | €4,100+ | - |
| Belgium (€ - monthly) | €2,750 | €3,750 | - |
Australia
| Entry level | Senior level | Contract | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (AU$) | AU$101,000 | AU$121,625 | AU$862 p/d |
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: “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.
- 17% believe that holding the Salesforce Certified Advanced Administrator is likely to increase your worth (ranked 7th),
- This is closely followed by Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder, where 14% of respondents agree (ranked 8th).
Speaking more generally, the survey also asked if they experienced an increase in their salary after earning (any) certification:
- 63% did, reporting an average salary increase of 26%,
- 37% did not, their salaries remained the same.
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 skillset. Usually starting off mastering Sales Cloud, Admins can then verge into a specialism eg. CPQ, Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
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 $128k. The UK Admins on average earn $74.5k, in Spain $38k (!), and in Australia, the figure is $87k.
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 Admin) and I would like to share with anyone looking to accelerate through this career path.
- Take Certifications
- Take Interest in a Specialization
- Know which technical skills are in-demand
- Work in the Right Role and Team
- Become Self-sufficient
- Understand the DNA of an Organisation
Tip 1: 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.
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.
Tip 2: Take Interest in a Specialization
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!
Tip 3: Know which technical skills are in-demand
Take a look at the Salesforce skills that are the most in-demand and the hardest to retain skilled professionals for. These give you an indication of skills and product expertise that employers would be willing to pay more for, so they can attract your talent, and then not lose you!
Source: Salesforce Talent Ecosystem Report, research by 10K Advisors.
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.
If you are looking to step up to a mid-level Admin fast, consider working in a team. There is a big but here – find a team where managers (or more experienced Admins) will delegate tasks to you that will stretch your skills, for example, introducing you to more features or use cases.
A team environment will mean you can venture further into the unknown and still have their support to rely on.
When you join a team, set clear expectations that you want to be challenged, or risk being ‘pigeon-holed’. Think realistically if this team will sincerely offer you that progression.
Senior Admins, as described in the salary guide, typically 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).
Tip 6: Understand the DNA of an Organization
Your colleagues fill certain roles in the organization – from the sales leader, to the head of finance, marketing director, etc. All of these individuals have motivations – some will be shared, but others are more self-interested.
Who is defining the requirements for the CRM and making the decisions – and more importantly, are these the right people that should be involved?
What happens when priorities conflict? Or it’s not possible to deliver something how and when they want it?
This is ‘stakeholder management’ and is something that you should tune into. Balance different stakeholders’ needs to inspire change (ie. knowing how to win over certain people).
Get to know who the decision-makers are and what makes them ‘tick’. You will gain more recognition as a positive change-maker, and therefore, indispensable to the organization.
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 ammo when asking for a raise, or applying for a new role.
At SalesforceBen.com, we have been enabling Admins, Developers, Consultants, Project Managers and Marketers with these statistics for a number of years – so share these with your colleagues or friends around the Salesforce community.
Justin
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
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.
MD.Nazeer Ahmed
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.
[email protected]
Ben McCarthy
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
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
Norwill Gutierrez
As always, great article Ben, do you have any post about Salary for Developers and Architects ?
Ben McCarthy
Hi Norwill, stay tuned, they are on there way 🙂
Dianna Stockdale
I am wondering what the difference is in salary for these levels in the for profit vs non-profit world?
Ben McCarthy
Hi Dianna, good question, I will try and find out and add it to the post for you. Thank, Ben
Oscar Reyes
Hi Ben,
Thank you so much for the article, a really informative read.
Oscar
Miguel
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.
Taha Syed
Thanks for the article. There is so much difference in the avg salaries posted by various websites.
Arlie
You responded in 2019, Is this still the case?
Brittany
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?
Lucy Mazalon
Interesting idea – we will pass on your suggestion, thanks!
Anupa
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
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
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
Penny
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
Hi Penny, we will let their team know, thanks!
Matt
Something I would love to see is the difference in nonprofit and for-profit. With Salesforce NPSP, more nonprofit are adapting Salesforce.
Lucy Mazalon
Thanks for your suggestion – it’s on our radar!
Kumar
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
Hi Kumar,
Check out our Marketing Cloud Administrator Certification Guide & Tips!
https://www.salesforceben.com/the-drip/marketing-cloud-administrator-certification-guide-tips/
akacarioca
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.
Alineik Mohammed Akram
Very Informative and good career guiding path with complete analysis.
Christine Marshall
Thank you!
Ivan
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
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
Are therese numbers net or gross?
Christine Marshall
The figures are gross pay.
Juan Ignacio Coria
Fantastic! It would be great to have Latin America also included in the comparison.
Lucy Mazalon
Great idea, we’ll try our best to gather that data.
Wendy
Great breakdown of salaries. I would be interested to see this same comparison of for profit and non profit organizations?
Jeff
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?