IT Consultant Salary: The Ultimate 2022 Guide to Know Your Pay

How much does an IT consultant get paid in the United States?

You might be thinking about it if you want to make a career in the IT field.

IT consulting has grown exponentially in the last few decades, with Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) floating around 2.5%. According to reports, global IT consulting will be valued at $383 billion by 2026. It hints that the career scope of an IT professional is immense.

Since the IT industry is rapidly expanding, the IT consultant is paid handsomely. Here we will try to give an in-depth idea about IT consultant salary by answering the frequently asked questions related to IT consultant salary.

What Does the IT Consultant Do?

The IT consultants offer technological solutions and collaborate with in-house technical staff to support new technology implementations. The digitized experience that we enjoy from most of the products has contributions from IT consultants.

IT Consultant Roles and Responsibilities

Some common roles and responsibilities of an IT consultant are mentioned below:

  • Analyzing the IT system and infrastructure of an organization.
  • Implementing the most incredible technology solution to satisfy the company's demands.
  • Monitoring and analyzing security threats while diagnosing issues of IT systems.
  • Collaborating with the in-house technical staff and providing strategic advice.
  • Implementing new or better IT systems to improve productivity.

How Much Do Consultants Make?

An IT consultant job is a well-paid job. Since businesses worldwide rely on IT consultants to keep up with technological advancements in a cost-effective way, the pay matrix of IT Consultants is high due to their technical skills.

  • According to Payscale.com, the salary of an IT consultant is $80,909 per year.
  • Indeed.com says the salary of an IT consultant is $106,025 per year.
  • According to Salary.com, the salary of an IT consultant is between $84,905 to $99,924 per year.
  • Salaryexpert.com mentions that the average base pay of an IT consultant is $130,806 per year.

Also Read: How to draft an eye-catching IT Consultant resume?

What Is the Detailed Breakdown of the IT Consultant's Salary?

IT consultants are one of the most trending and highest-paying career options in the United States. A detailed breakdown of the IT consultant salary, including the base pay, cash bonus, and hourly salary according to Payscale, is given below.

Details IT Consultant Salary
Base Pay $51k-$128k
Hourly Pay $15k-93k
Bonus $1k-$16k
Profit Sharing $734-$16k
Commission $2k-$50k
Total Pay $48k-$142k

Factors Affecting IT Consultant Salary

The IT consultant's salary also depends upon whether you are an entry level employee or have years of experience. It also relies on the skills, geography, experience, and company size you possess. Let us look at each one of them.

Skills Required to Become an IT Consultant

Besides a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science or a related field, you also need some IT skills. These skills will help you stand out from the crowd and make the hiring managers notice you when you apply for the job.

Some common IT consultant skills include:

Certain skills can affect IT consultant salaries. Below are the most popular skills and their impact on an IT Consultant’s salary.

IT Consultant Skills Effect on Salary in %
Enterprise Application Integration 70%
Identity Management 64%
Big Data Analytics 60%
Microsoft BizTalk Server 60%
IP Network 54%
Program Management 53%
Customer Relations 51%
Information Architecture 48%
PegaRules BPM 48%
Content Management 45%

Also Read: How to write skills section in resume in 2022?

Geography

The salary of IT consultants largely depends upon the location where they are working. For example, the chances are high that big cities will pay more than their counterparts. IT consultants in cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Salt Lake City will earn more than Tulsa, Tempe, and Lansing.

Experience

With experience comes expertise. As per Payscale, while an entry level IT consultant’s salary is $64,743 annually, a senior IT consultant with 10+ years of experience earns $102,210 per year. It is thus evident that the pay of an experienced IT consultant will be more than a novice.

Company size

The IT consultant salary also varies depending on the company size. It is imperative that the big companies will pay more than the small ones.

  • Enterprise-level companies pay their employees $250-$850 per hour.
  • Large-sized consulting companies pay $200-$300 hourly to their IT consultants.
  • Medium-sized companies pay $125-$175 per hour.
  • Small companies pay IT consultants $75-$175 per hour.

Education

Education plays a vital role in getting a high salary for IT consultants. The minimum qualification required to become an IT consultant is a bachelor’s degree in information technology or any relevant field. If you have completed it from a reputed university, you stand a better chance to work for a top organization and get well paid.

Entry level IT Consultant Salary

An entry-level IT Consultant does not have much experience in the IT field; therefore, the salary that they would receive would be around $64,743 annually, according to Payscale. An entry-level IT consultant's salary will grow to $72,413 with a minimum of one year of experience.

Pay by Experience for IT Consultants

As mentioned earlier, dedicating years to a profession empowers you with the required skills and knowledge, eventually translating into expertise. That is why an experienced IT consultant's pay is more than an entry-level IT consultant's.

The data from Payscale gives an overall idea about the pay by experience level for IT consultant.

Experience Level Average IT Consultant Salary
Less than 1 year USD 64,743
1-4 years USD 72,413
5-9 years USD 87,983
10-19 years USD 102,210
20+ years USD 115,510

Top Certifications to Do for IT Consultant Profile

The most crucial step to increasing your IT consultant salary is to get certified with the latest certifications.

You can acquire specific certifications to enhance your performance, knowledge, and, consequently, pay matrix.

What Are Some Top IT Consultant Salary Provider Firms in the US?

Companies in the US pay a good amount to IT consultants. You can look at the top-paying companies and strive to be a part of their team. The data given below is collected from Payscale.com:

Company Average IT Consultant Salary
Deloitte USD 95, 959
HP Enterprise Services USD 97,000
Microsoft Corp. USD 114,894
IBM Global Services USD 114,650
Avanade Corporation USD 100,177
Kaiser Permanente USD 107,200
HCL America Inc. USD 96,421
Cognizant USD 100,190
Captech Ventures USD 92,432
TCS America USD 105,000
Thoughtworks Inc. USD 140,499
TEK Systems Inc. USD 102,000
Elli Lilly and Company USD 105,000
Dell USD 105,450
Bank of America Corp. USD 100,000
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company USD 100,796
Wipro Technologies USD 95,665
Verizon Communications USD 102,498
Sirius Computer Solutions USD 122,952
HSBC USD 114,000
Computer Sciences Corporation USD 112,000
Jacobs Engineering Group USD 97,500
Red Hat Inc. USD 99,497
Guidehouse USD 97,436
Grant Thornton LLP USD 98,000
Manhattan Associates USD 105,000
Massmutual Financial Group USD 105,000
Genpact USD 95,240

Highest Paying US Regions for IT Consultants

As we discussed before, the location of your desired company will also affect your salary as an IT Consultant. Here you can check out the highest-paying cities in the United States:

US Region Name Average IT Consultant Salary
Washington USD 88, 320
New York USD 89,455
Chicago USD 82,558
Houston USD 84,582
San Francisco USD 84,582
Seattle USD 90,617
Los Angeles USD 93,439
Boston USD 85,000
Columbus USD 86,081
Pittsburgh USD 89,875
Fairfax USD 92,809
San Jose USD 112,272
Sacramento USD 95,666
Richmond USD 93,481
Pleasanton USD 140,000
Princeton USD 94,000
Santa Clara USD 101,736
Durham USD 101,500
Manassas USD 107,442
Jersey City USD 99,995
Hartford USD 104,295
Irvine USD 126,132
Allentown USD 130,000
Huntsville USD 115,446
Framingham USD 105,128
Bentonville USD 129,700
Cambridge USD 102,000
Fremont USD 107,000
California City USD 90,000
Falls Church USD 112,444
Naperville USD 90,250
Herndon USD 95,000
Redmond USD 102,439

With some years of experience, you can become a Senior IT consultant. The salary, in that case, will vary in different US cities. As per Indeed, the highest paying cities for IT consultants in the US is given below.

US Region Name Average IT Consultant Salary
New York USD 122, 808
Boston USD 121,358
Los Angeles USD 116,530
Atlanta USD 111,005
Austin USD 110,238
Dallas USD 110,209
Charlotte USD 108,135
Gratiot USD 107,712
Miami USD 104,487

Key Takeaways
An IT consultant plans, manages, and provides solutions to an organization’s data and software systems. The key takeaways that can be kept in mind while looking for a good-paying IT consultant job are given below.

  • How much do IT consultants make will largely depend on their skills, education, location, and experience.
  • The IT consulting salary can be increased by gaining the right skillset, certificates, and experience.
  • Upgrading the skills can increase the IT consultants’ salary and help in landing the job in top companies.
  • Popular companies like Dell, Kaiser, IBM, and TCS America offer high salaries to IT consultants.

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