Years ago, my defense contractor decided to throw my name in the hat for a Top Secret clearance. We were eyeing some new contracts, so having more employees cleared at that level made sense. I was told that this clearance would automatically bump my salary by $12,000 a year. Being in my twenties and always eager for more cash, I was all in. My interim clearance came through in just a few weeks. Fast forward a few years, though, and I never saw that extra cash. Life took me on a different path, and I never got to see how that experiment would have panned out.
But here’s the thing. If I had stuck with it, the numbers today show that $12,000 bump would have been underselling it.
Higher Pay for Top Secret Clearance and Polygraph Holders
Every year, ClearanceJobs surveys cleared candidates about their compensation. The latest results show just how powerful clearance level can be in shaping your paycheck.
- Secret clearance holders bring in an average of $100,296.
- Top Secret holders see a jump to $124,084.
- And if you land a Top Secret/SCI, you’re looking at $132,177 on average.
That’s nearly a $32,000 difference between Secret and Top Secret/SCI holders. Even just moving from Secret to Top Secret gives you a boost of almost $24,000.
The real pay spike? The Intelligence Community. CIA, FBI, and NSA respondents reported average compensation of $161,878. That’s a massive leap compared to Secret-level salaries in the Department of Defense.
Beyond Clearance: Polygraphs and Agencies
Polygraphs are a major paycheck booster.
- A Counterintelligence Polygraph averages $139,279.
- A Lifestyle or Full Scope Polygraph? $141,299.
That’s on par with what you’d make in the Intelligence Community, and significantly above many federal agency averages. Compare that to DHS ($115,984) or even DOE ($128,546) and it’s clear: polygraphs, love them or hate them, pay.
Other Salary Factors
While clearance level is a heavy hitter, it doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Experience, education, and job role still stack the deck. Entry-level cleared professionals may not see a six-figure paycheck right away, but the gap between clearance levels shows up almost immediately. As your career progresses, that gap compounds.
Think about it: in high-demand roles like IT and engineering, a Secret clearance averages around $100,000, but a Top Secret/SCI can tack on more than $30,000. Whether you’ve got a high school diploma or a graduate degree, the clearance-level pay differential remains consistent.
A Career Pay Jump
Not all jobs or contracts are created equal, but your ability to be trusted with classified documents should be compensated, and the data backs it up. The “extra” cash tied to a Top Secret clearance is no longer just a rumored $12,000 bump. Today, it’s more like a career-defining pay jump that can reach into the tens of thousands annually.
Whether you’re starting out or deep into your national security career, a Top Secret clearance isn’t just a box checked. It’s one of the biggest bargaining chips in your salary negotiations.
