How much do jobs that ask for Kubernetes pay?

$174,500 to $243,000 for the middle half, median $205,000, from 2,449 paid postings from 676 employers. Other postings that list skills advertise a median $163,000.

Does Kubernetes increase pay?

Matched on function, level and industry, postings that list Kubernetes advertise +7.2% (about $14k a year) more than similar postings that do not. That is a difference in advertised pay between postings, not proof that learning the skill raises a salary.

Which jobs list Kubernetes most?

Engineering (1,661 postings), Data & Analytics (370 postings), Security (254 postings).

Kubernetes salary: what jobs that ask for it advertise

Name: Advertised pay in U.S. job postings that list Kubernetes
Creator: NextChapter

Postings that list Kubernetes advertise a median $205,000 (2,449 paid postings from 676 employers), against $163,000 for other postings that list skills. Matched on function, level and industry the gap is +7.2%, about $14k a year.

By Justin KullaLast updated November 10, 2026

Kubernetes pay range

From 2,449 paid postings from 676 employers that list it. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter: $174,500
Median: $205,000
Upper quarter: $243,000
Median without it: $163,000

Raw gap: +25.9%. This includes the seniority and field of the roles that list the skill.
Gap with function, level and industry matched: +7.2% (about $14k a year), across 2,029 postings in 25 comparison cells.

Where Kubernetes is asked for

The functions with the most postings that list it.

Skills with the highest median pay in the same function.

Questions about this data

How much do jobs that ask for Kubernetes pay?: $174,500 to $243,000 for the middle half, median $205,000, from 2,449 paid postings from 676 employers. Other postings that list skills advertise a median $163,000.
Does Kubernetes increase pay?: Matched on function, level and industry, postings that list Kubernetes advertise +7.2% (about $14k a year) more than similar postings that do not. That is a difference in advertised pay between postings, not proof that learning the skill raises a salary.
Which jobs list Kubernetes most?: Engineering (1,661 postings), Data & Analytics (370 postings), Security (254 postings).

Method, download and how to cite

Data as of November 10, 2026. Rebuilt daily.

Pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posted (or stated in the posting text), converted to a year, on live U.S. professional jobs. It is advertised pay, not what anyone is paid.

A “gap, job mix matched” compares postings inside cells of the same function, level and industry, so a group is not credited for simply holding more senior or better-paid roles. It needs 150 or more postings across at least 5 cells with 15 postings on each side, and is shown as n/a otherwise. A gap is a difference in advertised pay between postings. It does not show that a skill, an industry or an employer size causes higher pay.

Download the CSV (aggregates only; no posting, employer or person is in it). Cite as: NextChapter, “Advertised pay in U.S. job postings that list Kubernetes”, data as of November 10, 2026, https://launchyournextchapter.com/resources/pay-data/skills/kubernetes

See also the AI skills salary premium, which uses the same method for AI skills only, and the salary by job title pages.

More pay data

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