Data Center Technician Salary: Your 2025 Guide

Data centers are the physical facilities that companies and organizations use to store data and include hardware such as servers and storage systems. These data centers need data center technicians to manage and maintain data servers, including physical server maintenance such as configuring servers and maintaining their operation. In this role, you may also be responsible for troubleshooting issues that can arise during server operations and finding solutions.

Find out more about what a data center technician does, how much they can make, and if a position as a data center technician could be right for you.

What is a data center technician?

A data center technician is responsible for safeguarding the data servers of a company or organization. You might perform physical server maintenance such as maintaining equipment, checking power sources, reviewing the temperatures for servers, and making necessary repairs quickly and efficiently.

Some companies also have their data center technicians work on installing and maintaining the software needed to run physical servers at a data warehouse; so it’s good to have an understanding of both the hardware and software required for your position as a data center technician.

Positions in the computer and information technology sector, like data center technicians, are expected to grow faster than the national average due to the demand for workers to fill positions, and the number of workers leaving these positions will be replaced.

Explore how different factors can contribute to boosting your data center technician salary.

How much does a data center technician make?

Data center technicians make an average annual salary of $61,481 [1]. That salary estimate is base pay for a data center technician only, however, and you could make an average of $6,847 additional pay in bonuses, profit sharing, or other additional compensation for an average total pay of $68,328 [1].

Various job listing sites show a range of salaries for data center technicians, with salaries ranging from $46,560 to $95,473. Here are the annual salaries given by different organizations that track the information for data center technician positions [1,2,3,4]:

Factors that may affect salary

Factors such as your education level and experience in the field can boost your potential earnings as a data center technician. Where you live can also impact how much you can make based on the demand for data center technicians in your area or the cost of living in a particular city or state.

Education

Your level of education could boost your salary as a higher degree could make it possible for you to qualify for jobs that require more responsibilities and offer higher pay.

Data center technicians usually need an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree to get a position in the field. Consider majoring in a field such as information technology, computer science, or computer networking to get a position as a data center technician. Thirty-three percent of data center technicians have an associate degree, while 41 percent of data center technicians have a bachelor's degree, and 10 percent have a high school diploma [5].

The average data center technician salaries based on education level are [5]:

• High school diploma or less: $44,488

• Associate degree or some college: $45,339

• Bachelor's degree: $52,482

• Master's degree: $55,310

Experience

Your previous experience as a data center technician can affect your salary, as more experience can lead to a greater annual income. The estimated average salaries you can expect based on how much experience you’ve had as a data center technician are [1]:

• 0-1 year: $54,726

• 1-3 years: $57,837

• 4-6 years: $60,060

• 7-9 years: $61,593

• 10-14 years: $65,536

• 15+ years: $70,833

Industry

Certain industries can earn more income for data center technicians than others. Glassdoor lists the following five industries as the highest-paying for data center technicians. Note that Glassdoor’s data is composed of salary as well as additional compensation such as stocks, cash, bonuses, and other benefits [1]:

• Financial services: $59,350

• Human resources and staffing: $59,245

• Real estate: $59,043

• Information technology: $57,696

• Telecommunications: $56,562

Other industries that offer good-paying positions for data center technicians include energy, healthcare, technology, and finance.

Location

Where you live can affect how much you can make as a data center technician due to the demand for work in the area, the cost of living, or other regional factors that could change how much you make.

The five top-paying states for data center technicians, based on annual salary data collected by Zippia, are [2]

• Massachusetts: $64,434

• New Jersey: $63,823

• California: $60,172

• Ohio: $59,526

• South Carolina: $59,110

Some cities may have higher earnings than others based on the cost of living or the number of data center technician positions. You can earn more if you live in these areas or are willing to relocate.

• Piscataway, New Jersey: $63,849

• Mountain View, California: $60,985

• Cleveland, Ohio: $60,755

• San Antonio, Texas: $58,883

• Phoenix, Arizona: $57,589

Job outlook

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects positions in the computer and information technology field to grow much faster than average for all occupations from 2023 to 2033 [6]. 

Positions in computer and information technology, including data center technicians, will continue to grow as the number of occupations in the field increases and it’s necessary to replace workers who leave the field.

Getting started as a data center technician on Coursera

Your salary as a data center technician is influenced by various factors, including your education and experience as well as the industry and location you work in. Consider educational options to start a career as a data center technician or continue your training in the field.

The IBM IT Support Professional Certificate on Coursera can help you learn practical skills to troubleshoot technology issues at a data center as well as help users with hardware and software.

Learn more about servers with the Back-End Infrastructure: Servers, Secure APIs and Data on Coursera. The program includes information on server configurations, how to protect data, and support API configurations.