Hiring a database architect in Seattle, WA

Employers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area pay database architects a median of $105,430, with the middle half of the market between $101,970 and $160,910. Seattle residents working in computer and mathematical occupations report a median of $151,431, which is 44% above what the metro pays for this role.

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What does a database architect earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile	$101,970
Median	$105,430
75th percentile	$160,910

Half of database architects in this area earn between $101,970 and $160,910. A band set below $101,970 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Seattle residents earn

$151,431

Median earnings of Seattle residents working in computer and mathematical occupations, 62,843 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 44% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

Residents here already earn more than this role pays, so your offer is competing with whatever they currently commute to.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Develop and document database architectures.
Collaborate with system architects, software architects, design analysts, and others to understand business or industry requirements.
Develop database architectural strategies at the modeling, design and implementation stages to address business or industry requirements.
Design databases to support business applications, ensuring system scalability, security, performance, and reliability.
Develop data models for applications, metadata tables, views or related database structures.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 15-1243.

Tools and technologies in demand

Amazon Web Services AWS software, Apache Spark, Microsoft Azure software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft PowerPoint, Oracle Java.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Seattle?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 67.5% of Seattle adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Seattle commute runs 26.6 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 31.3% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In King County, computer systems design and related services employs 52,229 and turns over 7.8% a quarter, with 4,871 hires against 4,685 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $17,848 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5415.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about database architects. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $21,086 to $31,629 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

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