Data report · updated 30 Oct 2026
Space Industry Pay Report, 2026
Space industry work pays a typical $100k–$230k/yr (median $132k/yr), measured from 3,953 distinct advertised rates across 36 employers and the 8,188 roles open right now. Advertised rates run from $4.16k/yr to $600k/yr.
Key findings
The findings, as of today
By kind of work
Median pay, highest first
Kinds of work appear here only when a live rate spans three or more employers, which makes each figure a market rate rather than a single employer's pay. Bars show the median; the range shows typical pay, worked out the same way as every band on this site.
Want the interactive version, with a salary estimator and every employer's band? Open the pay explorer.
By employer
Highest-paying employers right now
Employers are ranked by expected pay, and the 18 listed here sit above the middle employer in that ranking. Expected pay is the median of the rates an employer's own open roles post, pulled toward the all-employer average the fewer rates it posts, with roles that post no pay counted at that average. Next to it is the employer's typical pay, the band its roles post. Every name links to the employer's page.
| Employer | Expected pay | Typical pay |
|---|---|---|
| Muon Space | $198k/yrThe median of its 137 posted salaries is $201k; weighted 96% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $198k. 99% of its 138 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 99% x $198k + 0.7% x $140k = $198k a year. | $173k–$255k/yr |
| Hubble Network | $180k/yrThe median of its 16 posted salaries is $197k; weighted 73% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $180k. All of its roles post a salary, so its typical pay is $180k a year. | $151k–$324k/yr |
| Outpost | $175k/yrThe median of its 13 posted salaries is $198k; weighted 69% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $177k. 93% of its 14 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 93% x $177k + 7.1% x $140k = $175k a year. | $155k–$325k/yr |
| Turion Space | $163k/yrThe median of its 13 posted salaries is $175k; weighted 69% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $163k. All of its roles post a salary, so its typical pay is $163k a year. | $150k–$270k/yr |
| Momentus | $163k/yrThe median of its 9 posted salaries is $180k; weighted 61% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $163k. All of its roles post a salary, so its typical pay is $163k a year. | $168k–$245k/yr |
| Inversion Space | $159k/yrThe median of its 70 posted salaries is $165k; weighted 92% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $163k. 84% of its 83 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 84% x $163k + 16% x $140k = $159k a year. | $128k–$221k/yr |
| Xona Space Systems | $155k/yrThe median of its 42 posted salaries is $161k; weighted 88% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $158k. 82% of its 51 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 82% x $158k + 18% x $140k = $155k a year. | $140k–$217k/yr |
| Quindar | $155k/yrThe median of its 17 posted salaries is $160k; weighted 74% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $155k. All of its roles post a salary, so its typical pay is $155k a year. | $150k–$260k/yr |
| Albedo | $154k/yrThe median of its 5 posted salaries is $173k; weighted 46% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $154k. All of its roles post a salary, so its typical pay is $154k a year. | $173k–$192k/yr |
| Varda Space Industries | $154k/yrThe median of its 91 posted salaries is $160k; weighted 94% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $159k. 76% of its 119 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 76% x $159k + 24% x $140k = $154k a year. | $136k–$263k/yr |
| K2 Space | $154k/yrThe median of its 176 posted salaries is $158k; weighted 97% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $157k. 82% of its 214 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 82% x $157k + 18% x $140k = $154k a year. | $120k–$250k/yr |
| Apex | $154k/yrThe median of its 122 posted salaries is $155k; weighted 95% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $154k. 97% of its 126 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 97% x $154k + 3.2% x $140k = $154k a year. | $125k–$226k/yr |
| Loft Orbital | $153k/yrThe median of its 36 posted salaries is $165k; weighted 86% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $161k. 61% of its 61 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 61% x $161k + 39% x $140k = $153k a year. | $130k–$228k/yr |
| Stoke Space | $150k/yrThe median of its 69 posted salaries is $152k; weighted 92% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $151k. 93% of its 74 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 93% x $151k + 6.8% x $140k = $150k a year. | $108k–$328k/yr |
| BlackSky | $146k/yrThe median of its 28 posted salaries is $150k; weighted 83% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $148k. 78% of its 37 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 78% x $148k + 22% x $140k = $146k a year. | $134k–$208k/yr |
| Epsilon3 | $146k/yrThe median of its 3 posted salaries is $160k; weighted 34% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $146k. All of its roles post a salary, so its typical pay is $146k a year. | $155k–$200k/yr |
| Slingshot Aerospace | $146k/yrThe median of its 8 posted salaries is $154k; weighted 58% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $148k. 73% of its 11 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 73% x $148k + 27% x $140k = $146k a year. | $134k–$255k/yr |
| Northwood Space | $143k/yrThe median of its 55 posted salaries is $144k; weighted 90% on its own data and the rest on the all-employer $140k, that gives $144k. 92% of its 60 roles post a salary; the unposted ones take the all-employer figure: 92% x $144k + 8.3% x $140k = $143k a year. | $130k–$226k/yr |
Where the work is
Where the open roles are, by kind of work
A good rate means little without openings. Here is where hiring stands today, by the count of live open roles, and the pace at which new ones arrive.
How we measured this
Methodology
Each figure here comes from the live job boards of the 47 employers hiring now (out of 47 employers SpaceJobs.Now tracks overall), read every hour. We take the pay a role posts, keep one copy of a role that an employer relists at the same rate, and leave out posted ceilings (“up to $X”), because a ceiling tells you the most a role could pay, not what it does pay.
In this report “typical” pay means the 25th percentile of what roles pay (the middle of each posted range, as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours, 40 a week for 52 weeks) to the 90th-percentile posted top, which brings in the well-paid senior roles. Every band here, whether for the whole market, a kind of work or a single employer, is worked out that same way from the roles it has open, and matches the figure the job board states for that set of roles. A kind of work counts as a market rate only once its rate covers three or more employers, so one employer’s pay is never passed off as the going rate. Last refresh: 30 Oct 2026. Read the full methodology.
Use this data
Cite or reuse these figures
You may quote and reuse these figures under CC BY 4.0: please credit SpaceJobs.Now and link back to this report. The numbers are measured again every hour, so give the date when you cite them.
SpaceJobs.Now. Space Industry Pay Report, 2026. Data as of 2026-10-30. https://spacejobs.now/space-industry-pay-report
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Space industry pay: common questions
How much do jobs in the space industry pay?
Typical space industry work pays $100k–$230k/yr, with a live median of $132k/yr taken from 3,953 separate posted rates at 36 employers. The lowest advertised rate on the board today is $4.16k/yr and the highest $600k/yr; pay depends most on the kind of work, the seniority and the location.
What is the highest-paying kind of work in the space industry?
Among kinds of work that have a live market rate today, RF, Communications & Payloads comes out on top: its median is $162k/yr (typical $133k–$270k/yr), across 20 employers.
Do space industry job postings show the salary?
About 48% of the 8,188 roles open right now state their pay; the remaining 4,227 state none, and pay is set in the offer. This report measures only the pay that is actually advertised, so the numbers reflect what real postings say rather than a survey "average".
Is this pay data current?
Yes. The figures are rebuilt from each employer's live job board, most recently on 30 Oct 2026. A posted ceiling ("up to $X") does not count, since it says nothing about what anyone is actually paid, and a role reposted at the same rate is counted a single time.