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CISA

ISACA
RANK #34 / 100 INVEST DEMAND 83 ► 2026-Q3 DATA
$183,327
Top of band · USD
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Official registration on ISACA's site.

Now see where you stand

Your benchmark against real contributors — the median beside top-of-band, plus stacking uplift and vintage decay.

What the verdict means

INVESTAppreciating — hold it and stack an AI-adjacent cert
DEMAND 83 ►Relative hiring demand for CISA this quarter.

The analyst note

The read

The core IT credential in the audit profession, with premium growth of 11–20% through late 2025. AI systems need auditing, and CISA holders are first in line for the work.

Who holds it

IT auditors, audit managers and compliance specialists who test controls and run SOX/ISO programs, and increasingly audit algorithmic systems too. They sit at the Big Four, in internal audit functions, and at regulators.

The case for the verdict

Audit demand is regulation-driven and holds up when the cycle turns down. AI hasn't automated the auditor; it has handed them a new surface to audit. One footnote: ISC2 dropped CISA from the CISSP experience-waiver list in April 2026 — a fencing move that says nothing about CISA's own worth.

The risk

The risk is audit tooling. Continuous-controls-monitoring platforms are soaking up routine testing, which pushes value toward the judgement-heavy work and thins entry-level audit roles first.

The benchmark check

Are you being paid what you deserve?

Show me what I'm worth

Where it sits

Top half of the CertBueno Top 100.

This certification pays 7% above the rest of the Top 100.

Vendor

One of 5 ISACA certifications in the Top 100 — ranked 3rd among them.

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