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CISSP

ISC2
RANK #23 / 100 INVEST DEMAND 90 ► 2026-Q3 DATA
$198,311
Top of band · USD
Register for CISSP →

Official registration on ISC2'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 90 ►Relative hiring demand for CISSP this quarter.

The analyst note

The read

No security certification turns up in more job postings — around 17.6% of a 2,694-posting sample. In practice, it's the gate you're expected to clear to be taken seriously at senior level.

Who holds it

Security managers, architects, consultants and CISO-track professionals, across just about every sector. What the cert signals is breadth and fluency in governance rather than skill with any single tool.

The case for the verdict

Nothing in security comes close to it on demand. The ISC2 workforce gap is still at record levels (4.8M, 2024 figure), and regulation keeps pulling security toward governance — which is exactly where CISSP lives. It stacks naturally with CCSP or CISM.

The risk

The long-run risk is its own popularity. The more people hold it, the more it drifts from something that sets you apart toward a baseline expectation. One smaller signal worth noting: ISC2 dropped CISA from its experience-waiver list in April 2026 — a sign of tightening standards, not of weakness in the cert.

The benchmark check

Are you being paid what you deserve?

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Where it sits

Top 25% of the CertBueno Top 100.

This certification pays 16% above the rest of the Top 100.

Vendor

One of 3 ISC2 certifications in the Top 100 — ranked 3rd among them.

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