May 2025 OEWS estimate
Software Developer Salary in the United States
The national median annual salary is $135,980. This page compares official BLS estimates across 44 major metro areas with publishable data.
Wage overview
Official BLS estimates; hourly values are shown only when BLS publishes them.
Median annual salary
$135,980
Mean annual salary
$148,100
Employment estimate
1,687,890
Annual salary percentiles
BLS wage thresholds from the 10th to the 90th percentile. Values are annual, the scale starts at $0, and P50 is the median.
| Percentile | Annual salary |
|---|---|
| P10 — 10th percentile | $82,460 |
| P25 — lower quartile | $105,210 |
| P50 — median | $135,980 |
| P75 — upper quartile | $171,980 |
| P90 — 90th percentile | $214,670 |
Median hourly wage
$65.38/hr
Mean hourly wage
$71.20/hr
Employment estimate
1,687,890
Hourly wage percentiles
BLS hourly wage thresholds from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The scale starts at $0; P50 is the median.
| Percentile | Hourly wage |
|---|---|
| P10 — 10th percentile | $39.64/hr |
| P25 — lower quartile | $50.58/hr |
| P50 — median | $65.38/hr |
| P75 — upper quartile | $82.68/hr |
| P90 — 90th percentile | $103.21/hr |
Median salary distribution across covered metros
These values summarize the 44 metros published on this site, not every U.S. metro.
- Lowest covered median
- $101,900
- Middle covered median
- $130,840
- Highest covered median
- $213,110
Highest-paying metros in this dataset
Ranked by annual median salary on a zero-based scale. This is not a cost-of-living or quality-of-life ranking.
| Rank | Metro or occupation | Annual median |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | San Jose, CA | $213,110 |
| #2 | San Francisco, CA | $186,640 |
| #3 | Seattle, WA | $167,280 |
| #4 | New York, NY | $166,830 |
| #5 | Boston, MA | $166,090 |
| #6 | Los Angeles, CA | $160,920 |
| #7 | Portland, OR | $156,000 |
| #8 | Washington, DC | $154,930 |
| #9 | Sacramento, CA | $139,640 |
| #10 | Baltimore, MD | $138,900 |
Largest employment markets
BLS employment estimates for the covered metros where employment is published.
| Rank | Employment market | Estimated employment |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York, NY | 121,000 |
| #2 | Seattle, WA | 92,770 |
| #3 | San Jose, CA | 87,350 |
| #4 | Washington, DC | 69,060 |
| #5 | San Francisco, CA | 69,030 |
| #6 | Dallas, TX | 67,030 |
| #7 | Los Angeles, CA | 55,540 |
| #8 | Boston, MA | 42,310 |
| #9 | Chicago, IL | 40,370 |
| #10 | Atlanta, GA | 36,300 |