May 2025 OEWS estimate
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Tester Salary in the United States
The national median annual salary is $104,300. This page compares official BLS estimates across 41 major metro areas with publishable data.
Wage overview
Official BLS estimates; hourly values are shown only when BLS publishes them.
Median annual salary
$104,300
Mean annual salary
$111,490
Employment estimate
186,740
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 | $61,440 |
| P25 — lower quartile | $80,310 |
| P50 — median | $104,300 |
| P75 — upper quartile | $133,180 |
| P90 — 90th percentile | $167,010 |
Median hourly wage
$50.14/hr
Mean hourly wage
$53.60/hr
Employment estimate
186,740
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 | $29.54/hr |
| P25 — lower quartile | $38.61/hr |
| P50 — median | $50.14/hr |
| P75 — upper quartile | $64.03/hr |
| P90 — 90th percentile | $80.29/hr |
Median salary distribution across covered metros
These values summarize the 41 metros published on this site, not every U.S. metro.
- Lowest covered median
- $77,700
- Middle covered median
- $103,070
- Highest covered median
- $166,530
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 | $166,530 |
| #2 | San Francisco, CA | $134,630 |
| #3 | New York, NY | $130,540 |
| #4 | Baltimore, MD | $129,880 |
| #5 | Seattle, WA | $129,690 |
| #6 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $128,010 |
| #7 | Washington, DC | $126,350 |
| #8 | Denver, CO | $123,690 |
| #9 | Boston, MA | $122,210 |
| #9 | Los Angeles, CA | $122,210 |
Largest employment markets
BLS employment estimates for the covered metros where employment is published.
| Rank | Employment market | Estimated employment |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York, NY | 11,460 |
| #2 | Dallas, TX | 8,840 |
| #3 | Washington, DC | 8,460 |
| #4 | Los Angeles, CA | 7,200 |
| #5 | Seattle, WA | 6,650 |
| #6 | San Jose, CA | 6,480 |
| #7 | Boston, MA | 6,050 |
| #8 | San Francisco, CA | 5,880 |
| #9 | Atlanta, GA | 5,270 |
| #10 | Chicago, IL | 5,010 |