Software Developers
The national median wage for software developers is $132,270 across 1.8M jobs. After cost of living, San Francisco goes furthest at $213,666, and 43 of 78 metros beat the national median once prices are counted.
What the job pays, metro to metro
Each line runs from the lowest metro to the highest. The mark is the national median.
BLS OES, latest release
78 metro areas tracked
Best value: top metros by cost-adjusted wage
Wages adjusted for local cost of living. A longer blue bar means the salary goes further there.
All metro areas
Sorted by cost-adjusted wage. Tap a column head to re-sort; metro names link to the city page where we track one.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | CA | $241,443 | $213,666 | 19,493 | 25.0 |
| 2 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $219,863 | $201,709 | 10,125 | 25.0 |
| 3 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | NY | $206,761 | $191,445 | 49,661 | 25.0 |
| 4 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | MA | $193,015 | $178,718 | 18,659 | 25.0 |
| 5 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | TX | $157,526 | $162,398 | 8,059 | 25.0 |
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | VA | $163,460 | $161,842 | 19,507 | 25.0 |
| 7 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | CO | $152,329 | $150,821 | 10,624 | 25.0 |
| 8 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $144,188 | $147,131 | 15,791 | 25.0 |
| 9 | Columbus, OH | OH | $134,626 | $146,333 | 6,632 | 25.0 |
| 10 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | IL | $144,758 | $146,220 | 22,147 | 25.0 |
| 11 | St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $133,217 | $144,801 | 10,675 | 25.0 |
| 12 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | CT | $149,775 | $144,014 | 2,964 | 25.0 |
| 13 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $135,314 | $143,951 | 5,108 | 25.0 |
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | MI | $135,210 | $143,840 | 12,792 | 25.0 |
| 15 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | TX | $139,249 | $143,556 | 27,177 | 25.0 |
| 16 | Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $131,761 | $143,218 | 7,506 | 25.0 |
| 17 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $133,176 | $143,200 | 3,781 | 25.0 |
| 18 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | GA | $138,509 | $142,793 | 24,791 | 25.0 |
| 19 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $126,087 | $141,671 | 3,068 | 25.0 |
| 20 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | NE | $127,270 | $141,411 | 4,394 | 25.0 |
| 21 | Salt Lake City, UT | UT | $134,236 | $141,301 | 6,065 | 25.0 |
| 22 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $124,302 | $141,252 | 3,386 | 25.0 |
| 23 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $138,105 | $140,923 | 25,109 | 25.0 |
| 24 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $157,516 | $139,395 | 33,884 | 25.0 |
| 25 | Anchorage, AK | AK | $141,393 | $138,621 | 1,501 | 25.0 |
| 26 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $134,000 | $138,144 | 31,249 | 25.0 |
| 27 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN | TN | $128,413 | $138,078 | 8,821 | 25.0 |
| 28 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $144,452 | $137,573 | 8,051 | 25.0 |
| 29 | Madison, WI | WI | $127,417 | $137,008 | 3,210 | 25.0 |
| 30 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | CT | $141,001 | $135,578 | 2,596 | 25.0 |
| 31 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | SC | $125,939 | $135,418 | 2,506 | 25.0 |
| 32 | Boise City, ID | ID | $123,128 | $135,305 | 2,749 | 25.0 |
| 33 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $126,658 | $134,743 | 8,865 | 25.0 |
| 34 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | AL | $121,136 | $134,596 | 3,102 | 25.0 |
| 35 | Richmond, VA | VA | $135,574 | $134,232 | 4,539 | 25.0 |
| 36 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | DE | $132,779 | $134,120 | 1,517 | 25.0 |
| 37 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $123,322 | $134,046 | 8,245 | 25.0 |
| 38 | Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $131,246 | $133,924 | 5,864 | 25.0 |
| 39 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $134,986 | $133,650 | 6,081 | 25.0 |
| 40 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | NV | $129,481 | $133,486 | 7,806 | 25.0 |
| 41 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | IN | $122,680 | $133,348 | 6,917 | 25.0 |
| 42 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $119,183 | $132,426 | 5,067 | 25.0 |
| 43 | Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $116,476 | $132,359 | 3,863 | 25.0 |
| 44 | Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $115,594 | $131,357 | 1,959 | 25.0 |
| 45 | Honolulu, HI | HI | $142,648 | $130,870 | 3,164 | 25.0 |
| 46 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $137,330 | $130,790 | 1,354 | 25.0 |
| 47 | Albuquerque, NM | NM | $117,211 | $130,234 | 3,613 | 25.0 |
| 48 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | OH | $119,461 | $129,849 | 6,995 | 25.0 |
| 49 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $134,767 | $129,584 | 11,413 | 25.0 |
| 50 | Columbia, SC | SC | $119,850 | $128,871 | 2,231 | 25.0 |
| 51 | Cheyenne, WY | WY | $117,049 | $128,625 | 417 | 25.0 |
| 52 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $119,017 | $127,975 | 2,727 | 25.0 |
| 53 | Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $123,915 | $127,747 | 1,170 | 25.0 |
| 54 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | AR | $110,817 | $127,376 | 3,326 | 25.0 |
| 55 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $143,750 | $127,212 | 7,606 | 25.0 |
| 56 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $123,243 | $127,055 | 9,812 | 25.0 |
| 57 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | FL | $130,665 | $126,859 | 24,335 | 25.0 |
| 58 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $126,372 | $125,121 | 13,972 | 25.0 |
| 59 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $120,765 | $124,500 | 703 | 25.0 |
| 60 | Sioux Falls, SD | SD | $109,396 | $124,314 | 1,731 | 25.0 |
| 61 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | VA | $124,208 | $122,978 | 3,847 | 25.0 |
| 62 | Tulsa, OK | OK | $107,803 | $122,503 | 3,011 | 25.0 |
| 63 | Knoxville, TN | TN | $113,789 | $122,354 | 4,387 | 25.0 |
| 64 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | MI | $114,919 | $122,254 | 2,998 | 25.0 |
| 65 | Fargo, ND-MN | ND | $108,024 | $121,375 | 1,249 | 25.0 |
| 66 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $136,965 | $121,208 | 8,447 | 25.0 |
| 67 | Jacksonville, FL | FL | $124,837 | $121,201 | 6,003 | 25.0 |
| 68 | Jackson, MS | MS | $103,837 | $119,353 | 2,263 | 25.0 |
| 69 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $120,374 | $116,868 | 10,645 | 25.0 |
| 70 | Wichita, KS | KS | $105,077 | $116,752 | 1,523 | 25.0 |
| 71 | Billings, MT | MT | $104,567 | $116,186 | 977 | 25.0 |
| 72 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | NY | $125,246 | $115,969 | 4,449 | 25.0 |
| 73 | Charleston, WV | WV | $103,783 | $115,314 | 861 | 25.0 |
| 74 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $118,012 | $114,575 | 9,882 | 25.0 |
| 75 | Rochester, NY | NY | $121,187 | $112,210 | 3,049 | 25.0 |
| 76 | Tucson, AZ | AZ | $112,783 | $111,666 | 3,265 | 25.0 |
| 77 | El Paso, TX | TX | $107,863 | $111,199 | 3,131 | 25.0 |
| 78 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $123,358 | $109,166 | 10,818 | 25.0 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Software Developers?
The national median annual wage for software developers is $132,270, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) data.
Where do software developers earn the most after adjusting for cost of living?
After adjusting for local cost of living, the top-paying metro areas for software developers are San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA ($213,666), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($201,709), New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($191,445).
How many metro areas have data for software developers?
We show wage and employment estimates for software developers across 78 metro areas in the United States. The national median wage is the latest BLS OES figure; individual metro values are modeled from it using local cost of living and regional labor-market patterns rather than taken from the published metro-level OES tables.