Software Developer Salary (2026)
Typical pay is $135,980 a year, with most software developers earning between $105,210 and $171,980. Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Salary Calculator›Software Developer
Nationally, the typical software developer earns $135,980 a year. Early-career pay starts around $105,210, experienced software developers earn $171,980 or more, and the top 10% make over $214,670. About 1,687,890 people work in this occupation in the US. Pay is highest in California ($174,410) and, among metro areas, in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($213,110).
Software Developer salary in the United States
Annual pay, BLS survey of May 2025
What software developers do
Software developers and software engineers design, build and maintain applications and systems, from web and mobile apps to embedded and industrial software. A bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field is common, though skills and experience count for a lot.
Software Developer salary by state
Typical annual pay for software developers in every state where BLS publishes figures, highest first.
| State | Typical | Early career | Experienced |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $174,410 | $136,990 | $216,670 |
| Washington | $166,540 | $132,290 | $211,860 |
| New York | $166,180 | $127,160 | $205,540 |
| Massachusetts | $165,210 | $131,370 | $190,280 |
| Oregon | $142,720 | $111,750 | $170,600 |
| New Hampshire | $139,720 | $107,240 | $167,880 |
| Maryland | $138,680 | $109,120 | $178,000 |
| Colorado | $138,390 | $122,470 | $173,000 |
| District of Columbia | $136,880 | $117,120 | $169,580 |
| Virginia | $136,460 | $106,600 | $171,090 |
| New Jersey | $135,940 | $107,020 | $170,130 |
| North Carolina | $134,710 | $104,530 | $164,750 |
| Connecticut | $134,120 | $105,750 | $166,440 |
| Delaware | $133,020 | $113,600 | $164,640 |
| Texas | $132,150 | $103,350 | $162,530 |
| Illinois | $132,110 | $101,540 | $166,420 |
| Idaho | $131,590 | $93,740 | $160,570 |
| Georgia | $131,010 | $103,410 | $162,240 |
| Florida | $130,980 | $101,970 | $164,800 |
| Rhode Island | $130,590 | $101,640 | $154,040 |
| Minnesota | $130,050 | $101,670 | $156,750 |
| Arizona | $129,690 | $102,310 | $159,680 |
| South Carolina | $129,450 | $95,750 | $167,750 |
| Nevada | $128,810 | $100,680 | $167,820 |
| Utah | $128,810 | $100,530 | $160,570 |
| Pennsylvania | $126,550 | $98,590 | $158,390 |
| Missouri | $126,120 | $97,540 | $155,010 |
| Michigan | $125,570 | $97,300 | $140,100 |
| Vermont | $125,280 | $102,820 | $166,610 |
| New Mexico | $124,520 | $95,690 | $158,390 |
| Hawaii | $124,040 | $82,830 | $170,970 |
| Maine | $123,120 | $99,200 | $163,150 |
| Wisconsin | $122,660 | $97,740 | $138,590 |
| Alabama | $122,540 | $86,990 | $154,290 |
| Tennessee | $122,430 | $90,750 | $138,890 |
| Montana | $121,990 | $94,800 | $169,180 |
| West Virginia | $121,000 | $82,700 | $142,610 |
| Oklahoma | $118,100 | $94,360 | $138,940 |
| Wyoming | $115,170 | $100,560 | $153,090 |
| Iowa | $114,890 | $95,600 | $137,090 |
| Ohio | $114,090 | $96,200 | $135,490 |
| Kansas | $113,420 | $86,460 | $136,510 |
| Nebraska | $110,900 | $91,000 | $135,600 |
| Kentucky | $109,010 | $91,960 | $136,090 |
| Indiana | $105,920 | $83,650 | $135,630 |
| North Dakota | $105,600 | $78,870 | $126,510 |
| Arkansas | $104,490 | $81,480 | $127,740 |
| Louisiana | $102,800 | $82,930 | $122,740 |
| South Dakota | $96,310 | $79,810 | $121,190 |
| Mississippi | $95,330 | $70,030 | $127,570 |
Highest-paying metro areas
| Metro area | Typical |
|---|---|
| 1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $213,110 |
| 2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $186,640 |
| 3. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $167,280 |
| 4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $166,830 |
| 5. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $166,090 |
| 6. Boulder, CO | $164,560 |
| 7. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $163,270 |
| 8. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $162,650 |
| 9. Manchester-Nashua, NH | $162,090 |
| 10. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $160,920 |
| 11. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $159,430 |
| 12. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $158,290 |
| 13. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $156,910 |
| 14. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $156,000 |
| 15. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $154,930 |
Pay in Apollo's markets
| Metro | Typical |
|---|---|
| Atlanta | $132,960 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $133,290 |
| Houston | $129,440 |
| Austin | $134,120 |
| Charlotte | $135,920 |
| Raleigh | $132,770 |
| San Antonio | $128,430 |
| Chicago | $134,380 |
| Orlando | $129,620 |
| Tampa | $130,450 |
| Miami | $132,650 |
| Jacksonville | $130,330 |
| Greenville-Spartanburg | $121,790 |
| Columbia, SC | $123,380 |
| Charleston, SC | $132,150 |
| Savannah | $123,220 |
Related it and software salaries
Software Developer salary FAQs
How much does a software developer make in the US?
The typical (median) software developer in the US earns $135,980 a year, or about $65.38 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Half earn more and half earn less.
What is the entry-level salary for a software developer in the US?
Early-career software developers in the US typically earn around $105,210 (the 25th percentile), and the lowest-paid 10% earn under $82,460. Degree, internships, licenses and the industry all move starting pay.
How much do experienced software developers earn in the US?
Experienced software developers in the US earn $171,980 or more (the 75th percentile), and the top 10% earn over $214,670.
Which state pays software developers the most?
California has the highest typical pay for software developers at $174,410 a year. The highest-paying metro area is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $213,110 (BLS, May 2025).
Are software developers in demand?
BLS projects employment in this occupation to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% for all jobs, with about 95,300 openings a year nationally as people retire, change jobs or the field grows.
Hiring software developers?
Where these numbers come from
Pay figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (OEWS), which surveys about 1.1 million employer locations and is the government's main source of pay by occupation and location. This page uses the May 2025 survey, released in 2026, and updates itself when BLS publishes the next year's figures. Job outlook comes from the BLS Employment Projections for 2025–35. Cost of living comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024, where the US average is 100.
Pay is base wages and salary before tax. It does not include bonuses, overtime, benefits or equity. Early career is the 25th percentile (a quarter of workers earn less), Typical is the median and Experienced is the 75th percentile. The bar shows the full range from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The salary rank check estimates a percentile by drawing straight lines between those five published points.
BLS groups some job titles together. Controls engineers, for example, are counted with electrical engineers, and CAD designers with drafters. Each result names the BLS occupation it uses so you can see exactly what is being measured. BLS does not publish every occupation in every area, for example when too few people in a job were surveyed or when a figure does not meet its reliability standards. When a metro figure is missing, the calculator shows the state figure, or the national figure if the state is also missing, and says so.
BLS occupation used on this page: Software Developers (SOC 15-1252).