Software Developers salary in the US
Here is where pay for software developers stands nationally, built from Census microdata rather than job-board postings.
How much do software developers earn?
Half of all software developers in the United States earned more than $134,332 a year, and half earned less — 156% more than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. Among the 171 occupation groups in our data, only 4 report a higher median, so this is one of the better-paid lines of work in the country. The figures come from 92,214 survey records of people aged 25 and older with earnings in this occupation.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $253,813 |
| Top 25% start at | $183,303 |
| Median (top 50%) | $134,332 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $97,761 |
How wide is the pay range?
Moving up the ladder, the top-quarter threshold is $183,303 and the top-10% threshold is $253,813, a 1.9× step up from the middle. The bottom quarter earned under $97,761; that group includes people who worked part of the year or reduced hours, since every earner is counted. So the distance from the bottom quarter to the middle is a factor of 1.4.
Earnings by age
The age curve is gentle: $118,536 for workers aged 25–34, peaking at $150,821 for those aged 45–54. Among those 65 and older who still work, the median is $120,689, 20% below the peak — reduced schedules explain much of that.
Men and women
Women in this occupation have a median of $120,689, 12% below the $137,481 men report. About 19% of the sampled workers are women, going by raw survey counts. Part of that difference reflects hours worked and job level within the occupation, which these totals don't control for.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $137,481 | 74,806 |
| Women | $120,689 | 17,408 |
Does education change the pay?
The education premium is steep: $183,303 at the median for workers with a doctorate against $111,719 for those with a high school education or less. 47,672 of the records belong to people with a bachelor's degree, the biggest single group; we suppress levels with fewer than 100.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $111,719 | 2,480 |
| Some college / associate | $111,719 | 10,301 |
| Bachelor's | $131,257 | 47,672 |
| Master's | $149,025 | 27,692 |
| Professional degree | $143,189 | 955 |
| Doctorate | $183,303 | 3,114 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
The five states with the most software developers in the survey are California, Texas, Washington, New York, and Virginia. Among them, Washington has the highest median at $181,018 and Texas the lowest at $125,936, a 44% spread. No cost-of-living adjustment is applied. In all, 47 states clear the 100-record bar for a state-level median.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $177,669 | 19,011 |
| Texas | $125,936 | 7,885 |
| Washington | $181,018 | 6,056 |
| New York | $146,642 | 4,489 |
| Virginia | $139,649 | 4,131 |
Occupations with similar pay
Occupations with a median close to $134,332 include computer and information systems managers ($134,063), pharmacists ($131,257), lawyers and judges ($144,198), and electrical and electronics engineers ($119,324). They aren't interchangeable careers, though the middle of the pay distribution is close.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Computer And Information Systems Managers | $134,063 | 0% |
| Pharmacists | $131,257 | −2% |
| Lawyers and Judges | $144,198 | +7% |
| Electrical And Electronics Engineers | $119,324 | −11% |
| Nurse Practitioners, And Nurse Midwives | $118,536 | −12% |
About these figures
How to read these numbers: they are annual personal earnings (wages plus self-employment income) for people aged 25+ who reported working as software developers, pooled over 2020–2024 and adjusted to 2024 dollars. Part-time and part-year workers are included. Every group shown has at least 100 survey records; 92,214 records sit behind the headline median.
See where your pay ranks among software developers
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.