Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of developer salary by state for the United States:
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Washington has the highest developer salary of $125,725
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Kansas has the lowest developer salary of $80,777
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The national average salary for developers is $100,076
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The national hourly pay for developers is $48.11
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do developers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for developer by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for developers after this adjustment? That would be Washington.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for developer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Developers By State
| Rank | State | Average Developer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $125,725 | $93,000 | $168,000 |
| 2 | California | $118,473 | $87,000 | $160,000 |
| 3 | Oregon | $109,071 | $80,000 | $147,000 |
| 4 | New York | $103,261 | $78,000 | $136,000 |
| 5 | Nevada | $102,322 | $75,000 | $138,000 |
| 6 | Idaho | $97,488 | $72,000 | $130,000 |
| 7 | Utah | $96,917 | $72,000 | $129,000 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $96,471 | $73,000 | $126,000 |
| 9 | Arizona | $95,263 | $71,000 | $127,000 |
| 10 | New Jersey | $94,679 | $71,000 | $125,000 |
| 11 | Montana | $93,656 | $70,000 | $123,000 |
| 12 | New Hampshire | $93,598 | $71,000 | $122,000 |
| 13 | Alaska | $92,474 | $75,000 | $113,000 |
| 14 | Delaware | $92,004 | $69,000 | $122,000 |
| 15 | Rhode Island | $91,955 | $69,000 | $121,000 |
| 16 | Maryland | $91,887 | $69,000 | $121,000 |
| 17 | Texas | $91,725 | $69,000 | $121,000 |
| 18 | Connecticut | $90,880 | $68,000 | $120,000 |
| 19 | North Carolina | $90,835 | $68,000 | $119,000 |
| 20 | Virginia | $90,784 | $68,000 | $120,000 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $90,017 | $67,000 | $119,000 |
| 22 | West Virginia | $89,824 | $67,000 | $118,000 |
| 23 | Vermont | $89,250 | $68,000 | $116,000 |
| 24 | Colorado | $89,045 | $67,000 | $117,000 |
| 25 | Wyoming | $88,424 | $66,000 | $117,000 |
| 26 | Georgia | $88,395 | $67,000 | $116,000 |
| 27 | Minnesota | $88,033 | $67,000 | $114,000 |
| 28 | South Carolina | $87,812 | $66,000 | $115,000 |
| 29 | Illinois | $87,659 | $66,000 | $115,000 |
| 30 | North Dakota | $87,072 | $67,000 | $113,000 |
| 31 | Michigan | $86,553 | $65,000 | $113,000 |
| 32 | Ohio | $86,038 | $65,000 | $113,000 |
| 33 | Wisconsin | $85,971 | $65,000 | $112,000 |
| 34 | Maine | $85,803 | $65,000 | $111,000 |
| 35 | Florida | $85,561 | $64,000 | $113,000 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $85,044 | $63,000 | $113,000 |
| 37 | Arkansas | $84,228 | $64,000 | $110,000 |
| 38 | Alabama | $84,134 | $63,000 | $110,000 |
| 39 | South Dakota | $83,992 | $64,000 | $109,000 |
| 40 | Iowa | $83,248 | $63,000 | $109,000 |
| 41 | Mississippi | $83,003 | $63,000 | $109,000 |
| 42 | Hawaii | $82,826 | $65,000 | $104,000 |
| 43 | Louisiana | $82,776 | $62,000 | $109,000 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $82,775 | $62,000 | $108,000 |
| 45 | Tennessee | $82,565 | $62,000 | $108,000 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $81,833 | $62,000 | $107,000 |
| 47 | Indiana | $81,530 | $61,000 | $107,000 |
| 48 | Missouri | $81,467 | $62,000 | $106,000 |
| 49 | Nebraska | $81,426 | $62,000 | $106,000 |
| 50 | Kansas | $80,777 | $61,000 | $105,000 |
Methodology: Developer Salary By State
To better understand developer pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for developers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for developers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for developers.
Developer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for developers?
The highest-paid state for developers is Washington with an average salary of $125,725 per year.
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What city pays developers the most?
nan pays developers the most with an average salary of $0 per year.
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What is the worst state for developers?
The worst state for developers is Kansas with an average salary of $80,777 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
