Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of programmer salary by state for the United States:
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Washington has the highest programmer salary of $91,320
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Florida has the lowest programmer salary of $52,968
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The national average salary for programmers is $73,007
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The national hourly pay for programmers is $35.1
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 programmers 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 programmer 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 programmers after this adjustment? That would be Washington.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for programmer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Programmers By State
| Rank | State | Average Programmer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $91,320 | $67,000 | $124,000 |
| 2 | Oregon | $81,648 | $60,000 | $110,000 |
| 3 | California | $81,522 | $59,000 | $110,000 |
| 4 | West Virginia | $77,842 | $59,000 | $102,000 |
| 5 | Nevada | $76,243 | $55,000 | $104,000 |
| 6 | Maine | $76,035 | $58,000 | $99,000 |
| 7 | North Dakota | $74,819 | $56,000 | $99,000 |
| 8 | New York | $74,663 | $56,000 | $98,000 |
| 9 | Maryland | $74,509 | $56,000 | $98,000 |
| 10 | Idaho | $74,502 | $54,000 | $102,000 |
| 11 | Massachusetts | $74,392 | $56,000 | $98,000 |
| 12 | Connecticut | $74,383 | $56,000 | $98,000 |
| 13 | Arizona | $74,296 | $55,000 | $100,000 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $74,174 | $56,000 | $97,000 |
| 15 | Minnesota | $73,653 | $55,000 | $97,000 |
| 16 | Illinois | $73,581 | $55,000 | $96,000 |
| 17 | Virginia | $73,456 | $55,000 | $96,000 |
| 18 | Georgia | $73,144 | $54,000 | $98,000 |
| 19 | North Carolina | $72,907 | $55,000 | $96,000 |
| 20 | Vermont | $71,787 | $54,000 | $94,000 |
| 21 | Mississippi | $71,637 | $52,000 | $96,000 |
| 22 | New Hampshire | $70,779 | $53,000 | $93,000 |
| 23 | Alaska | $70,579 | $58,000 | $84,000 |
| 24 | Rhode Island | $70,065 | $52,000 | $92,000 |
| 25 | Indiana | $69,909 | $53,000 | $92,000 |
| 26 | New Jersey | $69,730 | $52,000 | $92,000 |
| 27 | Texas | $69,160 | $50,000 | $95,000 |
| 28 | South Carolina | $69,099 | $51,000 | $92,000 |
| 29 | Iowa | $69,017 | $52,000 | $91,000 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | $68,664 | $52,000 | $90,000 |
| 31 | Kentucky | $68,561 | $52,000 | $90,000 |
| 32 | Ohio | $68,555 | $52,000 | $90,000 |
| 33 | Tennessee | $68,484 | $51,000 | $90,000 |
| 34 | Utah | $68,253 | $49,000 | $93,000 |
| 35 | Delaware | $68,241 | $51,000 | $90,000 |
| 36 | Louisiana | $68,237 | $49,000 | $94,000 |
| 37 | Missouri | $67,671 | $51,000 | $89,000 |
| 38 | Oklahoma | $67,637 | $50,000 | $90,000 |
| 39 | Michigan | $67,584 | $51,000 | $88,000 |
| 40 | Alabama | $67,300 | $49,000 | $90,000 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $66,984 | $50,000 | $89,000 |
| 42 | New Mexico | $66,617 | $49,000 | $90,000 |
| 43 | Colorado | $66,308 | $48,000 | $90,000 |
| 44 | Kansas | $65,609 | $49,000 | $87,000 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $65,465 | $48,000 | $87,000 |
| 46 | Montana | $61,200 | $44,000 | $84,000 |
| 47 | South Dakota | $59,221 | $44,000 | $79,000 |
| 48 | Wyoming | $57,596 | $42,000 | $78,000 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $54,838 | $44,000 | $66,000 |
| 50 | Florida | $52,968 | $35,000 | $80,000 |
Methodology: Programmer Salary By State
To better understand programmer 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 programmers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for programmers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for programmers.
Programmer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for programmers?
The highest-paid state for programmers is Washington with an average salary of $91,320 per year.
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What city pays programmers the most?
Bothell, WA pays programmers the most with an average salary of $91,793 per year.
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What is the worst state for programmers?
The worst state for programmers is Florida with an average salary of $52,968 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.
