Updated April 6, 2023

Lead Developer Salary Estimate

$116,340

$55.93 hourly

Entry level Salary
$83,000 yearly

How much does a Lead Developer make?

The average salary for a lead developer in the United States is $116,340. Lead developer salaries typically range between $83,000 and $161,000 a year. The average hourly rate for lead developers is $55.93 per hour.

Location, education, and experience impacts how much a lead developer can expect to make. Lead developers make the most in California, Washington, Delaware, Nevada, and Oregon.

Research Summary.
  • The average salary for a lead developer is $116,340 in the US.
  • The average lead developer salary ranges between $83,000 and $161,000 in the US.
  • Hourly rates for lead developers in the US typically range between $39 and $77 an hour.
  • The average lead developer salary is $131,948 in California, $129,013 in Washington, and $124,034 in Delaware. These are the three highest-paying states for lead developers in the US.
  • Mayo Clinic has the highest average salary for lead developers.
  • Retail is the highest-paying industry for lead developers in the US.

Highest Paying States For Lead Developers

Throughout the U.S., the average salary for a lead developer is roughly $116,340 per year, which boils down to $55.93 per hour. Interestingly enough, lead developers have the highest salaries in San Francisco, CA at about $139,305 per year. For those who are just starting out, the average entry-level salary in San Francisco, CA is $97,000. Additionally, lead developers make more than the average salary in Seattle, WA, Washington, DC, Rockville, MD, Arlington, VA, and New York, NY. On a more broad level, lead developer salaries are highest in California, Washington, Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, Maryland, and Virginia. On the contrary, Louisiana, Hawaii, and Alabama offer the lowest lead developer salaries.
  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Lead Developer average salary by State

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1Nevada$119,403$57.41576
2Delaware$124,034$59.63183
3California$131,948$63.444,815
4Washington$129,013$62.031,000
5Oregon$118,512$56.98738
6New Mexico$113,566$54.60510
7Virginia$116,873$56.192,017
8South Dakota$111,318$53.52203
9District of Columbia$120,880$58.12543
10Utah$108,379$52.111,032
11Maryland$118,444$56.941,265
12Pennsylvania$112,567$54.121,670
13Massachusetts$115,744$55.651,446
14New Jersey$115,116$55.341,607
15Ohio$109,602$52.691,446
16West Virginia$114,745$55.17153
17Rhode Island$108,710$52.26237
18Arizona$113,904$54.76775
19Connecticut$115,359$55.46454
20New Hampshire$108,679$52.25264
21North Carolina$107,202$51.541,466
22Idaho$105,229$50.59472
23New York$115,970$55.751,708
24Texas$107,557$51.712,923
25Mississippi$110,762$53.25138
26Vermont$107,352$51.61149
27Montana$103,271$49.65345
28Georgia$108,752$52.281,367
29Michigan$106,748$51.32929
30Nebraska$101,353$48.73557
31Tennessee$105,216$50.58537
32Arkansas$98,369$47.29598
33Indiana$102,987$49.51849
34Alaska$102,110$49.09182
35Kentucky$102,021$49.05432
36South Carolina$105,235$50.59338
37Florida$102,785$49.422,093
38North Dakota$99,356$47.77125
39Illinois$100,637$48.381,763
40Minnesota$100,612$48.37962
41Kansas$93,313$44.86721
42Colorado$100,813$48.47813
43Oklahoma$94,740$45.55542
44Wisconsin$99,211$47.70651
45Maine$99,049$47.62174
46Iowa$98,713$47.46395
47Alabama$98,062$47.15482
48Missouri$98,719$47.46715
49Louisiana$98,219$47.22339
50Hawaii$98,098$47.1695
51Wyoming$86,929$41.7991

Highest Paying Cities For Lead Developers

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1San Francisco, CA$139,305$66.9713
2Seattle, WA$129,824$62.4216
3Washington, DC$120,996$58.1714
4Rockville, MD$118,181$56.821
5Arlington, VA$117,610$56.543
6New York, NY$116,430$55.9845
7Boston, MA$115,670$55.6111
8Edison, NJ$115,270$55.422
9Phoenix, AZ$114,073$54.8410
10Philadelphia, PA$113,306$54.4710
11Columbus, OH$109,632$52.7111
12Alpharetta, GA$108,822$52.326
13Austin, TX$108,240$52.0417
14Raleigh, NC$108,143$51.995
15Salt Lake City, UT$107,826$51.845

Here Are The Five Most In Demand Cities Right Now:

  1. San Francisco, CA
  2. Seattle, WA
  3. Washington, DC
  4. Rockville, MD
  5. Arlington, VA

Lead Developers Salary Details

Average Lead Developer Salary Graph
Average Lead Developer Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a Lead Developer's Salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$161,000$13,417$77
75th Percentile$138,000$11,500$66
Average$116,340$9,695$56
25th Percentile$97,000$8,083$47
10th Percentile$83,000$6,917$40

Highest Paying Types of Lead Developers

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Mobile Applications Developer$99,257$8,271$47.72252,254
Data Warehouse Developer$93,381$7,782$44.89194,780
Applications Developer$89,205$7,434$42.89279,877
Architect And Developer$110,970$9,248$53.35316,181
Mainframe Developer$90,902$7,575$43.70255,034
Java/J2ee Developer$90,995$7,583$43.75237,912

Here are the five companies hiring the most now:

  1. Citi Jobs (49)
  2. Microsoft Jobs (116)
  3. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jobs (71)
  4. American Red Cross Jobs (74)
  5. The Home Depot Jobs (53)

Which Companies Pay Lead Developers The Most?

According to our most recent salary estimates, Mayo Clinic and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati are the highest paying companies for lead developers.
RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Mayo Clinic$167,859$80.7015
2Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati$166,130$79.87
3Meta$164,980$79.323,170
4Apple$158,129$76.02239
5Pure Storage$157,306$75.638
6Netflix$156,306$75.1518
7Pacific Investment Management Company LLC$150,550$72.383
8Bloomberg$148,451$71.3740
9Fox Broadcasting Company$147,536$70.93
10Intuitive Surgical$147,390$70.866
11Google$146,310$70.34202
12Square$145,674$70.041
13First Republic Bank$143,914$69.19
14Neuberger Berman$143,814$69.148
15Cisco$143,365$68.9357
16Levi Strauss & Co.$143,346$68.923
17Boston Consulting Group$143,343$68.916
18Forest City Realty Trust$142,307$68.42
19MySpace NYC$141,560$68.06
20ViacomCBS$141,244$67.91

How Much Do Lead Developers Make In Different Industries?

Lead developer salaries can vary depending on the industry. In fact, our data shows that the retail, finance, and manufacturing industries tend to offer much higher salaries for lead developers. For example, lead developers make a whopping average salary of $119,501 while working in the retail industry. Meanwhile, other people in this field are making $118,956 in the finance industry and $115,629 in the manufacturing industry.

Lead developers may want to avoid working in the professional industry as it offers the lowest average salary of $109,814.

Highest Paying Industries For Lead Developers

RankIndustryAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Retail$119,501$57.45
2Finance$118,956$57.19
3Manufacturing$115,629$55.59
4Telecommunication$112,128$53.91
5Technology$110,687$53.21
6Professional$109,814$52.80

High Paying Lead Developer Jobs

Lead Developer Pay Trends

Average Lead Developer Salary Over Time

Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

    Lead Developer Salary By Year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2023$116,000$55.93+3.3%
    2022$113,000$54.09+2.3%
    2021$110,000$52.87+1.8%
    2020$108,000$51.93+1.7%
    2019$106,000$51.06+1.8%

    Recently Added Lead Developer Salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    Dish Network CorporationDevelopment LeadLittleton, CO05/02/2023$122,500
    ElevateLearning and Development LeadChicago, IL05/02/2023$80,000
    Leavitt Group EnterprisesLead Development RepresentativeCedar City, UT05/02/2023$31,305
    LeidosLead Knowledge Management DeveloperOdenton, MD05/01/2023$118,300
    Prudential FinancialLead, Infrastructure DeveloperNewark, NJ05/01/2023$129,900
    The Bank of New York MellonLead Back-End DeveloperPittsburgh, PA05/01/2023$65,250
    The Bank of New York MellonLead Full-Stack DeveloperNew York, NY05/01/2023$144,516
    Ulta BeautyLead Developer Front EndBolingbrook, IL05/01/2023$98,000
    SAIC (Science Applications Int.)Curriculum Development LeadSan Diego, CA05/01/2023$95,001
    CampbellsMarket Development LeaderTampa, FL05/01/2023$61,800

    Lead Developer Salaries FAQs

    What State Pays Lead Developers The Most?

    California pays Lead Developers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $131,948 per year, or $63.44 per hour.

    How Do I Know If I'm Being Paid Fairly As A Lead Developer?

    You know if you are being paid fairly as a Lead Developer if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Washington you should be paid close to $129,013 per year.

    Search For Lead Developer Jobs