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Lead software tester salary
Average lead software tester salary
$100,101
Understanding Lead Software Tester Salaries
The average salary for a lead software tester in the United States is approximately $100,101 annually or around $48 per hour. This figure reflects the demand for skilled professionals who ensure software functionality and quality. Salaries can differ significantly based on geographic location, years of experience, and industry sector.
Top Paying States: States such as California, New York, and Texas offer some of the highest salaries for lead software testers.
Highest Paying Cities: Cities like San Francisco and New York City lead in compensation, often exceeding the national average.
Career Opportunities
The demand for lead software testers is growing, with opportunities in fields like finance, healthcare, and technology. Professionals can advance their careers by gaining certifications and expanding their skill sets in automated testing and agile methodologies. As companies increasingly rely on software, lead testers will continue to be crucial in delivering reliable products.
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Where can a Lead Software Tester earn more?
Average lead software tester salary by state
The highest-paying states for lead software testers are California, Washington, and Oregon. The lowest average lead software tester salary states are New Mexico, West Virginia, and Georgia.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for lead software testers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $129,312 | $62.17 |
| 2 | California | $135,025 | $64.92 |
| 3 | Oregon | $113,318 | $54.48 |
| 4 | Wyoming | $102,798 | $49.42 |
| 5 | Nevada | $105,258 | $50.60 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $101,381 | $48.74 |
| 7 | Kentucky | $105,117 | $50.54 |
| 8 | Montana | $101,445 | $48.77 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $100,338 | $48.24 |
| 10 | Utah | $98,376 | $47.30 |
| 11 | Alaska | $102,374 | $49.22 |
| 12 | District of Columbia | $110,130 | $52.95 |
| 13 | Delaware | $103,126 | $49.58 |
| 14 | New York | $110,377 | $53.07 |
| 15 | Idaho | $99,210 | $47.70 |
| 16 | South Dakota | $97,125 | $46.69 |
| 17 | Michigan | $98,359 | $47.29 |
| 18 | Virginia | $101,001 | $48.56 |
| 19 | Maryland | $105,395 | $50.67 |
| 20 | Texas | $97,651 | $46.95 |
| 21 | Illinois | $100,364 | $48.25 |
| 22 | Hawaii | $101,696 | $48.89 |
| 23 | New Jersey | $101,306 | $48.70 |
| 24 | North Dakota | $93,897 | $45.14 |
| 25 | Iowa | $95,132 | $45.74 |
| 26 | Ohio | $92,915 | $44.67 |
| 27 | Connecticut | $99,265 | $47.72 |
| 28 | Maine | $96,124 | $46.21 |
| 29 | Nebraska | $91,997 | $44.23 |
| 30 | Arkansas | $88,848 | $42.72 |
| 31 | Indiana | $91,981 | $44.22 |
| 32 | Arizona | $93,345 | $44.88 |
| 33 | Massachusetts | $92,655 | $44.55 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $88,408 | $42.50 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | $91,538 | $44.01 |
| 36 | Kansas | $87,451 | $42.04 |
| 37 | North Carolina | $90,126 | $43.33 |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | $90,610 | $43.56 |
| 39 | Vermont | $85,255 | $40.99 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $90,777 | $43.64 |
| 41 | Colorado | $87,797 | $42.21 |
| 42 | New Mexico | $83,894 | $40.33 |
| 43 | Missouri | $85,891 | $41.29 |
| 44 | Minnesota | $88,695 | $42.64 |
| 45 | West Virginia | $83,605 | $40.19 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $85,512 | $41.11 |
| 47 | South Carolina | $85,101 | $40.91 |
| 48 | Alabama | $80,345 | $38.63 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $79,731 | $38.33 |
| 50 | Georgia | $83,573 | $40.18 |
| 51 | Florida | $80,856 | $38.87 |
Highest paying cities for lead software testers
The highest-paying cities for lead software testers are San Francisco, CA, Tacoma, WA, and New York, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $145,819 | $70.11 |
| 2 | Tacoma, WA | $130,392 | $62.69 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $110,490 | $53.12 |
| 4 | Washington, DC | $110,063 | $52.91 |
| 5 | Arlington, VA | $101,530 | $48.81 |
| 6 | East Brunswick, NJ | $101,351 | $48.73 |
| 7 | Chicago, IL | $100,682 | $48.40 |
| 8 | Glastonbury, CT | $99,157 | $47.67 |
| 9 | Novi, MI | $98,375 | $47.30 |
| 10 | Austin, TX | $98,292 | $47.26 |
| 11 | Salt Lake City, UT | $97,895 | $47.06 |
| 12 | Sioux Falls, SD | $96,681 | $46.48 |
| 13 | West Des Moines, IA | $94,528 | $45.45 |
| 14 | Phoenix, AZ | $93,663 | $45.03 |
| 15 | Columbus, OH | $92,669 | $44.55 |
| 16 | Boston, MA | $92,625 | $44.53 |
| 17 | Menomonee Falls, WI | $91,640 | $44.06 |
| 18 | Raleigh, NC | $90,892 | $43.70 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh, PA | $89,388 | $42.98 |
| 20 | Minneapolis, MN | $88,753 | $42.67 |
Lead software tester salary details
A lead software tester's salary ranges from $77,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $129,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a lead software tester's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $129,000 | $10,750 | $62 |
| 75th Percentile | $114,000 | $9,500 | $55 |
| Average | $100,101 | $8,342 | $48 |
| 25th Percentile | $87,000 | $7,250 | $42 |
| 10th Percentile | $77,000 | $6,417 | $37 |
Highest paying lead software tester jobs
The highest paying types of lead software testers are software engineer lead, lead software developer, and senior software engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Assurance Lead | $94,758 | $7,897 | $45.56 | 82,242 |
| Quality Assurance Team Leader | $97,476 | $8,123 | $46.86 | 131,886 |
| Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Lead | $110,007 | $9,167 | $52.89 | 278,178 |
| Tester | $65,202 | $5,433 | $31.35 | 52,595 |
| Systems Tester | $95,834 | $7,986 | $46.07 | 112,985 |
| Lead Test Technician | $81,566 | $6,797 | $39.21 | 51,060 |
Top companies hiring lead software testers now:
Which companies pay lead software testers the most?
Lead software tester salaries at Zscaler and Glassdoor are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average lead software tester salary at companies like Brocade Services Corporation and Texas Instruments are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zscaler | $130,817 | $62.89 |
| 2 | Glassdoor | $126,217 | $60.68 |
| 3 | Brocade Services Corporation | $125,087 | $60.14 |
| 4 | Texas Instruments | $123,879 | $59.56 |
| 5 | Nokia | $122,501 | $58.89 |
| 6 | Cirrus Logic | $119,692 | $57.54 |
| 7 | Barclays | $119,461 | $57.43 |
| 8 | Kohl's | $114,175 | $54.89 |
| 9 | Walgreens | $113,378 | $54.51 |
| 10 | Zillow Group | $112,619 | $54.14 |
| 11 | Area 1 Security | $111,084 | $53.41 |
| 12 | BrickRed Systems | $108,831 | $52.32 |
| 13 | Chainlink | $108,634 | $52.23 |
| 14 | Almac Group | $108,476 | $52.15 |
| 15 | Hire IT People | $108,415 | $52.12 |
| 16 | Axoni | $108,335 | $52.08 |
| 17 | Cs Group, Inc. | $108,020 | $51.93 |
| 18 | Pace Inc | $107,092 | $51.49 |
| 19 | Centro | $107,022 | $51.45 |
| 20 | Baker Hughes | $106,742 | $51.32 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Lead Software Tester salary by industry
The average lead software tester salary varies across industries:
- The average lead software tester salary in the telecommunication industry is $117,778, the highest of any industry.
- The average lead software tester salary in the finance industry is $98,435.
- Lead software testers in the professional industry earn an average salary of $89,283, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for lead software testers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telecommunication | $117,778 | $56.62 |
| 2 | Technology | $98,435 | $47.32 |
| 3 | Finance | $94,957 | $45.65 |
| 4 | Professional | $89,283 | $42.92 |
High paying lead software tester jobs
Lead software tester salary trends
The average lead software tester salary has risen by $16,386 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average lead software tester earned $83,715 annually, but today, they earn $100,101 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for lead software testers over the last decade.
Compare lead software tester salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average lead software tester salary over time
Compare lead software tester salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Lead software tester salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $100,000 | $48.13 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $96,800 | $46.54 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $94,600 | $45.49 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $92,800 | $44.60 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $90,700 | $43.59 | +1.5% |
Recently added lead software tester salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jpmorgan Chase | Lead Software Engineer-Automation Test Lead | New York, NY | 06/22/2025 | $152,000 |
| Jpmorgan Chase & Co | Lead Software Engineer-Automation Test Lead | New York, NY | 06/21/2025 | $152,000 |
| Joby Aviation Inc. | Flight Test Instrumentation & Software Tools Lead | Marina, CA | 06/13/2025 | $160,500 |
| Industrial Light & Magic | Lead Software Engineer In Test | Seattle, WA | 05/27/2025 | $159,500 |
| Industrial Light & Magic | Lead Software Engineer In Test-Ios/Android | Glendale, CA | 05/27/2025 | $166,800 |
| SAIC (Science Applications Int | Software Test Lead | El Segundo, CA | 05/17/2025 | $120,001 |
| ZP Group | Software Test Lead | Colorado Springs, CO | 04/19/2025 | $140,000 |
| SAIC | Software Test Lead | Colorado Springs, CO | 04/17/2025 | $120,001 |
| Qualcomm | Automotive Software Test Lead | San Diego, CA | 03/29/2025 | $190,000 |
| Northrop Grumman | SR. Principal Software Test Lead | Annapolis, MD | 03/28/2025 | $131,000 |
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