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Programming specialist salary
Average programming specialist salary
$55,521
Understanding the Average Salary for Programming Specialists
The role of a Programming Specialist involves developing and implementing software solutions tailored to meet organizational needs. As of October 2025, the average salary stands at $55,521 annually, translating to approximately $27 per hour. Salaries can vary significantly based on factors such as experience, education level, and geographical location.
Salary Insights by Experience Level
Entry-level specialists typically earn less, with salaries gradually increasing with experience. Those with several years in the field can command salaries above the average, particularly in high-demand areas.
Regional Salary Variations
States like California and New York often offer higher salaries due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals. By examining the salary landscape across different states, candidates can identify lucrative opportunities that align with their career goals.
Additionally, exploring the highest paying programming specialist jobs can provide valuable insights into roles that require specialized skills or advanced degrees, further enhancing earning potential.
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Where can a Programming Specialist earn more?
Programming specialist salaries by experience level
Programming specialist salary estimates from across the web
Average programming specialist salary by state
The average programming specialist salary in New Jersey, California, and Maryland are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average programming specialist salary states are Indiana, Arkansas, and South Dakota.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for programming specialists
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | $67,379 | $32.39 |
| 2 | New York | $65,116 | $31.31 |
| 3 | Delaware | $57,055 | $27.43 |
| 4 | New Jersey | $80,467 | $38.69 |
| 5 | California | $76,995 | $37.02 |
| 6 | Vermont | $54,864 | $26.38 |
| 7 | District of Columbia | $74,494 | $35.81 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $55,838 | $26.85 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $62,789 | $30.19 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $57,309 | $27.55 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $51,941 | $24.97 |
| 12 | Alabama | $53,084 | $25.52 |
| 13 | Illinois | $55,989 | $26.92 |
| 14 | Nevada | $50,503 | $24.28 |
| 15 | Georgia | $55,125 | $26.50 |
| 16 | Minnesota | $53,355 | $25.65 |
| 17 | Virginia | $56,609 | $27.22 |
| 18 | Texas | $50,284 | $24.18 |
| 19 | Michigan | $50,641 | $24.35 |
| 20 | Wyoming | $47,664 | $22.92 |
| 21 | North Dakota | $47,724 | $22.94 |
| 22 | Tennessee | $49,542 | $23.82 |
| 23 | New Hampshire | $50,494 | $24.28 |
| 24 | Colorado | $52,324 | $25.16 |
| 25 | Washington | $54,755 | $26.32 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $48,918 | $23.52 |
| 27 | Arizona | $48,212 | $23.18 |
| 28 | Hawaii | $51,525 | $24.77 |
| 29 | Oregon | $48,476 | $23.31 |
| 30 | Maine | $46,321 | $22.27 |
| 31 | Ohio | $48,790 | $23.46 |
| 32 | Louisiana | $49,523 | $23.81 |
| 33 | Nebraska | $45,800 | $22.02 |
| 34 | Kentucky | $48,436 | $23.29 |
| 35 | Missouri | $47,813 | $22.99 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $47,897 | $23.03 |
| 37 | North Carolina | $45,833 | $22.04 |
| 38 | Kansas | $45,630 | $21.94 |
| 39 | Montana | $43,193 | $20.77 |
| 40 | Wisconsin | $44,230 | $21.26 |
| 41 | Mississippi | $45,046 | $21.66 |
| 42 | Arkansas | $41,456 | $19.93 |
| 43 | Idaho | $44,926 | $21.60 |
| 44 | South Dakota | $40,781 | $19.61 |
| 45 | Alaska | $28,509 | $13.71 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $42,626 | $20.49 |
| 47 | Florida | $40,166 | $19.31 |
| 48 | Iowa | $43,530 | $20.93 |
| 49 | South Carolina | $43,261 | $20.80 |
| 50 | Utah | $38,677 | $18.59 |
| 51 | Indiana | $42,235 | $20.31 |
Highest paying cities for programming specialists
The highest-paying cities for programming specialists are San Francisco, CA, Washington, DC, and Baltimore, MD.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $83,272 | $40.03 |
| 2 | Washington, DC | $74,485 | $35.81 |
| 3 | Baltimore, MD | $67,775 | $32.58 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $65,654 | $31.56 |
| 5 | Arlington, VA | $58,493 | $28.12 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $57,155 | $27.48 |
| 7 | Chicago, IL | $56,431 | $27.13 |
| 8 | Olympia, WA | $56,191 | $27.01 |
| 9 | Atlanta, GA | $55,167 | $26.52 |
| 10 | Minneapolis, MN | $53,335 | $25.64 |
| 11 | Philadelphia, PA | $52,543 | $25.26 |
| 12 | Denver, CO | $52,267 | $25.13 |
| 13 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $51,533 | $24.78 |
| 14 | Austin, TX | $50,959 | $24.50 |
| 15 | Baton Rouge, LA | $49,606 | $23.85 |
| 16 | Columbus, OH | $48,647 | $23.39 |
| 17 | Saint Louis, MO | $48,407 | $23.27 |
| 18 | Phoenix, AZ | $48,278 | $23.21 |
| 19 | Portland, OR | $47,536 | $22.85 |
| 20 | Durham, NC | $46,682 | $22.44 |
Programming specialist salary details
A programming specialist's salary ranges from $35,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $86,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a programming specialist's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $86,000 | $7,167 | $41 |
| 75th Percentile | $69,000 | $5,750 | $33 |
| Average | $55,521 | $4,627 | $27 |
| 25th Percentile | $44,000 | $3,667 | $21 |
| 10th Percentile | $35,000 | $2,917 | $17 |
Highest paying programming specialist jobs
The highest paying types of programming specialists are senior technician specialist, senior training specialist, and training specialist.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development Coordinator | $51,688 | $4,307 | $24.85 | 83,671 |
| Regional Coordinator | $51,018 | $4,252 | $24.53 | 45,687 |
| Trainer | $47,574 | $3,964 | $22.87 | 40,650 |
| Corporate Trainer | $58,803 | $4,900 | $28.27 | 52,090 |
| Facilitator | $44,851 | $3,738 | $21.56 | 30,474 |
| Training Coordinator | $46,698 | $3,891 | $22.45 | 54,796 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for programming specialists, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Dr. Kate Seltzer Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Rowan University
Top companies hiring programming specialists now:
Which companies pay programming specialists the most?
Programming specialist salaries at Meta and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average programming specialist salary at companies like Apple and Uber Technologies are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $126,595 | $60.86 |
| 2 | $125,642 | $60.40 | |
| 3 | Apple | $124,375 | $59.80 |
| 4 | Uber Technologies | $111,912 | $53.80 |
| 5 | Atlassian | $111,198 | $53.46 |
| 6 | Avid | $110,255 | $53.01 |
| 7 | Novartis | $105,391 | $50.67 |
| 8 | Cisco | $104,431 | $50.21 |
| 9 | Amazon | $103,684 | $49.85 |
| 10 | Tableau | $103,029 | $49.53 |
| 11 | AARP | $101,851 | $48.97 |
| 12 | Bloomberg | $100,011 | $48.08 |
| 13 | Corning Incorporated | $99,609 | $47.89 |
| 14 | Adobe | $99,447 | $47.81 |
| 15 | Wabtec Corporation | $99,367 | $47.77 |
| 16 | Keysight Technologies | $98,962 | $47.58 |
| 17 | San Diego Gas & Electric | $98,135 | $47.18 |
| 18 | NuVasive | $97,554 | $46.90 |
| 19 | Lyft | $94,138 | $45.26 |
| 20 | Autodesk | $93,921 | $45.15 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Programming Specialist salary by industry
The average programming specialist salary varies across industries:
- The average programming specialist salary in the technology industry is $82,736, the highest of any industry.
- The average programming specialist salary in the finance industry is $68,491.
- Programming specialists in the non profits industry earn an average salary of $46,698, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for programming specialists
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $82,736 | $39.78 |
| 2 | Pharmaceutical | $68,491 | $32.93 |
| 3 | Government | $58,111 | $27.94 |
| 4 | Professional | $52,226 | $25.11 |
| 5 | Health Care | $51,786 | $24.90 |
| 6 | Education | $48,143 | $23.15 |
| 7 | Non Profits | $46,698 | $22.45 |
High paying programming specialist jobs
Programming specialist salary trends
The average programming specialist salary has risen by $6,686 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average programming specialist earned $48,835 annually, but today, they earn $55,521 a year. That works out to a 6% change in pay for programming specialists over the last decade.
Compare programming specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average programming specialist salary over time
Compare programming specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Programming specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $55,500 | $26.69 | +2.4% |
| 2024 | $54,200 | $26.06 | +0.6% |
| 2023 | $53,900 | $25.91 | +0.8% |
| 2022 | $53,400 | $25.70 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | $52,300 | $25.13 | +1.4% |
Recently added programming specialist salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Town School District | High School Special Needs Programming Specialist | Milton, VT | 06/23/2025 | $43,827 |
| Riverside Community Care | Peer Specialist-Program for Assertive Community Treatment | Needham, MA | 06/18/2025 | $46,937 |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Il | International Training and Programming Specialist | Urbana, IL | 06/18/2025 | $48,500 |
| Parsons Corporation | Planning and Programming Specialist-Afsc 16R | Chantilly, VA | 06/04/2025 | $108,700 |
| Helio Health | Peer Specialist-Opioid Treatment Program | Utica, NY | 05/28/2025 | $35,479 |
| Vaco By Highspring | Content Programming Specialist | Walnut Creek, CA | 05/24/2025 | $55,000 |
| Milton Town School District | Middle School Special Needs Programming Specialist 2026 | Milton, VT | 04/12/2025 | $43,827 |
| Booz Allen Hamilton | Civil Engineering Planning and Programming Specialist | Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA | 03/28/2025 | $75,600 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Data and Programming Specialist | Nome, ND | 03/28/2025 | $43,888 |
| Methodist Healthcare Ministries of S. Tx | Parenting Programs Outreach & Programming Specialist | San Antonio, TX | 03/28/2025 | $58,810 |
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