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The average salary for a contract developer stands at $91,433 as of October 2025, translating to approximately $44 per hour. This figure can vary based on factors such as geographical location, years of experience, and specific industry demands.
Contract developers in states like California and New York often report higher salaries compared to their peers in other regions. Major cities such as San Francisco and New York City frequently offer the most competitive wages due to high demand and cost of living adjustments.
Industries such as technology and finance tend to pay the highest for contract developers, reflecting the critical role these professionals play in digital transformation and data management. The healthcare sector also presents lucrative opportunities as organizations increasingly rely on digital solutions.
Understanding the salary landscape for contract developers can aid job seekers in making informed decisions about their career paths. With the right skills and experience, there are ample opportunities for growth and competitive compensation in this field.
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The average contract developer salary in California, Washington, and New York are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average contract developer salary states are Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Iowa.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $115,984 | $55.76 |
| 2 | Rhode Island | $91,518 | $44.00 |
| 3 | Idaho | $94,808 | $45.58 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | $92,574 | $44.51 |
| 5 | Washington | $104,961 | $50.46 |
| 6 | Oregon | $93,309 | $44.86 |
| 7 | Virginia | $93,769 | $45.08 |
| 8 | Nevada | $93,331 | $44.87 |
| 9 | New York | $101,869 | $48.98 |
| 10 | Utah | $84,359 | $40.56 |
| 11 | Montana | $85,032 | $40.88 |
| 12 | New Jersey | $87,422 | $42.03 |
| 13 | Delaware | $89,314 | $42.94 |
| 14 | Texas | $84,933 | $40.83 |
| 15 | Vermont | $83,088 | $39.95 |
| 16 | District of Columbia | $87,463 | $42.05 |
| 17 | New Hampshire | $83,565 | $40.18 |
| 18 | Maine | $83,995 | $40.38 |
| 19 | New Mexico | $82,771 | $39.79 |
| 20 | Florida | $87,497 | $42.07 |
| 21 | Arizona | $85,692 | $41.20 |
| 22 | South Dakota | $84,402 | $40.58 |
| 23 | Massachusetts | $84,091 | $40.43 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $80,639 | $38.77 |
| 25 | West Virginia | $83,543 | $40.16 |
| 26 | Colorado | $83,548 | $40.17 |
| 27 | Alaska | $84,726 | $40.73 |
| 28 | Maryland | $79,957 | $38.44 |
| 29 | Ohio | $76,295 | $36.68 |
| 30 | Connecticut | $82,575 | $39.70 |
| 31 | Illinois | $79,148 | $38.05 |
| 32 | North Dakota | $75,785 | $36.44 |
| 33 | Indiana | $77,560 | $37.29 |
| 34 | Georgia | $77,084 | $37.06 |
| 35 | Michigan | $76,273 | $36.67 |
| 36 | Missouri | $77,288 | $37.16 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $77,995 | $37.50 |
| 38 | Minnesota | $75,006 | $36.06 |
| 39 | Arkansas | $74,355 | $35.75 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $77,021 | $37.03 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $72,504 | $34.86 |
| 42 | Alabama | $74,911 | $36.01 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $73,574 | $35.37 |
| 44 | Wisconsin | $74,204 | $35.67 |
| 45 | North Carolina | $71,371 | $34.31 |
| 46 | Kentucky | $74,026 | $35.59 |
| 47 | Hawaii | $71,769 | $34.50 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $73,937 | $35.55 |
| 49 | Kansas | $66,616 | $32.03 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $72,929 | $35.06 |
| 51 | Iowa | $71,918 | $34.58 |
The highest-paying cities for contract developers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Brentwood, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $128,622 | $61.84 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $105,424 | $50.68 |
| 3 | Brentwood, NY | $102,700 | $49.38 |
| 4 | Arlington, VA | $94,443 | $45.41 |
| 5 | Philadelphia, PA | $93,320 | $44.87 |
| 6 | Portland, OR | $93,298 | $44.85 |
| 7 | Spring Valley, NV | $92,475 | $44.46 |
| 8 | Jersey City, NJ | $87,740 | $42.18 |
| 9 | Washington, DC | $87,452 | $42.04 |
| 10 | Miami, FL | $86,866 | $41.76 |
| 11 | Austin, TX | $86,371 | $41.52 |
| 12 | Phoenix, AZ | $85,789 | $41.24 |
| 13 | Boston, MA | $84,283 | $40.52 |
| 14 | Chicago, IL | $79,385 | $38.17 |
| 15 | Cleveland, OH | $77,425 | $37.22 |
| 16 | Atlanta, GA | $76,941 | $36.99 |
| 17 | Ann Arbor, MI | $76,184 | $36.63 |
| 18 | Saint Paul, MN | $75,072 | $36.09 |
| 19 | Chattanooga, TN | $73,898 | $35.53 |
| 20 | Urban Honolulu, HI | $71,805 | $34.52 |
A contract developer's salary ranges from $67,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $123,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $123,000 | $10,250 | $59 |
| 75th Percentile | $107,000 | $8,917 | $51 |
| Average | $91,433 | $7,619 | $44 |
| 25th Percentile | $78,000 | $6,500 | $38 |
| 10th Percentile | $67,000 | $5,583 | $32 |
The highest paying types of contract developers are lead developer, ios developer, and developer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developer/Consultant | $98,508 | $8,209 | $47.36 | 257,985 |
| Mobile Applications Developer | $99,257 | $8,271 | $47.72 | 252,254 |
| Web Application Developer | $85,840 | $7,153 | $41.27 | 229,802 |
| Java/J2ee Developer | $90,995 | $7,583 | $43.75 | 237,912 |
| Applications Developer | $89,205 | $7,434 | $42.89 | 279,877 |
| Android Developer | $98,495 | $8,208 | $47.35 | 237,147 |
Top companies hiring contract developers now:
Contract developer salaries at Avanade and Broadridge are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average contract developer salary at companies like Randstad North America, Inc. and DISYS are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avanade | $116,534 | $56.03 |
| 2 | Broadridge | $101,810 | $48.95 |
| 3 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $99,324 | $47.75 |
| 4 | DISYS | $96,533 | $46.41 |
| 5 | Jobot | $94,680 | $45.52 |
| 6 | Motion Recruitment | $93,256 | $44.83 |
| 7 | AMOpportunities | $92,269 | $44.36 |
| 8 | Atlantic Companies Holding Corporation | $92,269 | $44.36 |
| 9 | projekt202 | $92,159 | $44.31 |
| 10 | Binance | $92,140 | $44.30 |
| 11 | Shaw/Scott | $91,978 | $44.22 |
| 12 | Glow Networks | $91,453 | $43.97 |
| 13 | System One | $91,449 | $43.97 |
| 14 | CQL | $90,536 | $43.53 |
| 15 | USM Business Systems | $90,043 | $43.29 |
| 16 | Technosoft | $88,763 | $42.67 |
| 17 | CyberCoders | $87,557 | $42.09 |
| 18 | Erp Analysts | $84,507 | $40.63 |
| 19 | Keste | $84,019 | $40.39 |
| 20 | Nixsol | $82,587 | $39.71 |
The average contract developer salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance | $103,060 | $49.55 |
| 2 | Professional | $100,592 | $48.36 |
| 3 | Energy | $100,215 | $48.18 |
| 4 | Hospitality | $95,112 | $45.73 |
| 5 | Retail | $92,800 | $44.62 |
| 6 | Manufacturing | $92,437 | $44.44 |
| 7 | Technology | $92,327 | $44.39 |
| 8 | Start-up | $91,732 | $44.10 |
| 9 | Media | $89,924 | $43.23 |
The average contract developer salary has risen by $16,974 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average contract developer earned $74,459 annually, but today, they earn $91,433 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for contract developers over the last decade.
Compare contract developer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare contract developer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $91,400 | $43.96 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $88,400 | $42.51 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $86,400 | $41.55 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | $84,900 | $40.81 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $83,500 | $40.13 | +1.8% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Search of The Carolinas | Peoplesoft Financials Developer-Hybrid Contract-Must BE Currently Living In The Raleigh N | Raleigh, NC | 06/29/2025 | $90,000 |
| Usm | Biztalk Developer-Contract To | Miami, FL | 06/24/2025 | $93,915 |
| Sourcepro Search | Business Development Contractor With Agency Staffing Experience (1099) | Philadelphia, PA | 06/24/2025 | $160,000 |
| Hub International | Contractor Development Account Manager | Long Beach, CA | 06/19/2025 | $70,000 |
| Infopeople Corporation | . NET Developer-Brooklyn, NY-Long Term Contract-Onsite-Only Locals To NY or NJ | New York, NY | 06/10/2025 | $146,090 |
| Professional Search of The Carolinas | C# .NET Developer-Remote Contract-Candidate HAS To Currently Live | Raleigh, NC | 05/28/2025 | $93,915 |
| LG Electronics | Contractor Development Manager Ohio | Enon, OH | 05/26/2025 | $100,000 |
| AHU Technologies | Angular Developer-Long-Term Contract (Government) Position | Washington, DC | 05/20/2025 | $125,220 |
| Psoc | C# .NET Developer Contract | Raleigh, NC | 05/06/2025 | $104,350 |
| Burwood Group | .NET Core Developer-W2 Contract To | Chicago, IL | 04/28/2025 | $125,220 |
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