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Programming engineer salary
Average programming engineer salary
$80,616
Average Programming Engineer Salary
The average salary for a Programming Engineer in the United States is $80,616 per year, translating to approximately $39 per hour. This average can vary significantly depending on different factors, including geographic location, years of experience, and the specific industry in which one is employed.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level positions typically start around $60,000, while experienced engineers can earn upwards of $100,000 or more, particularly in high-demand markets like California and New York.
Highest Paying States
States that tend to offer higher salaries for Programming Engineers include:
- California
- Washington
- New York
- Massachusetts
These locations often provide a higher cost of living but also greater job opportunities and competitive salaries. By understanding these dynamics, you can better navigate your career path in programming engineering.
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Where can a Programming Engineer earn more?
Programming engineer salaries by experience level
Programming engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average programming engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for programming engineers are California, Virginia, and Washington. The lowest average programming engineer salary states are Mississippi, Hawaii, and Kansas.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for programming engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $106,322 | $51.12 |
| 2 | District of Columbia | $110,932 | $53.33 |
| 3 | Washington | $95,396 | $45.86 |
| 4 | Oregon | $94,370 | $45.37 |
| 5 | Virginia | $96,338 | $46.32 |
| 6 | Idaho | $94,566 | $45.46 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $91,535 | $44.01 |
| 8 | New Hampshire | $89,605 | $43.08 |
| 9 | Delaware | $90,654 | $43.58 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $93,364 | $44.89 |
| 11 | Arizona | $86,714 | $41.69 |
| 12 | Maryland | $90,746 | $43.63 |
| 13 | New York | $92,288 | $44.37 |
| 14 | Michigan | $79,123 | $38.04 |
| 15 | Utah | $80,567 | $38.73 |
| 16 | Iowa | $83,602 | $40.19 |
| 17 | West Virginia | $83,070 | $39.94 |
| 18 | New Mexico | $79,624 | $38.28 |
| 19 | Nevada | $79,410 | $38.18 |
| 20 | Alabama | $75,287 | $36.20 |
| 21 | Tennessee | $81,111 | $39.00 |
| 22 | Texas | $74,459 | $35.80 |
| 23 | Connecticut | $75,124 | $36.12 |
| 24 | Alaska | $80,473 | $38.69 |
| 25 | Colorado | $73,367 | $35.27 |
| 26 | Louisiana | $77,752 | $37.38 |
| 27 | Vermont | $74,483 | $35.81 |
| 28 | Indiana | $71,785 | $34.51 |
| 29 | Maine | $75,898 | $36.49 |
| 30 | New Jersey | $78,047 | $37.52 |
| 31 | Illinois | $73,055 | $35.12 |
| 32 | Wisconsin | $71,203 | $34.23 |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | $72,808 | $35.00 |
| 34 | Ohio | $69,869 | $33.59 |
| 35 | Minnesota | $69,924 | $33.62 |
| 36 | South Carolina | $73,441 | $35.31 |
| 37 | North Dakota | $68,007 | $32.70 |
| 38 | Florida | $71,304 | $34.28 |
| 39 | Wyoming | $70,114 | $33.71 |
| 40 | North Carolina | $66,630 | $32.03 |
| 41 | Montana | $69,243 | $33.29 |
| 42 | Georgia | $68,198 | $32.79 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $67,623 | $32.51 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $68,797 | $33.08 |
| 45 | Hawaii | $65,275 | $31.38 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $65,753 | $31.61 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $61,837 | $29.73 |
| 48 | Missouri | $66,372 | $31.91 |
| 49 | Kansas | $63,962 | $30.75 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $62,141 | $29.88 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $58,755 | $28.25 |
Highest paying cities for programming engineers
The highest-paying cities for programming engineers are San Francisco, CA, Arlington, VA, and Seattle, WA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $113,340 | $54.49 |
| 2 | Arlington, VA | $96,945 | $46.61 |
| 3 | Seattle, WA | $95,645 | $45.98 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $92,458 | $44.45 |
| 5 | Cambridge, MA | $91,464 | $43.97 |
| 6 | Chandler, AZ | $86,621 | $41.64 |
| 7 | Albuquerque, NM | $79,647 | $38.29 |
| 8 | Warren, MI | $79,427 | $38.19 |
| 9 | South Windsor, CT | $75,060 | $36.09 |
| 10 | Austin, TX | $74,977 | $36.05 |
| 11 | Boulder, CO | $73,564 | $35.37 |
| 12 | Orlando, FL | $72,155 | $34.69 |
| 13 | Columbus, IN | $71,307 | $34.28 |
| 14 | Cleveland, OH | $71,055 | $34.16 |
| 15 | Tulsa, OK | $67,886 | $32.64 |
| 16 | Raleigh, NC | $67,808 | $32.60 |
| 17 | Omaha, NE | $61,898 | $29.76 |
Programming engineer salary details
A programming engineer's salary ranges from $59,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $108,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a programming engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $108,000 | $9,000 | $52 |
| 75th Percentile | $94,000 | $7,833 | $45 |
| Average | $80,616 | $6,718 | $39 |
| 25th Percentile | $68,000 | $5,667 | $33 |
| 10th Percentile | $59,000 | $4,917 | $28 |
Highest paying programming engineer jobs
The highest paying types of programming engineers are team lead engineer, staff engineer, and tool engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Control Engineer | $70,845 | $5,904 | $34.06 | 109,745 |
| Application Engineer | $92,921 | $7,743 | $44.67 | 111,338 |
| Mechanical Engineer | $75,352 | $6,279 | $36.23 | 105,618 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Team Lead Engineer | $114,867 | $9,572 | $55.22 | 235,155 |
| Product Development Engineer | $86,075 | $7,173 | $41.38 | 202,155 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for programming engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring programming engineers now:
Which companies pay programming engineers the most?
Programming engineer salaries at Apple and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average programming engineer salary at companies like Chevron and Google are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | $136,667 | $65.71 |
| 2 | Meta | $135,233 | $65.02 |
| 3 | Chevron | $127,205 | $61.16 |
| 4 | $126,177 | $60.66 | |
| 5 | Amazon | $124,208 | $59.72 |
| 6 | BNP Paribas | $114,005 | $54.81 |
| 7 | Texas Instruments | $111,767 | $53.73 |
| 8 | Amd | $111,470 | $53.59 |
| 9 | Bank of the West | $111,442 | $53.58 |
| 10 | Bayer | $110,572 | $53.16 |
| 11 | Yahoo | $110,409 | $53.08 |
| 12 | Dynegy | $110,389 | $53.07 |
| 13 | General Motors | $105,560 | $50.75 |
| 14 | Siemens Enterprise Communications Inc | $103,334 | $49.68 |
| 15 | Caterpillar | $100,872 | $48.50 |
| 16 | Abbott | $100,451 | $48.29 |
| 17 | Constellation Energy Partners | $100,341 | $48.24 |
| 18 | FMC | $100,260 | $48.20 |
| 19 | Electric Reliability Council of Texas | $99,524 | $47.85 |
| 20 | Corning Incorporated | $97,938 | $47.09 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Programming Engineer salary by industry
The average programming engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average programming engineer salary in the technology industry is $92,644, the highest of any industry.
- The average programming engineer salary in the finance industry is $86,874.
- Programming engineers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $79,857, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for programming engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $92,644 | $44.54 |
| 2 | Transportation | $86,874 | $41.77 |
| 3 | Automotive | $82,808 | $39.81 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $79,857 | $38.39 |
High paying programming engineer jobs
Programming engineer salary trends
The average programming engineer salary has risen by $9,773 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average programming engineer earned $70,843 annually, but today, they earn $80,616 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for programming engineers over the last decade.
Compare programming engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average programming engineer salary over time
Compare programming engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Programming engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $80,600 | $38.76 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $79,100 | $38.01 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $78,100 | $37.56 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $76,800 | $36.92 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $75,300 | $36.19 | +0.7% |
Recently added programming engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State of Florida | Professional Engineer Training Program Engineer Trainee | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 06/30/2025 | $56,146 |
| Ryan Companies Us | Sustainability Construction Program Engineer-Mission Critical | Minneapolis, MN | 06/29/2025 | $66,600 |
| General Dynamics | Engineering Leadership Program Engineer (Comp SCI)-Class of 2025 | Orlando, FL | 06/27/2025 | $82,000 |
| Dassault Falcon | Program Engineer | Little Ferry, NJ | 06/27/2025 | $90,000 |
| General Dynamics Mission Systems | Engineering Leadership Program Engineer (Comp SCI)-Class of 2025 | Orlando, FL | 06/27/2025 | $82,000 |
| State of Washington | Capital Improvement and Preservation Program Engineer (TE 2) | Ione, WA | 06/27/2025 | $71,472 |
| Northrop Grumman | Engineer Aeronautical-Advanced Programs Secret Clearance | Chandler, AZ | 06/24/2025 | $77,200 |
| Actalent | Program Engineer | Trenton, GA | 06/21/2025 | $75,132 |
| Actalent | Reliability Program Engineer | Rockville, MD | 06/20/2025 | $135,655 |
| Leidos | Insider Threat Program User Activity Monitor Engineer | Washington, DC | 06/18/2025 | $104,650 |
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