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Software development engineer salary
Average software development engineer salary
$109,147
Average Software Development Engineer Salary
The average salary for a Software Development Engineer in the United States is $109,147 annually. Factors influencing this figure include geographical location, years of experience, and specialization within the field. For instance, software engineers in states like California and Washington tend to earn higher salaries due to increased demand and living costs.
Salary by State
Understanding how salaries vary by state can provide insights into where to focus your job search. For example, states such as New York and Massachusetts also report competitive salaries for software development roles. By researching these variations, you can better position yourself in the job market.
Job Outlook
The job outlook for software engineers remains strong, with numerous opportunities across various industries. Companies increasingly seek skilled developers to innovate and enhance their technological capabilities. This trend highlights the importance of staying current with industry advancements and expanding your skill set.
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Where can a Software Development Engineer earn more?
Software development engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average software development engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for software development engineers are California, Washington, and Oregon. The lowest average software development engineer salary states are Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for software development engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $112,720 | $54.19 |
| 2 | California | $115,072 | $55.32 |
| 3 | Oregon | $100,735 | $48.43 |
| 4 | Arizona | $88,468 | $42.53 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $92,423 | $44.43 |
| 6 | Nevada | $95,282 | $45.81 |
| 7 | Utah | $86,032 | $41.36 |
| 8 | Idaho | $87,723 | $42.17 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | $85,335 | $41.03 |
| 10 | New York | $97,981 | $47.11 |
| 11 | Montana | $82,663 | $39.74 |
| 12 | Vermont | $82,799 | $39.81 |
| 13 | New Hampshire | $84,175 | $40.47 |
| 14 | Texas | $82,854 | $39.83 |
| 15 | North Dakota | $79,829 | $38.38 |
| 16 | Maine | $85,581 | $41.14 |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | $83,493 | $40.14 |
| 18 | Delaware | $82,651 | $39.74 |
| 19 | New Jersey | $87,699 | $42.16 |
| 20 | Virginia | $83,430 | $40.11 |
| 21 | Connecticut | $86,571 | $41.62 |
| 22 | New Mexico | $81,109 | $38.99 |
| 23 | Wyoming | $76,751 | $36.90 |
| 24 | District of Columbia | $82,490 | $39.66 |
| 25 | Maryland | $82,167 | $39.50 |
| 26 | Michigan | $78,103 | $37.55 |
| 27 | Alaska | $80,433 | $38.67 |
| 28 | West Virginia | $76,367 | $36.71 |
| 29 | Ohio | $76,639 | $36.85 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | $76,682 | $36.87 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $75,882 | $36.48 |
| 32 | Indiana | $74,744 | $35.93 |
| 33 | Colorado | $75,552 | $36.32 |
| 34 | Louisiana | $75,973 | $36.53 |
| 35 | Minnesota | $76,799 | $36.92 |
| 36 | North Carolina | $75,251 | $36.18 |
| 37 | Arkansas | $72,676 | $34.94 |
| 38 | Nebraska | $73,326 | $35.25 |
| 39 | Florida | $74,808 | $35.97 |
| 40 | Georgia | $74,896 | $36.01 |
| 41 | Iowa | $74,261 | $35.70 |
| 42 | Alabama | $73,365 | $35.27 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $74,032 | $35.59 |
| 44 | Illinois | $75,400 | $36.25 |
| 45 | Tennessee | $73,182 | $35.18 |
| 46 | South Carolina | $74,334 | $35.74 |
| 47 | Kansas | $72,664 | $34.93 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $73,524 | $35.35 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $68,884 | $33.12 |
| 50 | Missouri | $72,901 | $35.05 |
| 51 | Oklahoma | $72,444 | $34.83 |
Highest paying cities for software development engineers
The highest-paying cities for software development engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $128,246 | $61.66 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $113,416 | $54.53 |
| 3 | Portland, OR | $100,566 | $48.35 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $98,121 | $47.17 |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $92,475 | $44.46 |
| 6 | Tempe, AZ | $88,491 | $42.54 |
| 7 | Jersey City, NJ | $87,901 | $42.26 |
| 8 | Portland, ME | $85,977 | $41.34 |
| 9 | Arlington, VA | $85,036 | $40.88 |
| 10 | Philadelphia, PA | $84,300 | $40.53 |
| 11 | Austin, TX | $83,923 | $40.35 |
| 12 | Newark, DE | $82,739 | $39.78 |
| 13 | Washington, DC | $82,554 | $39.69 |
| 14 | Detroit, MI | $78,321 | $37.65 |
| 15 | Minneapolis, MN | $76,906 | $36.97 |
| 16 | Durham, NC | $75,710 | $36.40 |
| 17 | Chicago, IL | $75,666 | $36.38 |
| 18 | Englewood, CO | $75,574 | $36.33 |
| 19 | Alpharetta, GA | $74,778 | $35.95 |
| 20 | Bellevue, NE | $73,343 | $35.26 |
Software Development Engineers are the most in-demand in these five cities:
Software development engineer salary details
A software development engineer's salary ranges from $80,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $147,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a software development engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $147,000 | $12,250 | $71 |
| 75th Percentile | $127,000 | $10,583 | $61 |
| Average | $109,147 | $9,096 | $52 |
| 25th Percentile | $93,000 | $7,750 | $45 |
| 10th Percentile | $80,000 | $6,667 | $38 |
Highest paying software development engineer jobs
The highest paying types of software development engineers are staff software engineer, software engineer lead, and senior software development engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Engineer | $79,832 | $6,653 | $38.38 | 228,974 |
| Design, Development | $93,226 | $7,769 | $44.82 | 280,910 |
| Research And Development Internship | $38,489 | $3,207 | $18.50 | 154,854 |
| Development Team Member | $27,071 | $2,256 | $13.02 | 389,951 |
| Development Technician | $92,109 | $7,676 | $44.28 | 82,959 |
| Software Engineer-Consultant | $113,987 | $9,499 | $54.80 | 317,033 |
Top companies hiring software development engineers now:
Which companies pay software development engineers the most?
Software development engineer salaries at Meta and Dotdash are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average software development engineer salary at companies like Upstart Network and TikTok are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $152,536 | $73.33 |
| 2 | Dotdash | $149,522 | $71.89 |
| 3 | Upstart Network | $148,647 | $71.46 |
| 4 | TikTok | $148,542 | $71.41 |
| 5 | ByteDance | $148,218 | $71.26 |
| 6 | Airbnb | $148,168 | $71.23 |
| 7 | Apple | $147,397 | $70.86 |
| 8 | Cloudflare | $145,264 | $69.84 |
| 9 | The Walt Disney Company | $143,392 | $68.94 |
| 10 | $143,345 | $68.92 | |
| 11 | Discovery | $143,331 | $68.91 |
| 12 | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | $142,451 | $68.49 |
| 13 | Foundation Medicine | $142,103 | $68.32 |
| 14 | PitchBook Data | $141,761 | $68.15 |
| 15 | $141,197 | $67.88 | |
| 16 | DoorDash | $141,035 | $67.81 |
| 17 | CTC | $140,411 | $67.51 |
| 18 | Aspiration | $140,274 | $67.44 |
| 19 | Yelp | $140,110 | $67.36 |
| 20 | Palo Alto Networks | $138,983 | $66.82 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Software development engineer salary trends
The average software development engineer salary has risen by $20,263 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average software development engineer earned $88,884 annually, but today, they earn $109,147 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for software development engineers over the last decade.
Compare software development engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average software development engineer salary over time
Compare software development engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Software development engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $109,000 | $52.47 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $106,000 | $50.75 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $103,000 | $49.60 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | $101,000 | $48.72 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $99,600 | $47.90 | +1.8% |
Recently added software development engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F5 Networks | Software Development Engineer III | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $128,099 |
| Jeppesen | Software Engineer-Developer (Associate, Experienced, Senior) | Daytona Beach, FL | 06/30/2025 | $127,500 |
| Parsons | Ts/Sci P4 Network Software Development Engineer | Centreville, VA | 06/30/2025 | $108,700 |
| Zoom Video Communications | Software Development Engineers | San Jose, CA | 06/30/2025 | $199,534 |
| Blue Origin | Software Development Engineer III-Lunar Permanence (Open) | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $148,014 |
| Horace Mann | Back-End Developer and Devops Software Engineer III | Springfield, IL | 06/29/2025 | $84,200 |
| Palantir | Software Engineer-Developer Productivity | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $135,000 |
| Coreweave | Software Engineer II-Developer Productivity | Bellevue, WA | 06/29/2025 | $175,000 |
| Doordash | Software Engineer-Developer Experience, Android | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $130,600 |
| ZP Group | Software Developer-Service Delivery Engineer | Philadelphia, PA | 06/29/2025 | $130,000 |
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