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Software development specialist salary
Average software development specialist salary
$102,196
The Software Development Specialist plays a vital role in the tech industry, with an average annual salary of $102,196. Salaries can vary significantly based on factors such as geographic location, industry, and years of experience. For instance, specialists in tech hubs like California and New York often earn higher wages compared to those in less populated areas.
Moreover, experience significantly influences earning potential. Entry-level positions may start lower, while seasoned professionals can command top salaries. Highest paying states for Software Development Specialists include:
- California
- New York
- Washington
- Massachusetts
Additionally, the industry impacts salary ranges. Software Development Specialists in finance or healthcare sectors may earn considerably more than those in education or non-profit sectors. To maximize your career trajectory, staying updated on industry trends and continuing education opportunities is crucial.
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Where can a Software Development Specialist earn more?
Software development specialist salary estimates from across the web
Average software development specialist salary by state
The average software development specialist salary in California, Washington, and Nevada are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average software development specialist salary states are Mississippi, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for software development specialists
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $129,006 | $62.02 |
| 2 | Washington | $115,243 | $55.41 |
| 3 | Nevada | $110,925 | $53.33 |
| 4 | Oregon | $102,248 | $49.16 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $104,235 | $50.11 |
| 6 | Arizona | $100,905 | $48.51 |
| 7 | Utah | $97,815 | $47.03 |
| 8 | Delaware | $100,778 | $48.45 |
| 9 | Texas | $98,093 | $47.16 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | $106,659 | $51.28 |
| 11 | New York | $108,487 | $52.16 |
| 12 | New Jersey | $103,271 | $49.65 |
| 13 | Maryland | $103,742 | $49.88 |
| 14 | Rhode Island | $94,835 | $45.59 |
| 15 | Idaho | $98,431 | $47.32 |
| 16 | Michigan | $98,141 | $47.18 |
| 17 | Virginia | $98,397 | $47.31 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | $97,333 | $46.79 |
| 19 | New Hampshire | $97,861 | $47.05 |
| 20 | Minnesota | $94,527 | $45.45 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $93,885 | $45.14 |
| 22 | Connecticut | $101,283 | $48.69 |
| 23 | North Dakota | $90,228 | $43.38 |
| 24 | District of Columbia | $94,663 | $45.51 |
| 25 | Georgia | $92,697 | $44.57 |
| 26 | Wyoming | $88,378 | $42.49 |
| 27 | Vermont | $89,918 | $43.23 |
| 28 | Iowa | $90,358 | $43.44 |
| 29 | North Carolina | $91,849 | $44.16 |
| 30 | Illinois | $94,328 | $45.35 |
| 31 | Kansas | $87,977 | $42.30 |
| 32 | Alaska | $89,412 | $42.99 |
| 33 | New Mexico | $85,409 | $41.06 |
| 34 | Colorado | $90,104 | $43.32 |
| 35 | Montana | $83,191 | $40.00 |
| 36 | Ohio | $86,858 | $41.76 |
| 37 | Louisiana | $89,162 | $42.87 |
| 38 | Florida | $89,130 | $42.85 |
| 39 | Missouri | $87,857 | $42.24 |
| 40 | Indiana | $83,801 | $40.29 |
| 41 | Hawaii | $85,446 | $41.08 |
| 42 | South Carolina | $87,439 | $42.04 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $84,486 | $40.62 |
| 44 | Maine | $87,990 | $42.30 |
| 45 | Arkansas | $79,655 | $38.30 |
| 46 | Alabama | $82,883 | $39.85 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $78,035 | $37.52 |
| 48 | Kentucky | $81,554 | $39.21 |
| 49 | West Virginia | $80,815 | $38.85 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $80,098 | $38.51 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $81,900 | $39.38 |
Highest paying cities for software development specialists
The highest-paying cities for software development specialists are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and New York, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $139,556 | $67.09 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $115,972 | $55.76 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $108,686 | $52.25 |
| 4 | Quincy, MA | $104,382 | $50.18 |
| 5 | Jersey City, NJ | $103,358 | $49.69 |
| 6 | Phoenix, AZ | $101,011 | $48.56 |
| 7 | Sterling, VA | $99,146 | $47.67 |
| 8 | Austin, TX | $98,407 | $47.31 |
| 9 | Salt Lake City, UT | $97,025 | $46.65 |
| 10 | Providence, RI | $94,878 | $45.61 |
| 11 | Chicago, IL | $94,611 | $45.49 |
| 12 | Eden Prairie, MN | $94,471 | $45.42 |
| 13 | Atlanta, GA | $92,565 | $44.50 |
| 14 | Durham, NC | $92,318 | $44.38 |
| 15 | Jacksonville, FL | $88,838 | $42.71 |
| 16 | Topeka, KS | $87,867 | $42.24 |
| 17 | Columbus, OH | $86,537 | $41.60 |
| 18 | Knoxville, TN | $85,056 | $40.89 |
| 19 | Frankfort, KY | $81,758 | $39.31 |
| 20 | Lincoln, NE | $77,894 | $37.45 |
Software development specialist salary details
A software development specialist's salary ranges from $78,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $132,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a software development specialist's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $132,000 | $11,000 | $63 |
| 75th Percentile | $117,000 | $9,750 | $56 |
| Average | $102,196 | $8,516 | $49 |
| 25th Percentile | $89,000 | $7,417 | $43 |
| 10th Percentile | $78,000 | $6,500 | $38 |
Highest paying software development specialist jobs
The highest paying types of software development specialists are principal software engineer, senior software development engineer, and lead software developer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Principal Software Engineer | $134,230 | $11,186 | $64.53 | 345,893 |
| Software Engineer | $100,260 | $8,355 | $48.20 | 339,938 |
| Software Quality Engineer | $99,902 | $8,325 | $48.03 | 279,437 |
| Web Design/Development | $69,901 | $5,825 | $33.61 | 184,573 |
| Development Team Member | $27,071 | $2,256 | $13.02 | 389,951 |
| Design, Development | $93,226 | $7,769 | $44.82 | 280,910 |
Top companies hiring software development specialists now:
Which companies pay software development specialists the most?
Software development specialist salaries at Netflix and Nasdaq are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average software development specialist salary at companies like AQR Capital Management and Concentra are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netflix | $141,225 | $67.90 |
| 2 | Nasdaq | $128,217 | $61.64 |
| 3 | AQR Capital Management | $128,076 | $61.58 |
| 4 | Concentra | $126,778 | $60.95 |
| 5 | Cengage Learning | $123,406 | $59.33 |
| 6 | MAC Cosmetics | $120,590 | $57.98 |
| 7 | SAP | $119,769 | $57.58 |
| 8 | SAS Institute | $119,080 | $57.25 |
| 9 | Novartis | $117,175 | $56.33 |
| 10 | Ford Motor | $115,900 | $55.72 |
| 11 | Country-Wide Insurance | $113,801 | $54.71 |
| 12 | Experian Data Quality | $112,295 | $53.99 |
| 13 | Amdocs | $109,737 | $52.76 |
| 14 | Domino's Pizza | $109,645 | $52.71 |
| 15 | APN | $108,139 | $51.99 |
| 16 | UChicago Argonne | $106,471 | $51.19 |
| 17 | 3M Company | $106,227 | $51.07 |
| 18 | Data | $106,077 | $51.00 |
| 19 | TAJ Technologies | $103,159 | $49.60 |
| 20 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $101,801 | $48.94 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Software Development Specialist salary by industry
The average software development specialist salary varies across industries:
- The average software development specialist salary in the finance industry is $128,179, the highest of any industry.
- The average software development specialist salary in the finance industry is $109,737.
- Software development specialists in the professional industry earn an average salary of $78,463, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for software development specialists
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance | $128,179 | $61.62 |
| 2 | Telecommunication | $109,737 | $52.76 |
| 3 | Automotive | $103,093 | $49.56 |
| 4 | Technology | $98,192 | $47.21 |
| 5 | Professional | $78,463 | $37.72 |
High paying software development specialist jobs
Software development specialist salary trends
The average software development specialist salary has risen by $18,972 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average software development specialist earned $83,224 annually, but today, they earn $102,196 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for software development specialists over the last decade.
Compare software development specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average software development specialist salary over time
Compare software development specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Software development specialist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $102,000 | $49.13 | +3.3% |
| 2025 | $98,800 | $47.51 | +2.3% |
| 2024 | $96,600 | $46.44 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | $94,900 | $45.62 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $93,300 | $44.85 | +1.8% |
Recently added software development specialist salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dasstateoh | Software Development Specialist 4-PN 20071126 | Columbus, OH | 06/27/2025 | $89,198 |
| Amazon | Software Development Engineer, Specialist Engineering-Media & Game Tech | New York, NY | 06/15/2025 | $129,300 |
| Invisible Agency | Software Developers & Programming Specialist-AI Trainer | Austin, TX | 06/14/2025 | $16,696 |
| Amazon | Software Development Engineer, Specialist Engineering-Media & Game Tech | Arlington, VA | 06/13/2025 | $129,300 |
| Amazon | Software Development Engineer, Specialist Engineering-Media & Game Tech | Irvine, CA | 06/13/2025 | $129,300 |
| State of Ohio | Software Development Specialist 3 (PN 20014302) | Columbus, OH | 06/11/2025 | $81,059 |
| Dasstateoh | Software Development Specialist 4-PN 20071126 | Columbus, OH | 05/28/2025 | $89,198 |
| State of Ohio | Software Development Specialist 4-PN 20014894 | Columbus, OH | 05/18/2025 | $89,198 |
| State of Ohio | Software Development Specialist 4-PN 20014894 | Columbus, OH | 04/30/2025 | $89,198 |
| Healthcare Services | Embedded Software Development Specialist | Maplewood, MN | 04/29/2025 | $137,439 |
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