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Staff programmer salary
Average staff programmer salary
$112,979
Average Staff Programmer Salary
The average salary for a staff programmer in the United States stands at $112,979 annually, or approximately $54 per hour. This position typically requires a combination of coding expertise, problem-solving abilities, and software development experience. Factors influencing salary include location, industry, and years of experience.
Highest Paying States
States such as California, Washington, and New York consistently rank among the top for staff programmer salaries, with average earnings exceeding $120,000. Conversely, regions with lower living costs may offer lower salaries, but they can still provide competitive compensation relative to local economies.
Top Paying Cities
In cities like San Francisco and New York City, staff programmers can earn significantly higher salaries due to demand and cost of living factors. Understanding where to focus your job search can lead to better compensation and career satisfaction.
Opportunities in Various Industries
Staff programmers find employment across diverse sectors, including technology, finance, and healthcare, with some industries offering higher salaries based on the complexity of the work and required skills. Explore job postings tailored to your expertise for the best opportunities.
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Where can a Staff Programmer earn more?
Average staff programmer salary by state
The highest-paying states for staff programmers are Washington, Oregon, and Connecticut. The lowest average staff programmer salary states are New Mexico, Arkansas, and Texas.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for staff programmers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $140,483 | $67.54 |
| 2 | Oregon | $126,053 | $60.60 |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | $118,789 | $57.11 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $125,328 | $60.25 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $112,973 | $54.31 |
| 6 | California | $122,314 | $58.80 |
| 7 | New Hampshire | $121,065 | $58.20 |
| 8 | Virginia | $123,125 | $59.19 |
| 9 | Utah | $110,709 | $53.23 |
| 10 | Nevada | $109,557 | $52.67 |
| 11 | Michigan | $120,956 | $58.15 |
| 12 | Arizona | $111,862 | $53.78 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | $111,536 | $53.62 |
| 14 | District of Columbia | $123,952 | $59.59 |
| 15 | Vermont | $105,036 | $50.50 |
| 16 | Minnesota | $107,767 | $51.81 |
| 17 | Maine | $102,495 | $49.28 |
| 18 | Alabama | $102,718 | $49.38 |
| 19 | South Carolina | $108,401 | $52.12 |
| 20 | Tennessee | $100,082 | $48.12 |
| 21 | Idaho | $103,346 | $49.69 |
| 22 | Colorado | $107,219 | $51.55 |
| 23 | North Dakota | $104,907 | $50.44 |
| 24 | North Carolina | $101,513 | $48.80 |
| 25 | Maryland | $102,262 | $49.16 |
| 26 | Ohio | $95,598 | $45.96 |
| 27 | Alaska | $106,648 | $51.27 |
| 28 | New York | $100,871 | $48.50 |
| 29 | Illinois | $98,240 | $47.23 |
| 30 | Delaware | $104,783 | $50.38 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $100,862 | $48.49 |
| 32 | New Jersey | $98,917 | $47.56 |
| 33 | Florida | $96,773 | $46.53 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | $98,622 | $47.41 |
| 35 | Montana | $96,249 | $46.27 |
| 36 | Kansas | $95,096 | $45.72 |
| 37 | Wisconsin | $97,706 | $46.97 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $93,864 | $45.13 |
| 39 | Nebraska | $95,385 | $45.86 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $94,134 | $45.26 |
| 41 | Georgia | $94,522 | $45.44 |
| 42 | Arkansas | $90,736 | $43.62 |
| 43 | West Virginia | $91,480 | $43.98 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $92,278 | $44.36 |
| 45 | Missouri | $92,640 | $44.54 |
| 46 | Iowa | $92,215 | $44.33 |
| 47 | Texas | $88,883 | $42.73 |
| 48 | New Mexico | $91,259 | $43.87 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $72,902 | $35.05 |
| 50 | Indiana | $86,858 | $41.76 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $86,346 | $41.51 |
Highest paying cities for staff programmers
The highest-paying cities for staff programmers are Seattle, WA, Newark, CA, and Gresham, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle, WA | $140,798 | $67.69 |
| 2 | Newark, CA | $131,911 | $63.42 |
| 3 | Gresham, OR | $125,890 | $60.52 |
| 4 | New Haven, CT | $125,510 | $60.34 |
| 5 | Ann Arbor, MI | $120,814 | $58.08 |
| 6 | Morrisville, NC | $102,401 | $49.23 |
| 7 | Old Bridge, NJ | $99,002 | $47.60 |
| 8 | Peoria, IL | $96,538 | $46.41 |
| 9 | Atlanta, GA | $94,331 | $45.35 |
| 10 | Richmond, KY | $93,006 | $44.71 |
| 11 | Austin, TX | $89,478 | $43.02 |
Staff programmer salary details
A staff programmer's salary ranges from $85,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $149,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a staff programmer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $149,000 | $12,417 | $72 |
| 75th Percentile | $131,000 | $10,917 | $63 |
| Average | $112,979 | $9,415 | $54 |
| 25th Percentile | $97,000 | $8,083 | $47 |
| 10th Percentile | $85,000 | $7,083 | $41 |
Highest paying staff programmer jobs
The highest paying types of staff programmers are senior systems software engineer, lead programmer, and senior programmer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sap/Abap Developer | $104,432 | $8,703 | $50.21 | 92,478 |
| Mainframe Developer | $90,902 | $7,575 | $43.70 | 255,034 |
| Program Development Internship | $33,686 | $2,807 | $16.19 | 150,632 |
| Information Technology Programmer | $89,063 | $7,422 | $42.82 | 283,349 |
| Program Developer | $74,749 | $6,229 | $35.94 | 128,488 |
| Programmer Analyst | $71,563 | $5,964 | $34.41 | 248,781 |
Top companies hiring staff programmers now:
Which companies pay staff programmers the most?
Staff programmer salaries at The Walt Disney Company and PlayStation are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average staff programmer salary at companies like Nordstrom and Lucid Motors are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Walt Disney Company | $149,258 | $71.76 |
| 2 | PlayStation | $137,211 | $65.97 |
| 3 | Nordstrom | $120,707 | $58.03 |
| 4 | Lucid Motors | $119,213 | $57.31 |
| 5 | Edwards Lifesciences | $113,851 | $54.74 |
| 6 | Qualcomm | $110,516 | $53.13 |
| 7 | Extreme Networks | $109,843 | $52.81 |
| 8 | The American Insurance Company Corp | $107,401 | $51.64 |
| 9 | Illumina | $106,352 | $51.13 |
| 10 | Mindlance | $103,596 | $49.81 |
| 11 | Blonder Tongue Laboratories | $101,380 | $48.74 |
| 12 | ON Semiconductor | $97,662 | $46.95 |
| 13 | NI | $96,306 | $46.30 |
| 14 | Peoria Park District | $86,387 | $41.53 |
| 15 | University of Michigan | $80,794 | $38.84 |
| 16 | IBM | $79,939 | $38.43 |
| 17 | Eastern Kentucky University | $67,804 | $32.60 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Staff Programmer salary by industry
The average staff programmer salary varies across industries:
- The average staff programmer salary in the telecommunication industry is $110,805, the highest of any industry.
- The average staff programmer salary in the finance industry is $107,748.
- Staff programmers in the technology industry earn an average salary of $96,800, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for staff programmers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telecommunication | $110,805 | $53.27 |
| 2 | Health Care | $107,748 | $51.80 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $106,544 | $51.22 |
| 4 | Technology | $96,800 | $46.54 |
High paying staff programmer jobs
Staff programmer salary trends
The average staff programmer salary has risen by $20,957 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average staff programmer earned $92,022 annually, but today, they earn $112,979 a year. That works out to a 12% change in pay for staff programmers over the last decade.
Compare staff programmer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average staff programmer salary over time
Compare staff programmer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Staff programmer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $113,000 | $54.32 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $109,000 | $52.53 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $107,000 | $51.34 | +2.4% |
| 2022 | $104,000 | $50.10 | +2.9% |
| 2021 | $101,000 | $48.63 | +0.4% |
Recently added staff programmer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Fire Alaska | Program Staff | Anchorage, AK | 06/08/2025 | $36,523 |
| Chapel Haven, Inc. | Program Staff | New Haven, CT | 05/28/2025 | $39,131 |
| Jewish Community Center of Denver | Traditional Program Staff | Elbert, CO | 05/15/2025 | $23,400 |
| Chapel Haven, Inc. | Program Staff | New Haven, CT | 04/30/2025 | $39,131 |
| Chapel Haven, Inc. | Program Staff | New Haven, CT | 03/31/2025 | $39,131 |
| Chapel Haven, Inc. | Program Staff | New Haven, CT | 02/28/2025 | $39,131 |
| YMCA of San Francisco | E2E Program Staff | San Francisco, CA | 02/18/2025 | $42,262 |
| Hisra | Program Staff | Morton, IL | 02/15/2025 | $31,305 |
| Greater Burlington YMCA | Y Program Staff | Burlington, VT | 02/13/2025 | $36,001 |
| Jewish Community Center of Denver | Traditional Program Staff | Elbert, CO | 02/13/2025 | $23,400 |
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