Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Staff software engineer salary
Average staff software engineer salary
$136,653
Understanding Staff Software Engineer Salaries
As of October 2025, the average salary for a Staff Software Engineer in the United States is $136,653 per year. This role is critical in software development, often requiring extensive experience and technical expertise. Salaries can fluctuate based on geographic location, industry, and company size.
Salaries by State
Staff Software Engineers in states like California and Washington typically earn higher wages due to the concentration of technology companies. For example:
- California: $150,000
- Washington: $145,000
- Texas: $130,000
In contrast, states with fewer tech hubs may offer lower salaries. However, the demand for software engineers remains high, providing numerous opportunities.
Career Advancement
To enhance earning potential, consider further developing your skills or specializing in high-demand areas like cloud computing or artificial intelligence. Continuous learning not only boosts your salary prospects but also prepares you for leadership roles within technology teams.
Let Zippia find your next staff software engineer job
Let Zippia find your next staff software engineer job
Where can a Staff Software Engineer earn more?
Staff software engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average staff software engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for staff software engineers are Alaska, Washington, and California. The lowest average staff software engineer salary states are Colorado, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for staff software engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $151,999 | $73.08 |
| 2 | California | $147,108 | $70.72 |
| 3 | Oregon | $138,161 | $66.42 |
| 4 | Idaho | $132,830 | $63.86 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $123,551 | $59.40 |
| 6 | Delaware | $126,241 | $60.69 |
| 7 | Alaska | $178,128 | $85.64 |
| 8 | Nevada | $127,089 | $61.10 |
| 9 | Arizona | $122,135 | $58.72 |
| 10 | New York | $127,701 | $61.39 |
| 11 | District of Columbia | $124,948 | $60.07 |
| 12 | West Virginia | $121,728 | $58.52 |
| 13 | Montana | $114,630 | $55.11 |
| 14 | Indiana | $114,104 | $54.86 |
| 15 | Hawaii | $136,975 | $65.85 |
| 16 | South Dakota | $121,104 | $58.22 |
| 17 | New Mexico | $117,965 | $56.71 |
| 18 | Utah | $112,598 | $54.13 |
| 19 | Wyoming | $111,471 | $53.59 |
| 20 | New Jersey | $116,724 | $56.12 |
| 21 | Maryland | $114,093 | $54.85 |
| 22 | Massachusetts | $112,923 | $54.29 |
| 23 | Texas | $112,616 | $54.14 |
| 24 | Virginia | $112,580 | $54.13 |
| 25 | New Hampshire | $111,685 | $53.69 |
| 26 | Vermont | $111,164 | $53.44 |
| 27 | Michigan | $110,558 | $53.15 |
| 28 | Ohio | $111,489 | $53.60 |
| 29 | Connecticut | $113,192 | $54.42 |
| 30 | Maine | $110,816 | $53.28 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania | $110,077 | $52.92 |
| 32 | Georgia | $109,841 | $52.81 |
| 33 | South Carolina | $111,089 | $53.41 |
| 34 | Minnesota | $108,246 | $52.04 |
| 35 | North Dakota | $108,019 | $51.93 |
| 36 | Missouri | $110,508 | $53.13 |
| 37 | North Carolina | $107,626 | $51.74 |
| 38 | Louisiana | $109,752 | $52.77 |
| 39 | Florida | $109,663 | $52.72 |
| 40 | Alabama | $106,516 | $51.21 |
| 41 | Wisconsin | $108,459 | $52.14 |
| 42 | Kentucky | $107,470 | $51.67 |
| 43 | Illinois | $107,662 | $51.76 |
| 44 | Colorado | $104,990 | $50.48 |
| 45 | Arkansas | $104,598 | $50.29 |
| 46 | Tennessee | $104,713 | $50.34 |
| 47 | Iowa | $105,689 | $50.81 |
| 48 | Nebraska | $103,835 | $49.92 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $105,221 | $50.59 |
| 50 | Kansas | $94,330 | $45.35 |
| 51 | Oklahoma | $103,135 | $49.58 |
Highest paying cities for staff software engineers
The highest-paying cities for staff software engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $156,567 | $75.27 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $154,064 | $74.07 |
| 3 | Portland, OR | $138,471 | $66.57 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $127,959 | $61.52 |
| 5 | Washington, DC | $125,030 | $60.11 |
| 6 | Bridgewater, NJ | $116,727 | $56.12 |
| 7 | Austin, TX | $113,334 | $54.49 |
| 8 | Boston, MA | $112,846 | $54.25 |
| 9 | Dublin, OH | $111,584 | $53.65 |
| 10 | Portland, ME | $111,317 | $53.52 |
| 11 | Atlanta, GA | $109,705 | $52.74 |
| 12 | Durham, NC | $108,565 | $52.19 |
| 13 | Chicago, IL | $108,122 | $51.98 |
| 14 | Boulder, CO | $105,121 | $50.54 |
| 15 | Bentonville, AR | $103,787 | $49.90 |
Staff Software Engineers are the most in-demand in these five cities:
Staff software engineer salary details
A staff software engineer's salary ranges from $100,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $186,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a staff software engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $186,000 | $15,500 | $89 |
| 75th Percentile | $160,000 | $13,333 | $77 |
| Average | $136,653 | $11,388 | $66 |
| 25th Percentile | $116,000 | $9,667 | $56 |
| 10th Percentile | $100,000 | $8,333 | $48 |
Highest paying staff software engineer jobs
The highest paying types of staff software engineers are principal software engineer, software engineer lead, and senior systems software engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Analyst | $78,400 | $6,533 | $37.69 | 274,053 |
| Test Engineer | $79,832 | $6,653 | $38.38 | 228,974 |
| Lead Engineer | $84,927 | $7,077 | $40.83 | 301,777 |
| Software Developer | $87,521 | $7,293 | $42.08 | 294,329 |
| Data Engineer | $109,675 | $9,140 | $52.73 | 303,105 |
| Software Development Engineer | $109,147 | $9,096 | $52.47 | 356,971 |
Top companies hiring staff software engineers now:
Which companies pay staff software engineers the most?
Staff software engineer salaries at Airbnb and Brex are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average staff software engineer salary at companies like Credit Karma and Flexport are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airbnb | $216,728 | $104.20 |
| 2 | Brex | $214,565 | $103.16 |
| 3 | Credit Karma | $211,593 | $101.73 |
| 4 | Flexport | $210,474 | $101.19 |
| 5 | Coinbase | $207,397 | $99.71 |
| 6 | The Walt Disney Company | $205,888 | $98.98 |
| 7 | Crunchbase | $202,833 | $97.52 |
| 8 | Wealthfront | $202,235 | $97.23 |
| 9 | Squarespace | $201,617 | $96.93 |
| 10 | Thumbtack | $197,162 | $94.79 |
| 11 | HBO | $195,902 | $94.18 |
| 12 | StubHub | $195,559 | $94.02 |
| 13 | Asana | $194,563 | $93.54 |
| 14 | Course Hero | $194,359 | $93.44 |
| 15 | $193,956 | $93.25 | |
| 16 | Warner Bros. | $193,843 | $93.19 |
| 17 | $192,761 | $92.67 | |
| 18 | Chegg | $191,826 | $92.22 |
| 19 | Marin Software | $191,761 | $92.19 |
| 20 | Instacart | $191,373 | $92.01 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Staff Software Engineer salary by industry
The average staff software engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average staff software engineer salary in the retail industry is $160,201, the highest of any industry.
- The average staff software engineer salary in the finance industry is $154,652.
- Staff software engineers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $127,589, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for staff software engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail | $160,201 | $77.02 |
| 2 | Internet | $154,652 | $74.35 |
| 3 | Telecommunication | $140,046 | $67.33 |
| 4 | Technology | $131,548 | $63.24 |
| 5 | Manufacturing | $127,589 | $61.34 |
High paying staff software engineer jobs
Staff software engineer salary trends
The average staff software engineer salary has risen by $25,369 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average staff software engineer earned $111,284 annually, but today, they earn $136,653 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for staff software engineers over the last decade.
Compare staff software engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average staff software engineer salary over time
Compare staff software engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Staff software engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $137,000 | $65.70 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $132,000 | $63.53 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $129,000 | $62.10 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | $127,000 | $61.00 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $125,000 | $59.97 | +1.8% |
Recently added staff software engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Chicago | Staff Software Engineer | Chicago, IL | 06/30/2025 | $98,940 |
| Esimplicity | Staff Software Engineer | Maryland | 06/30/2025 | $147,000 |
| Home Depot u | Staff Software Engineer, Backend-Python/Java (Remote) | Nome, AK | 06/29/2025 | $120,000 |
| Fanatics Inc. | Staff Software Engineer | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $188,000 |
| Relativity | Staff Software Engineer, Flight Software | Long Beach, CA | 06/29/2025 | $194,000 |
| Nbcuniversal | SR Staff Software Engineer, Cloud Control Plane (Azure/GCP) | Englewood Cliffs, NJ | 06/29/2025 | $145,000 |
| Palantir | Staff Software Engineer-Observability | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $135,000 |
| Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display | Staff Software Engineer-Storage Systems and Protocols | San Jose, CA | 06/29/2025 | $157,000 |
| Gusto | Senior Staff Software Engineer, Consumer Money | Denver, CO | 06/29/2025 | $223,160 |
| Clear-com | Staff Software Engineer, Backend | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $215,000 |
Staff software engineer salary FAQs
Search for staff software engineer jobs