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Staff Software Engineer salary
Average staff software engineer salary
$136,653
How much does a staff software engineer make?
The average staff software engineer salary in the United States is $136,653. Staff software engineer salaries typically range between $100,000 and $186,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for staff software engineers is $65.7 per hour.
Staff software engineer salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Staff software engineers earn the highest average salary in Alaska.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto Networks Inc. | Staff Engineer Software (Full Stack-Frontend Focused) | Santa Clara, CA | 12/17/2024 | $104,000 |
| Arm | Staff Software Engineer-Profiling Tools | Austin, TX | 12/17/2024 | $185,491 |
| Moveworks, Inc. | Staff Software Engineer, Core Infrastructure | Mountain View, CA | 12/17/2024 | $240,000 |
| Karkidi | Staff Software Engineer II, Machine Learning NG | New York, NY | 12/17/2024 | $126,000 |
| Experian Health | Senior Staff Software Engineer-Data Platform | Costa Mesa, CA | 12/16/2024 | $129,232 |
| Milliman & Co | Staff Software Engineer-Intelliscript (Remote) | Brookfield, WI | 12/16/2024 | $109,000 |
| Procore Technologies | Staff Software Engineer, IOS | Austin, TX | 12/16/2024 | $158,680 |
| Bill.com, LLC | Staff Software Backend Engineer-Partners Team | Draper, UT | 12/16/2024 | $175,000 |
| Tecton Inc. | Staff Software Engineer, Batch Compute | Ione, WA | 12/16/2024 | $216,000 |
| Shield | Staff Software Engineer, Embedded Firmware (R2524) | Boston, MA | 12/16/2024 | $166,410 |
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