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The average salary for a systems developer in the United States is $97,230 per year or around $47 per hour. Salaries can vary significantly based on geographic location and the specific sector within the tech industry. For instance, systems developers in states like California and New York tend to earn higher wages due to the cost of living and demand for skilled professionals in these markets.
According to recent data, the highest paying states for systems developers include:
These states not only offer competitive salaries but also a wealth of job opportunities in various sectors ranging from finance to healthcare technology.
Experience plays a crucial role in salary determination. Entry-level positions may start much lower than the average, while senior developers with specialized skills can command significantly higher salaries, sometimes exceeding $120,000 annually. By tailoring your skills to meet market demands, you can enhance your earning potential in the field of systems development.
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The highest-paying states for systems developers are Massachusetts, Washington, and New York. The lowest average systems developer salary states are South Dakota, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $115,880 | $55.71 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $116,603 | $56.06 |
| 3 | Alaska | $102,186 | $49.13 |
| 4 | New York | $110,821 | $53.28 |
| 5 | Maine | $105,470 | $50.71 |
| 6 | California | $110,481 | $53.12 |
| 7 | Oregon | $99,851 | $48.01 |
| 8 | New Mexico | $100,236 | $48.19 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $102,636 | $49.34 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $95,696 | $46.01 |
| 11 | Delaware | $97,046 | $46.66 |
| 12 | New Hampshire | $97,149 | $46.71 |
| 13 | District of Columbia | $106,307 | $51.11 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $95,423 | $45.88 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $102,227 | $49.15 |
| 16 | Texas | $90,747 | $43.63 |
| 17 | Maryland | $98,546 | $47.38 |
| 18 | Minnesota | $97,498 | $46.87 |
| 19 | Arizona | $91,301 | $43.89 |
| 20 | Michigan | $92,022 | $44.24 |
| 21 | Vermont | $89,826 | $43.19 |
| 22 | Nevada | $94,270 | $45.32 |
| 23 | Virginia | $91,213 | $43.85 |
| 24 | North Carolina | $87,417 | $42.03 |
| 25 | North Dakota | $84,599 | $40.67 |
| 26 | Illinois | $92,360 | $44.40 |
| 27 | Iowa | $87,726 | $42.18 |
| 28 | Georgia | $89,135 | $42.85 |
| 29 | Montana | $86,202 | $41.44 |
| 30 | Hawaii | $101,024 | $48.57 |
| 31 | Idaho | $85,369 | $41.04 |
| 32 | West Virginia | $82,776 | $39.80 |
| 33 | Wyoming | $80,850 | $38.87 |
| 34 | Kansas | $84,547 | $40.65 |
| 35 | Ohio | $82,594 | $39.71 |
| 36 | Indiana | $82,423 | $39.63 |
| 37 | Missouri | $86,359 | $41.52 |
| 38 | Utah | $83,021 | $39.91 |
| 39 | Florida | $83,567 | $40.18 |
| 40 | Wisconsin | $83,063 | $39.93 |
| 41 | Tennessee | $82,072 | $39.46 |
| 42 | South Dakota | $79,078 | $38.02 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $78,697 | $37.84 |
| 44 | Colorado | $77,628 | $37.32 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $81,796 | $39.33 |
| 46 | Kentucky | $79,741 | $38.34 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $76,067 | $36.57 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $80,036 | $38.48 |
| 49 | Louisiana | $80,616 | $38.76 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $78,019 | $37.51 |
| 51 | Alabama | $74,694 | $35.91 |
The highest-paying cities for systems developers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Boston, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $123,077 | $59.17 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $117,733 | $56.60 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $116,936 | $56.22 |
| 4 | Babylon, NY | $111,615 | $53.66 |
| 5 | Washington, DC | $106,442 | $51.17 |
| 6 | Jersey City, NJ | $102,769 | $49.41 |
| 7 | Stamford, CT | $101,973 | $49.03 |
| 8 | Rockville, MD | $97,884 | $47.06 |
| 9 | Minneapolis, MN | $97,485 | $46.87 |
| 10 | Newark, DE | $97,163 | $46.71 |
| 11 | Philadelphia, PA | $96,397 | $46.34 |
| 12 | San Antonio, TX | $93,227 | $44.82 |
| 13 | Chicago, IL | $92,692 | $44.56 |
| 14 | Southfield, MI | $92,291 | $44.37 |
| 15 | Richmond, VA | $90,431 | $43.48 |
| 16 | Atlanta, GA | $88,971 | $42.77 |
| 17 | Morrisville, NC | $87,874 | $42.25 |
| 18 | Saint Louis, MO | $86,854 | $41.76 |
| 19 | Miami, FL | $84,235 | $40.50 |
| 20 | Findlay, OH | $82,469 | $39.65 |
A systems developer's salary ranges from $73,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $129,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $129,000 | $10,750 | $62 |
| 75th Percentile | $112,000 | $9,333 | $54 |
| Average | $97,230 | $8,103 | $47 |
| 25th Percentile | $83,000 | $6,917 | $40 |
| 10th Percentile | $73,000 | $6,083 | $35 |
The highest paying types of systems developers are lead developer, architect and developer, and developer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developer/Consultant | $98,508 | $8,209 | $47.36 | 257,985 |
| Mobile Applications Developer | $99,257 | $8,271 | $47.72 | 252,254 |
| Web Application Developer | $85,840 | $7,153 | $41.27 | 229,802 |
| Developer Analyst | $85,279 | $7,107 | $41.00 | 219,524 |
| Systems Analyst | $75,383 | $6,282 | $36.24 | 141,289 |
| Team Lead And Developer | $85,824 | $7,152 | $41.26 | 350,426 |
Top companies hiring systems developers now:
Systems developer salaries at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and The Citadel are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average systems developer salary at companies like Meta and Barclays are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | $151,456 | $72.82 |
| 2 | The Citadel | $150,904 | $72.55 |
| 3 | Meta | $134,544 | $64.68 |
| 4 | Barclays | $126,033 | $60.59 |
| 5 | Practice Fusion | $125,798 | $60.48 |
| 6 | IntraHealth International | $125,416 | $60.30 |
| 7 | Yelp | $124,035 | $59.63 |
| 8 | Vista Equity Partners | $123,428 | $59.34 |
| 9 | BGC Partners | $121,514 | $58.42 |
| 10 | Calamos Investments | $121,030 | $58.19 |
| 11 | H-E-B | $119,541 | $57.47 |
| 12 | AQR Capital Management | $119,270 | $57.34 |
| 13 | Cumulus Media | $118,511 | $56.98 |
| 14 | National Railroad Passenger Corporation | $118,150 | $56.80 |
| 15 | CyberCoders | $117,975 | $56.72 |
| 16 | Macy's | $117,610 | $56.54 |
| 17 | Nomura Securities | $116,831 | $56.17 |
| 18 | Kelly Services | $116,385 | $55.95 |
| 19 | Novartis | $115,895 | $55.72 |
| 20 | Imagine Fulfillment Services | $115,622 | $55.59 |
The average systems developer salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hospitality | $106,498 | $51.20 |
| 2 | Finance | $106,062 | $50.99 |
| 3 | Automotive | $100,313 | $48.23 |
| 4 | Health Care | $97,170 | $46.72 |
| 5 | Retail | $97,087 | $46.68 |
| 6 | Professional | $96,986 | $46.63 |
| 7 | Manufacturing | $96,711 | $46.50 |
| 8 | Technology | $96,253 | $46.28 |
The average systems developer salary has risen by $15,657 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average systems developer earned $81,573 annually, but today, they earn $97,230 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for systems developers over the last decade.
Compare systems developer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare systems developer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $97,200 | $46.75 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $94,000 | $45.20 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $91,900 | $44.18 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | $91,400 | $43.95 | +1.2% |
| 2021 | $90,300 | $43.42 | +1.6% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insight Global | Geographic Information System Developer | Richmond, VA | 06/28/2025 | $70,000 |
| Federated Mutual Insurance Company | Java Systems Support Developer | Mankato, MN | 06/27/2025 | $76,800 |
| Federated Insurance Companies | Java Systems Support Developer | Mankato, MN | 06/27/2025 | $76,800 |
| Net2Source Inc. | Content Management System Developer | New Brunswick, NJ | 06/25/2025 | $109,442 |
| Molex | Test System Developer | Lisle, IL | 06/22/2025 | $90,000 |
| Leidos Holdings Inc. | System Hardware Developer | Long Beach, MS | 06/19/2025 | $67,600 |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | Systems Developer, Kuiper Enterprise Technology | Arlington, VA | 06/15/2025 | $116,300 |
| Curology | Business Systems Developer | Imperial, PA | 06/14/2025 | $90,000 |
| Gcom Ondemand | NYS Ocfs Hbits Expert Systems Developer (.NET) | Albany, NY | 06/13/2025 | $104,350 |
| Bemobile | Business Systems Developer | Peoria, IL | 06/12/2025 | $80,000 |
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