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Software design engineer salary
Average software design engineer salary
$98,799
Understanding Software Design Engineer Salaries
As of October 2025, the average salary for a Software Design Engineer in the United States is $98,799 per year, translating to approximately $48 per hour. This salary can vary significantly based on factors such as geographic location, years of experience, and specific industry sectors.
For example, Software Design Engineers in states like California and New York often command higher salaries due to the high cost of living and demand for skilled professionals. In contrast, regions with lower living costs may offer lower salary averages.
Experience plays a crucial role in earnings potential. Entry-level positions may start at around $70,000, while seasoned professionals with specialized skills can earn well over $120,000 annually. Understanding these salary dynamics can empower job seekers to negotiate better offers and choose roles that align with their career goals.
Highest Paying States
- California
- New York
- Washington
By keeping an eye on these trends and salary estimates, Software Design Engineers can make informed career decisions and explore opportunities that best match their skills and aspirations.
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Where can a Software Design Engineer earn more?
Software design engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average software design engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for software design engineers are California, Washington, and Oregon. The lowest average software design engineer salary states are Wyoming, Nebraska, and Mississippi.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for software design engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $106,244 | $51.08 |
| 2 | California | $117,778 | $56.62 |
| 3 | Oregon | $101,847 | $48.96 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $97,586 | $46.92 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $93,763 | $45.08 |
| 6 | Nevada | $100,433 | $48.29 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $98,894 | $47.55 |
| 8 | Montana | $91,739 | $44.11 |
| 9 | Delaware | $92,993 | $44.71 |
| 10 | Arizona | $92,929 | $44.68 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $92,029 | $44.24 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | $92,874 | $44.65 |
| 13 | Texas | $89,154 | $42.86 |
| 14 | New York | $95,530 | $45.93 |
| 15 | Minnesota | $90,755 | $43.63 |
| 16 | Virginia | $90,635 | $43.57 |
| 17 | Idaho | $86,998 | $41.83 |
| 18 | Michigan | $86,150 | $41.42 |
| 19 | New Jersey | $90,328 | $43.43 |
| 20 | District of Columbia | $89,025 | $42.80 |
| 21 | Maryland | $89,700 | $43.13 |
| 22 | Alaska | $90,809 | $43.66 |
| 23 | Maine | $87,041 | $41.85 |
| 24 | North Dakota | $83,985 | $40.38 |
| 25 | Vermont | $83,304 | $40.05 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $84,533 | $40.64 |
| 27 | Kentucky | $85,258 | $40.99 |
| 28 | Colorado | $85,295 | $41.01 |
| 29 | Kansas | $82,916 | $39.86 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | $84,290 | $40.52 |
| 31 | Ohio | $82,982 | $39.90 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $81,341 | $39.11 |
| 33 | New Mexico | $83,841 | $40.31 |
| 34 | Illinois | $82,288 | $39.56 |
| 35 | Tennessee | $81,711 | $39.28 |
| 36 | Utah | $78,320 | $37.65 |
| 37 | Alabama | $80,244 | $38.58 |
| 38 | Wyoming | $75,874 | $36.48 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $81,484 | $39.17 |
| 40 | South Dakota | $77,167 | $37.10 |
| 41 | Iowa | $78,852 | $37.91 |
| 42 | Louisiana | $79,763 | $38.35 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $76,457 | $36.76 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $75,264 | $36.18 |
| 45 | Indiana | $76,337 | $36.70 |
| 46 | Missouri | $79,843 | $38.39 |
| 47 | Florida | $77,349 | $37.19 |
| 48 | Georgia | $72,580 | $34.89 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $64,226 | $30.88 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $73,627 | $35.40 |
| 51 | Oklahoma | $71,086 | $34.18 |
Highest paying cities for software design engineers
The highest-paying cities for software design engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Hillsboro, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $127,960 | $61.52 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $107,075 | $51.48 |
| 3 | Hillsboro, OR | $102,292 | $49.18 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $95,718 | $46.02 |
| 5 | Glendale, AZ | $93,269 | $44.84 |
| 6 | Reston, VA | $91,699 | $44.09 |
| 7 | Austin, TX | $90,696 | $43.60 |
| 8 | Saint Louis Park, MN | $90,670 | $43.59 |
| 9 | Germantown, MD | $89,385 | $42.97 |
| 10 | Washington, DC | $89,073 | $42.82 |
| 11 | Troy, MI | $86,464 | $41.57 |
| 12 | Madison, WI | $83,767 | $40.27 |
| 13 | Fargo, ND | $83,745 | $40.26 |
| 14 | Columbus, OH | $82,748 | $39.78 |
| 15 | Raleigh, NC | $82,100 | $39.47 |
| 16 | Bloomington, IL | $80,669 | $38.78 |
| 17 | Huntsville, AL | $80,489 | $38.70 |
| 18 | Salt Lake City, UT | $77,699 | $37.36 |
| 19 | Lincoln, NE | $75,053 | $36.08 |
| 20 | Lawrenceville, GA | $72,807 | $35.00 |
Software design engineer salary details
A software design engineer's salary ranges from $74,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $130,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a software design engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $130,000 | $10,833 | $63 |
| 75th Percentile | $114,000 | $9,500 | $55 |
| Average | $98,799 | $8,233 | $48 |
| 25th Percentile | $85,000 | $7,083 | $41 |
| 10th Percentile | $74,000 | $6,167 | $36 |
Highest paying software design engineer jobs
The highest paying types of software design engineers are staff software engineer, principal software engineer, and software engineer lead.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Analyst | $78,400 | $6,533 | $37.69 | 274,053 |
| Computer Engineer | $96,805 | $8,067 | $46.54 | 126,709 |
| Software Engineer-Consultant | $113,987 | $9,499 | $54.80 | 317,033 |
| Principal Software Engineer | $134,230 | $11,186 | $64.53 | 345,893 |
| Software Developer | $87,521 | $7,293 | $42.08 | 294,329 |
| Software Tester | $78,580 | $6,548 | $37.78 | 208,853 |
Top companies hiring software design engineers now:
Which companies pay software design engineers the most?
Software design engineer salaries at Apple and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average software design engineer salary at companies like Dolby Laboratories and Barnes & Noble are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | $138,720 | $66.69 |
| 2 | $136,186 | $65.47 | |
| 3 | Dolby Laboratories | $128,123 | $61.60 |
| 4 | Barnes & Noble | $123,980 | $59.61 |
| 5 | Animoto | $121,975 | $58.64 |
| 6 | Playground Global | $120,849 | $58.10 |
| 7 | Health Nucleus | $120,012 | $57.70 |
| 8 | Expedia Group | $119,400 | $57.40 |
| 9 | Microsoft | $118,873 | $57.15 |
| 10 | Broadcom | $118,495 | $56.97 |
| 11 | Thoughtworks | $118,058 | $56.76 |
| 12 | PMC-Sierra | $117,928 | $56.70 |
| 13 | Stryker | $117,771 | $56.62 |
| 14 | STMicroelectronics | $117,444 | $56.46 |
| 15 | ServiceNow | $116,906 | $56.20 |
| 16 | Texas Instruments | $116,862 | $56.18 |
| 17 | PlayStation | $116,675 | $56.09 |
| 18 | Amgen | $116,432 | $55.98 |
| 19 | Microsemi | $115,210 | $55.39 |
| 20 | Cloudera | $114,581 | $55.09 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Software design engineer salary trends
The average software design engineer salary has risen by $18,341 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average software design engineer earned $80,458 annually, but today, they earn $98,799 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for software design engineers over the last decade.
Compare software design engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average software design engineer salary over time
Compare software design engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Software design engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $98,800 | $47.50 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $95,500 | $45.93 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $93,400 | $44.89 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | $91,700 | $44.10 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $90,200 | $43.36 | +1.8% |
Recently added software design engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Globalfoundries | Design Enablement Engineer, Software Engineering Ai/Machine Learning (2025 New College Graduate) | Malta, NY | 06/21/2025 | $52,500 |
| Medtronic Inc. | Principal Software Design Assurance Engineer-SH&A | Mounds View, MN | 06/18/2025 | $124,800 |
| Trafficcast | Hardware/Software Design Engineer | Philadelphia, PA | 06/10/2025 | $80,000 |
| Spacex | Software Engineer, Design Software (Starship) | Hawthorne, CA | 06/09/2025 | $140,000 |
| Supermicro | Software Engineer-Switch Design | San Jose, CA | 06/08/2025 | $90,000 |
| Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. | Principal Software Design Assurance Engineer | Golden Valley, MN | 06/06/2025 | $130,400 |
| Teledyne Technologies | Software Design Engineer | Chestnut Ridge, NY | 05/30/2025 | $90,800 |
| Super Micro Computer, Inc. | Software Engineer-Switch Design | San Jose, CA | 05/28/2025 | $90,000 |
| Beyondsoft Group | Software Design Engineer | Redmond, WA | 05/28/2025 | $125,220 |
| Epsilon Systems Solutions, Inc. | Software Design and Engineering SME-Sigint | Fairfax, VA | 05/16/2025 | $135,000 |
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