Research Summary. Using a database of 30 million profiles, Zippia estimates demographics and statistics for software programmers in the United States. Our estimates are verified against BLS, Census, and current job openings data for accuracy. After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • There are over 184,090 software programmers currently employed in the United States.
  • 28.7% of all software programmers are women, while 71.3% are men.
  • The average age of an employed software programmer is 47 years old.
  • The most common ethnicity of software programmers is White (58.8%), followed by Asian (25.2%), Hispanic or Latino (7.2%) and Unknown (4.4%).
  • Software programmers are most in-demand in Milwaukee, WI.
  • San Francisco, CA pays an annual average wage of $90,884, the highest in the US.
  • In 2021, women earned 94% of what men earned.
  • Washington is the best state for software programmers to live.
  • Software programmers are 74% more likely to work at private companies in comparison to public companies.

Software Programmer Statistics By Gender

28.7% of software programmers are women and 71.3% of software programmers are men.

  • Male, 71.3%
  • Female, 28.7%

Software Programmers By Gender

GenderPercentages
Male71.3%
Female28.7%

Gender Pay Gap For Software Programmer

Women Earn 94ยข For Every $1 Earned By Men

male-income
Male Income
$71,283
female-income
Female Income
$67,344

Software Programmer Gender Over Time

This data shows how men and women predominate in the software programmer position over time.

Male
Female
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Software Programmer Gender By Year

YearMaleFemale
201065.90%34.10%
201165.85%34.15%
201266.57%33.43%
201369.06%30.94%
201468.46%31.54%
201567.52%32.48%
201668.47%31.53%
201768.77%31.23%
201867.99%32.01%
201968.67%31.33%
202070.46%29.54%
202171.29%28.71%

Software Programmer Male to Female Ratio

We compared this job title with other job titles to see how gender percentages varied. As you can see, dell certified systems expert and software applications architect have the biggest difference in gender.

Job TitleMaleFemale
Informatics Nurse Specialist13%87%
Clinical Support Specialist22%78%
Clinic Administrator23%77%
Software Programmer71%29%
Senior Data Center Engineer98%2%
Software Applications Architect98%2%
Dell Certified Systems Expert99%1%

Software Programmer Statistics By Race

The most common ethnicity among software programmers is White, which makes up 58.8% of all software programmers. Comparatively, there are 25.2% of the Asian ethnicity and 7.2% of the Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.

  • White, 58.8%
  • Asian, 25.2%
  • Hispanic or Latino, 7.2%
  • Unknown, 4.4%
  • Black or African American, 4.1%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%

Software Programmer Race

Software Programmer RacePercentages
White58.8%
Asian25.2%
Hispanic or Latino7.2%
Unknown4.4%
Black or African American4.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native0.3%

Software Programmer Race And Ethnicity Over Time

Using the Census Bureau data, we found out how the percentage of each ethnic category trended between 2010-2019 among software programmers.

  • White
  • Asian
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Black or African American

Software Programmer Race By Year

YearWhiteBlack or African AmericanAsianHispanic or Latino
201064.22%3.88%24.89%5.02%
201164.81%4.06%23.94%5.36%
201264.51%4.00%23.89%5.53%
201363.59%4.29%24.36%5.41%
201463.40%3.74%25.44%5.17%
201561.74%4.15%26.40%5.36%
201660.67%4.26%26.77%6.03%
201760.97%3.51%26.30%7.03%
201861.90%3.94%26.16%5.75%
201962.13%3.62%25.45%6.41%
202058.85%4.23%25.27%6.88%
202158.84%4.10%25.24%7.23%

Software Programmer Wage Gap By Race

Asian software programmers have the highest average salary compared to other ethnicities. Black or african american software programmers have the lowest average salary at $69,972.
$75,000
$74,000
$73,000
$72,000
$71,000
$70,000
$69,000
Unknown
White
Black or African American
Asian
Hispanic or Latino
EthnicitySalary
Unknown$70,309
White$71,452
Black or African American$69,972
Asian$74,589
Hispanic or Latino$70,195

Software Programmer JOBS

Average Age of a Software Programmer

We determined the average age of software programmers based on ethnicity and gender.

Male
Female

Software Programmer Age By Race

RaceMale AgeFemale Age
Unknown45.552
White4951
Black or African American4342
Asian45.547
Hispanic or Latino4241

Software Programmer Age Breakdown

This chart breaks down the ages of software programmer employees. Interestingly enough, the average age of software programmers is 40+ years old, which represents 72% of the population.

40+ years

30-40 years

20-30 years


Software Programmer Age

Software Programmer YearsPercentages
40+ years72%
30-40 years21%
20-30 years7%

Types of Software Programmer Degree Levels

The most common degree for software programmers is bachelor's degree 69% of software programmers earn that degree. A close second is master's degree with 20% and rounding it off is associate degree with 5%.

  • Bachelors, 69%
  • Masters, 20%
  • Associate, 5%
  • Diploma, 4%
  • Other Degrees, 2%

Software Programmers By Education

Software Programmer DegreePercentages
Bachelors69%
Masters20%
Associate5%
Diploma4%
Other Degrees2%

Software Programmer Jobs You Might Like

Software Programmer Wage Gap By Education

Software programmers with a Doctorate degree earn more than those without, at $77,539 annually. With a Masters degree, software programmers earn a median annual income of $76,000 compared to $73,546 for software programmers with an Bachelors degree.
$79,000
$76,000
$73,000
$70,000
$67,000
$64,000
Master's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Doctorate Degree
Some College/ Associate Degree
EducationSalary
Master's Degree$76,000
Bachelor's Degree$73,546
Doctorate Degree$77,539
Some College/ Associate Degree$66,477

Software Programmer Employment Statistics

This section highlights information about where software programmers work. We found most software programmers work for a private company. In addition, the industry that employs the most software programmers is the technology industry.

Company Size

We created this chart to show you the average size of companies that typically hire software programmers.

< 50 employees

50 - 100 employees

100 - 500 employees

500 - 1,000 employees

1,000 - 10,000 employees

> 10,000

Software Programmer Jobs By Employer Size

Company SizePercentages
< 50 employees7%
50 - 100 employees23%
100 - 500 employees29%
500 - 1,000 employees5%
1,000 - 10,000 employees10%
> 10,000 employees25%

The Types Of Companies Software Programmer Work In

Employees with the software programmer job title have their preferences when it comes to working for a company. For instance, most software programmers prefer to work at private companies over public companies.

Education

Public

Private

Government

Software Programmer Jobs By Sector

Company TypePercentages
Education1%
Public23%
Private74%
Government1%

Top Industries Hiring Software Programmers

Just based on the number of employees within each industry, we were able to determine the most common industries that employ software programmers. Those industries include technology, professional and finance.

Technology

Fortune 500

Professional

Finance

Manufacturing

Software Programmer Turnover And Employment Statistics

Software Programmer Unemployment Rate Over Time

The Bureau of Labor Statistics came in clutch when it came down to figuring out how the unemployment rate has changed over time. Between 2008 and 2018, this is how the number of software programmers changed.

  • Unemployment rate

Software Programmer Unemployment Rate By Year

YearSoftware Programmer Unemployment Rate
20105.66%
20114.88%
20124.01%
20133.44%
20143.52%
20152.74%
20162.92%
20173.10%
20182.78%
20193.35%
20203.32%
20213.49%

The Average Number of Years That Software Programmer Stay in a Job

By looking over 2,759 software programmers resumes, we figured out that the average software programmer enjoys staying at their job for 1-2 years for a percentage of 47%.

Less than one year

1-2 years

3-4 years

5-7 years

8-10 years

11+ years

Software Programmer Tenure

Number or YearsPercentages
Less than 1 year30%
1-2 years47%
3-4 years10%
5-7 years7%
8-10 years2%
11+ years3%

Comparing The LGBT Ratio of Software Programmers with Other Job Titles

After finding the gender ratio, we wondered if the percentages of LGBT persons were different as well. Using the data below, you can see how other job titles compare to software programmers.

Job TitleLGBTJob Openings
Telecommunications Coordinator7.31%8,006
Data Warehousing Engineer8.46%209,466
Cyber Security Specialist8.59%65,235
Senior Information Systems Engineer9.03%168,069
Quality Assurance Coordinator10.54%79,427
Software Programmer10.69%-
Information Systems Specialist10.88%164,042

Software Programmer LGBT Demographics

Foreign Languages Spoken By Software Programmers

The most common foreign language among software programmers is Spanish at 28.1%. The second-most popular foreign language spoken is French at 9.4% and Korean is the third-most popular at 9.4%.

  • Spanish, 28.1%
  • French, 9.4%
  • Korean, 9.4%
  • Hindi, 7.8%
  • Chinese, 6.3%
  • Other, 39.0%

Software Programmer Languages Spoken

Foreign LanguagePercentages
Spanish28.1%
French9.4%
Korean9.4%
Hindi7.8%
Chinese6.3%
Other39.0%

Software Programmer Jobs

Recently Added Software Programmer Jobs

Software Programmer Heatmaps

Where Do Software Programmers Earn The Most?

Software programmers earn the most in Washington, where the average software programmer salary is $87,923. The map here shows where software programmers earn the highest salaries in the U.S. The darker areas across the 50 states highlight the highest salaries.

Average Salary

Which State Has The Most Software Programmers?

By looking through more than 2,759 resumes, we found that the most popular places for software programmers are New York, NY and Houston, TX.

Number of Software Programmers

Number Of Software Programmer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California9,256$84,716
2Texas4,791$70,188
3Virginia3,499$73,939
4New York2,891$73,592
5Florida2,845$66,622
6Illinois2,618$70,380
7Pennsylvania2,551$72,357
8Washington2,499$87,923
9Maryland2,484$75,392
10Massachusetts2,366$74,368
11New Jersey2,129$70,157
12North Carolina2,049$71,130
13Georgia1,915$68,831
14Ohio1,781$69,274
15Michigan1,414$66,641
16Colorado1,362$69,110
17Oregon1,355$79,522
18Indiana1,353$71,075
19Missouri1,298$65,542
20Minnesota1,279$73,459
21Arizona1,206$75,152
22Wisconsin1,198$67,821
23Tennessee1,050$70,279
24Utah953$69,971
25Kansas807$67,672
26Alabama734$60,875
27District of Columbia700$81,107
28Kentucky696$68,354
29Connecticut695$73,644
30South Carolina670$74,097
31Arkansas649$64,132
32Iowa590$67,610
33Louisiana544$66,654
34New Mexico522$60,152
35Nebraska456$65,522
36Oklahoma455$67,704
37Rhode Island430$65,972
38Delaware407$75,244
39Idaho380$72,829
40Nevada373$75,433
41New Hampshire373$65,784
42Mississippi298$68,495
43Montana287$59,188
44West Virginia284$62,181
45Maine233$70,797
46Vermont226$71,920
47North Dakota179$71,209
48South Dakota171$68,367
49Alaska143$71,685
50Hawaii143$68,235
51Wyoming138$61,135

Where Are Software Programmers In High Demand?

Software programmers are in high demand in Milwaukee, WI. There are currently 4 job openings for software programmers here. We looked over job openings to determine where in the country software programmers are in the most demand.

Jobs Openings

Software Programmer Demographics FAQs

How Many Software Programmer Are There In The Us?

There are over 184,090 Software Programmers in the United States.

What Percentage Of Software Programmers Are Black?

4.1% of Software Programmers are Black or African American

What Race Are Most Software Programmers?

Most a are White, with 58.8% of Software Programmers belonging to this ethnicity. 25.2% of Software Programmers are Asian, 7.2% of Software Programmers are Hispanic or Latino, 4.4% of Software Programmers are Unknown, 4.1% of Software Programmers are Black or African American, and 0.3% of Software Programmers are American Indian and Alaska Native

Are Software Programmer Jobs Male - Dominated?

Yes, Software Programmer jobs are male - dominated. 71% of Software Programmers are male, and 28% are female, so there are more male Software Programmers than female Software Programmers in the United States.

How Old Is The Average Software Programmer?

The average Software Programmer is 47 years old. 72% of Software Programmers are 40+ years old or older, 21% are between the ages of 30-40 years, and 7% are between 20-30 years old

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