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Software quality assurance salary
Average software quality assurance salary
$92,629
Understanding Software Quality Assurance Salaries
As of October 2025, the average salary for Software Quality Assurance (QA) professionals in the United States is $92,629 per year. This figure translates to about $45 per hour, reflecting the value of expertise in software testing and quality control. Salaries can vary significantly based on geographic location, industry, and years of experience.
Salary Variations by Location
For instance, Software QA professionals in states like California and New York often command higher salaries due to the high demand for tech talent. Additionally, industries such as finance and healthcare frequently offer competitive compensation packages, further impacting salary potential.
Career Path Insights
Individuals considering a career in software quality assurance can benefit from understanding these salary dynamics. Gaining experience through internships or entry-level positions can lead to more lucrative opportunities. Furthermore, pursuing certifications in software testing can enhance employability and lead to higher salaries.
By staying informed about salary trends and industry demands, aspiring Software QA professionals can make strategic career choices that align with their financial goals.
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Where can a Software Quality Assurance earn more?
Software quality assurance salary estimates from across the web
Average software quality assurance salary by state
The highest-paying states for software quality assurances are Connecticut, New York, and California. The lowest average software quality assurance salary states are Arkansas, Tennessee, and New Mexico.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for software quality assurances
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire | $101,123 | $48.62 |
| 2 | California | $103,865 | $49.94 |
| 3 | Oregon | $100,479 | $48.31 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $105,834 | $50.88 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $95,151 | $45.75 |
| 6 | Nevada | $95,269 | $45.80 |
| 7 | Utah | $90,408 | $43.47 |
| 8 | Virginia | $93,237 | $44.83 |
| 9 | Washington | $90,100 | $43.32 |
| 10 | Vermont | $88,370 | $42.49 |
| 11 | New York | $105,179 | $50.57 |
| 12 | Maryland | $92,375 | $44.41 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | $96,752 | $46.52 |
| 14 | Delaware | $83,867 | $40.32 |
| 15 | Wyoming | $81,652 | $39.26 |
| 16 | West Virginia | $80,436 | $38.67 |
| 17 | District of Columbia | $91,984 | $44.22 |
| 18 | Ohio | $78,810 | $37.89 |
| 19 | South Dakota | $78,669 | $37.82 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $84,465 | $40.61 |
| 21 | North Dakota | $80,995 | $38.94 |
| 22 | New Jersey | $88,221 | $42.41 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $76,900 | $36.97 |
| 24 | Indiana | $77,489 | $37.25 |
| 25 | Idaho | $83,521 | $40.15 |
| 26 | Michigan | $79,109 | $38.03 |
| 27 | Alaska | $77,481 | $37.25 |
| 28 | Minnesota | $78,505 | $37.74 |
| 29 | Montana | $81,283 | $39.08 |
| 30 | South Carolina | $77,002 | $37.02 |
| 31 | North Carolina | $76,012 | $36.54 |
| 32 | Illinois | $80,168 | $38.54 |
| 33 | Kentucky | $74,842 | $35.98 |
| 34 | Arizona | $75,454 | $36.28 |
| 35 | Colorado | $72,922 | $35.06 |
| 36 | Nebraska | $75,692 | $36.39 |
| 37 | Maine | $76,782 | $36.91 |
| 38 | Iowa | $75,105 | $36.11 |
| 39 | Georgia | $76,205 | $36.64 |
| 40 | Kansas | $71,799 | $34.52 |
| 41 | Texas | $74,522 | $35.83 |
| 42 | Missouri | $73,760 | $35.46 |
| 43 | Mississippi | $72,790 | $35.00 |
| 44 | Alabama | $70,728 | $34.00 |
| 45 | New Mexico | $66,780 | $32.11 |
| 46 | Arkansas | $70,563 | $33.92 |
| 47 | Hawaii | $64,908 | $31.21 |
| 48 | Tennessee | $68,586 | $32.97 |
| 49 | Louisiana | $73,532 | $35.35 |
| 50 | Oklahoma | $63,418 | $30.49 |
| 51 | Florida | $66,208 | $31.83 |
Highest paying cities for software quality assurances
The highest-paying cities for software quality assurances are San Francisco, CA, Danbury, CT, and New York, NY.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $118,625 | $57.03 |
| 2 | Danbury, CT | $105,699 | $50.82 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $105,354 | $50.65 |
| 4 | Beaverton, OR | $100,031 | $48.09 |
| 5 | Quincy, MA | $96,852 | $46.56 |
| 6 | Washington, DC | $92,058 | $44.26 |
| 7 | Bethesda, MD | $92,034 | $44.25 |
| 8 | Bellevue, WA | $90,536 | $43.53 |
| 9 | Jersey City, NJ | $88,404 | $42.50 |
| 10 | Coeur dAlene, ID | $84,144 | $40.45 |
| 11 | Chicago, IL | $80,457 | $38.68 |
| 12 | Bismarck, ND | $80,230 | $38.57 |
| 13 | Charleston, WV | $79,449 | $38.20 |
| 14 | Cheyenne, WY | $79,181 | $38.07 |
| 15 | Canton, MI | $79,124 | $38.04 |
| 16 | Florence, SC | $78,437 | $37.71 |
| 17 | Dublin, OH | $78,391 | $37.69 |
| 18 | Bloomington, MN | $78,387 | $37.69 |
| 19 | Cary, NC | $77,083 | $37.06 |
| 20 | Brookfield, WI | $76,961 | $37.00 |
Software quality assurance salary details
A software quality assurance's salary ranges from $66,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $128,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a software quality assurance's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $128,000 | $10,667 | $62 |
| 75th Percentile | $110,000 | $9,167 | $53 |
| Average | $92,629 | $7,719 | $45 |
| 25th Percentile | $77,000 | $6,417 | $37 |
| 10th Percentile | $66,000 | $5,500 | $32 |
Highest paying software quality assurance jobs
The highest paying types of software quality assurances are engineer lead quality assurance lead, senior quality assurance analyst/lead, and senior quality assurance engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Test Engineer | $85,338 | $7,112 | $41.03 | 243,382 |
| Quality Analyst | $71,957 | $5,996 | $34.59 | 110,980 |
| Software Engineer | $100,260 | $8,355 | $48.20 | 339,938 |
| Software Tester | $78,580 | $6,548 | $37.78 | 208,853 |
| Software Analyst | $78,400 | $6,533 | $37.69 | 274,053 |
| Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Lead | $110,007 | $9,167 | $52.89 | 278,178 |
Top companies hiring software quality assurances now:
Which companies pay software quality assurances the most?
Software quality assurance salaries at Apple and Nokia are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average software quality assurance salary at companies like Rambus and AbbVie are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | $145,131 | $69.77 |
| 2 | Nokia | $132,978 | $63.93 |
| 3 | Rambus | $129,153 | $62.09 |
| 4 | AbbVie | $119,523 | $57.46 |
| 5 | Morgan Stanley | $118,227 | $56.84 |
| 6 | Varian Medical Systems | $115,979 | $55.76 |
| 7 | Automation Anywhere | $108,912 | $52.36 |
| 8 | Qurate Retail | $108,593 | $52.21 |
| 9 | Merlin 200 | $107,654 | $51.76 |
| 10 | State Street | $107,186 | $51.53 |
| 11 | Arrow Electronics | $107,073 | $51.48 |
| 12 | Zebra Technologies | $104,971 | $50.47 |
| 13 | Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display) | $104,949 | $50.46 |
| 14 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $103,748 | $49.88 |
| 15 | Crown Equipment | $103,020 | $49.53 |
| 16 | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | $101,208 | $48.66 |
| 17 | ARRIS | $99,794 | $47.98 |
| 18 | Robert Half | $98,880 | $47.54 |
| 19 | Arthrex | $98,478 | $47.35 |
| 20 | Alcatel Networks Inc | $97,681 | $46.96 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Software Quality Assurance salary by industry
The average software quality assurance salary varies across industries:
- The average software quality assurance salary in the finance industry is $116,766, the highest of any industry.
- The average software quality assurance salary in the finance industry is $95,119.
- Software quality assurances in the non profits industry earn an average salary of $71,678, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for software quality assurances
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finance | $116,766 | $56.14 |
| 2 | Technology | $95,119 | $45.73 |
| 3 | Professional | $94,882 | $45.62 |
| 4 | Non Profits | $71,678 | $34.46 |
High paying software quality assurance jobs
Software quality assurance salary trends
The average software quality assurance salary has risen by $15,162 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average software quality assurance earned $77,467 annually, but today, they earn $92,629 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for software quality assurances over the last decade.
Compare software quality assurance salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average software quality assurance salary over time
Compare software quality assurance salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Software quality assurance salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $92,600 | $44.53 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $89,600 | $43.07 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $87,500 | $42.09 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $85,800 | $41.27 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $83,900 | $40.34 | +1.5% |
Recently added software quality assurance salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead Mts Firmware Engineer | Smts Software QA | San Jose, CA | 06/29/2025 | $92,800 |
| Actalent | Software QA Automation | Raleigh, NC | 06/29/2025 | $125,220 |
| Fortinet Inc. | Staff Software DEV QA | Sunnyvale, CA | 06/27/2025 | $171,000 |
| Lead Mts Firmware Engineer | Smts Software QA | San Jose, CA | 05/26/2025 | $92,800 |
| Multiplan Inc. | SR ETL SQA (Remote) | Naperville, IL | 05/20/2025 | $100,000 |
| Amazon | SR. SW Quality Assurance Do178, Prime Air | Seattle, WA | 05/12/2025 | $128,600 |
| DCS Corp | Team Hornet Software Quality Assurance | Ridgecrest, CA | 05/10/2025 | $68,640 |
| Lead Mts Firmware Engineer | Smts Software QA | San Jose, CA | 04/28/2025 | $92,800 |
| SAIC (Science Applications Int | Software Quality Assurance | San Diego, CA | 04/22/2025 | $120,001 |
| Lead Mts Firmware Engineer | Smts Software QA | San Jose, CA | 03/27/2025 | $92,800 |
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