How much does a a Software Developer make a year?

The U.S. median annual wage is $135,980: half of the people in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less. Source: BLS OES May 2025.

What do the highest- and lowest-paid Software Developers earn?

Nationally, the top 10% earn more than $214,670 a year, and the bottom 10% earn less than $82,460. The middle half sit between $105,210 and $171,980.

Which state has the highest median wage for Software Developers?

California (CA) has the highest published median, $174,410 — about 28% above the national median. 51 of the 54 areas in the survey publish a figure for this occupation.

How many Software Developers work in the United States?

1,687,890 people worked in this occupation in the May 2025 BLS OES survey.

What education do Software Developers need?

O*NET rates the education this occupation requires as: Bachelor's. That is a rating of the job, not a survey of what the people doing it studied. O*NET also places the occupation in Job Zone 4 (Considerable preparation).

What is the hourly pay for Software Developers?

The national median is $65.38 an hour, or $135,980 a year. That is the national figure — we have not loaded BLS's state-level hourly wages.

Software Developer Salary by State

How much does a a Software Developer make?

U.S. median, per year: $135,980
Middle 50% of workers: $105,210 to $171,980
Employed in the U.S.: 1,687,890 people
Hourly median: $65.38 an hour
Range of state medians: $79,380 to $174,410

Source: BLS OES May 2025 · retrieved 2026-09-15

The full pay ladder

Percentiles split the people doing this job into ten equal groups. P10 is the point that the lowest-paid 10% fall below; P90 is the point only the top 10% rise above. These are national figures, published by BLS.

	Annual	Hourly
P10 — bottom 10%	$82,460	$39.64
P25 — bottom quarter	$105,210	$50.58
Median (P50)	$135,980	$65.38
P75 — top quarter	$171,980	$82.68
P90 — top 10%	$214,670	$103.21
Average (mean)	$148,100	$71.20

P90 is about 2.6 times P10. That is a ratio between two points on the distribution, not between two groups of people.

The state table below is annual: we downloaded only the annual figures for the states. BLS also publishes state hourly wages, and we have not loaded those yet.

Software Developer pay across the 54 areas in the BLS survey

All 54 areas in the BLS survey, ranked by median annual wage. 51 publish a figure for this occupation.

California (CA)$174,410
+28%#1Employed: 284,390
Washington (WA)$166,540
+22%#2Employed: 107,030
New York (NY)$166,180
+22%#3Employed: 113,510
Massachusetts (MA)$165,210
+21%#4Employed: 48,190
Oregon (OR)$142,720
+5%#5Employed: 21,830
New Hampshire (NH)$139,720
+3%#6Employed: 10,840
Maryland (MD)$138,680
+2%#7Employed: 31,350
Colorado (CO)$138,390
+2%#8Employed: 43,320
District of Columbia (DC)$136,880
+1%#9Employed: 6,120
Virginia (VA)$136,460
level with the U.S.#10Employed: 88,280
New Jersey (NJ)$135,940
level with the U.S.#11Employed: 51,570
North Carolina (NC)$134,710
−1%#12Employed: 58,470
Connecticut (CT)$134,120
−1%#13Employed: 13,660
Delaware (DE)$133,020
−2%#14Employed: 3,380
Texas (TX)$132,150
−3%#15Employed: 163,880
Illinois (IL)$132,110
−3%#16Employed: 56,310
Idaho (ID)$131,590
−3%#17Employed: 5,750
Georgia (GA)$131,010
−4%#18Employed: 49,700
Florida (FL)$130,980
−4%#19Employed: 87,890
Rhode Island (RI)$130,590
−4%#20Employed: 5,070
Minnesota (MN)$130,050
−4%#21Employed: 35,890
Arizona (AZ)$129,690
−5%#22Employed: 38,050
South Carolina (SC)$129,450
−5%#23Employed: 13,230
Nevada (NV)$128,810
−5%#24Employed: 4,520
Utah (UT)$128,810
−5%#25Employed: 31,940
Pennsylvania (PA)$126,550
−7%#26Employed: 55,920
Missouri (MO)$126,120
−7%#27Employed: 20,020
Michigan (MI)$125,570
−8%#28Employed: 43,460
Vermont (VT)$125,280
−8%#29Employed: 1,740
New Mexico (NM)$124,520
−8%#30Employed: 3,960
Hawaii (HI)$124,040
−9%#31Employed: 1,600
Maine (ME)$123,120
−9%#32Employed: 2,790
Wisconsin (WI)$122,660
−10%#33Employed: 21,730
Alabama (AL)$122,540
−10%#34Employed: 17,450
Tennessee (TN)$122,430
−10%#35Employed: 19,030
Montana (MT)$121,990
−10%#36Employed: 2,160
West Virginia (WV)$121,000
−11%#37Employed: 2,650
Oklahoma (OK)$118,100
−13%#38Employed: 6,880
Wyoming (WY)$115,170
−15%#39Employed: 1,510
Iowa (IA)$114,890
−16%#40Employed: 9,040
Ohio (OH)$114,090
−16%#41Employed: 44,790
Kansas (KS)$113,420
−17%#42Employed: 13,580
Nebraska (NE)$110,900
−18%#43Employed: 7,260
Kentucky (KY)$109,010
−20%#44Employed: 7,660
Indiana (IN)$105,920
−22%#45Employed: 14,130
North Dakota (ND)$105,600
−22%#46Employed: 1,450
Arkansas (AR)$104,490
−23%#47Employed: 6,050
Louisiana (LA)$102,800
−24%#48Employed: 4,080
South Dakota (SD)$96,310
−29%#49Employed: 2,380
Mississippi (MS)$95,330
−30%#50Employed: 1,880
Puerto Rico (PR)$79,380
−42%#51Employed: 2,020
Alaska (AK)Not published
—Employed: 530
Guam (GU)Not published
—Employed: —
Virgin Islands (VI)Not published
—Employed: —

State or territory	Median annual wage	vs U.S. median	Employed	Rank
California (CA)	$174,410	+28%	284,390	1
Washington (WA)	$166,540	+22%	107,030	2
New York (NY)	$166,180	+22%	113,510	3
Massachusetts (MA)	$165,210	+21%	48,190	4
Oregon (OR)	$142,720	+5%	21,830	5
New Hampshire (NH)	$139,720	+3%	10,840	6
Maryland (MD)	$138,680	+2%	31,350	7
Colorado (CO)	$138,390	+2%	43,320	8
District of Columbia (DC)	$136,880	+1%	6,120	9
Virginia (VA)	$136,460	level with the U.S.	88,280	10
New Jersey (NJ)	$135,940	level with the U.S.	51,570	11
North Carolina (NC)	$134,710	−1%	58,470	12
Connecticut (CT)	$134,120	−1%	13,660	13
Delaware (DE)	$133,020	−2%	3,380	14
Texas (TX)	$132,150	−3%	163,880	15
Illinois (IL)	$132,110	−3%	56,310	16
Idaho (ID)	$131,590	−3%	5,750	17
Georgia (GA)	$131,010	−4%	49,700	18
Florida (FL)	$130,980	−4%	87,890	19
Rhode Island (RI)	$130,590	−4%	5,070	20
Minnesota (MN)	$130,050	−4%	35,890	21
Arizona (AZ)	$129,690	−5%	38,050	22
South Carolina (SC)	$129,450	−5%	13,230	23
Nevada (NV)	$128,810	−5%	4,520	24
Utah (UT)	$128,810	−5%	31,940	25
Pennsylvania (PA)	$126,550	−7%	55,920	26
Missouri (MO)	$126,120	−7%	20,020	27
Michigan (MI)	$125,570	−8%	43,460	28
Vermont (VT)	$125,280	−8%	1,740	29
New Mexico (NM)	$124,520	−8%	3,960	30
Hawaii (HI)	$124,040	−9%	1,600	31
Maine (ME)	$123,120	−9%	2,790	32
Wisconsin (WI)	$122,660	−10%	21,730	33
Alabama (AL)	$122,540	−10%	17,450	34
Tennessee (TN)	$122,430	−10%	19,030	35
Montana (MT)	$121,990	−10%	2,160	36
West Virginia (WV)	$121,000	−11%	2,650	37
Oklahoma (OK)	$118,100	−13%	6,880	38
Wyoming (WY)	$115,170	−15%	1,510	39
Iowa (IA)	$114,890	−16%	9,040	40
Ohio (OH)	$114,090	−16%	44,790	41
Kansas (KS)	$113,420	−17%	13,580	42
Nebraska (NE)	$110,900	−18%	7,260	43
Kentucky (KY)	$109,010	−20%	7,660	44
Indiana (IN)	$105,920	−22%	14,130	45
North Dakota (ND)	$105,600	−22%	1,450	46
Arkansas (AR)	$104,490	−23%	6,050	47
Louisiana (LA)	$102,800	−24%	4,080	48
South Dakota (SD)	$96,310	−29%	2,380	49
Mississippi (MS)	$95,330	−30%	1,880	50
Puerto Rico (PR)	$79,380	−42%	2,020	51
Alaska (AK)	Not published	—	530	—
Guam (GU)	Not published	—	—	—
Virgin Islands (VI)	Not published	—	—	—

Highest: California (CA) at $174,410. Lowest: Puerto Rico (PR) at $79,380.

3 of the 54 areas have no published median for this occupation. BLS's own footnote for the cells it does explain: “Estimate not released.”. We leave the gap empty rather than estimate a number.

These are survey estimates, not counts: two neighbouring ranks are not necessarily a real difference. No median or percentile figure on this page carries a relative standard error — the OES data we download has no such field for them — and the state-level relative standard errors are not downloaded either. BLS measures the reliability of an estimate with the relative standard error; its own definition: “The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.”

Nominal wages, with no adjustment for cost of living. A higher state median does not mean a higher standard of living, and it is not a forecast of what any one person would earn.

What the job usually takes

O*NET's preparation level for this occupation, its rated education requirement, and what the people in the occupation reported. These describe the typical route in — they are not requirements you have to meet.

Preparation level (O*NET Job Zone): Zone 4 — Considerable preparation
Usually a bachelor's degree plus several years of related experience.
Rated education requirement: Bachelor's

31.0 · rated by people doing the job · 22 respondents · collected 08/2025

What people in this occupation reported

Bachelor's — 84.8%
Associate's (2-year) — 5.1%

Its Holland code is IC

O*NET gives every occupation an interest code: the RIASEC directions its work draws on most. This one is IC — Investigative · Conventional.

IInvestigative
CConventional

An occupation's code and a person's code are not the same measurement. The questionnaire asks how much you like an activity; the occupation profile describes how much of that interest area the work contains. No equivalence study links the two, so a match is a starting point for research, not a verdict that this job suits you.

More occupations whose code starts with IC

Find your own code

O*NET's own relatedness ranking for this occupation: the occupations it judges similar in what workers do, know and are called. It is not a record of who moved where.

Computer Systems Engineers/ArchitectsConventional · Investigative · Realistic
Computer Systems AnalystsInvestigative · Conventional
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and TestersInvestigative · Conventional · Realistic
Computer ProgrammersConventional · Investigative
Database AdministratorsConventional · Investigative

Names are O*NET's official occupation titles — the ones used in U.S. labour-market data.

Common questions

How much does a a Software Developer make a year?: The U.S. median annual wage is $135,980: half of the people in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less. Source: BLS OES May 2025.
What do the highest- and lowest-paid Software Developers earn?: Nationally, the top 10% earn more than $214,670 a year, and the bottom 10% earn less than $82,460. The middle half sit between $105,210 and $171,980.
Which state has the highest median wage for Software Developers?: California (CA) has the highest published median, $174,410 — about 28% above the national median. 51 of the 54 areas in the survey publish a figure for this occupation.
How many Software Developers work in the United States?: 1,687,890 people worked in this occupation in the May 2025 BLS OES survey.
What education do Software Developers need?: O*NET rates the education this occupation requires as: Bachelor's. That is a rating of the job, not a survey of what the people doing it studied. O*NET also places the occupation in Job Zone 4 (Considerable preparation).
What is the hourly pay for Software Developers?: The national median is $65.38 an hour, or $135,980 a year. That is the national figure — we have not loaded BLS's state-level hourly wages.

Where these numbers come from

O*NET Database 31.0 (CC BY 4.0) — occupation names, interest (Holland) codes, Job Zone and the rated education requirement. Retrieved 2026-09-15.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), May 2025 release — every wage and employment figure on this page. Retrieved 2026-09-15. Public domain. OES does not include self-employed workers, and annual figures are hourly figures multiplied by 2,080 hours where hourly ones are published.
For these figures, BLS publishes a relative standard error:
- U.S. employment: 1,687,890 — BLS relative standard error 0.6%
- National average annual wage (mean): $148,100 — BLS relative standard error 0.4%
This is BLS's own definition: “The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.”A relative standard error belongs to the figure it is listed against, and to that figure only. The median and the percentile figures on this page have none — the OES data we download carries no relative standard error for them — and the state-level relative standard errors are not downloaded, so no state figure carries one.
O*NET and BLS both use the same SOC occupation code, so the join here is exact: BLS publishes this occupation's wages under 15-1252.

How to cite this page

Software Developers salary data, Career Interest Test, from O*NET 31.0 and BLS OES May 2025, exported 2026-09-16.

We are not licensed career counselors. The figures on this page are occupation-level statistics published by the U.S. government: they describe what people in this job earn, not what any one person would earn.

Software Developers