Software Developer Salary by Metro 2026: 40 Metros Ranked (BLS)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — Software Developers, SOC 15-1252. Tables computed by Salario from the published metro estimates; take-home estimates use 2026 tax rules.
Where a software developer works changes their paycheck more than almost any other factor BLS measures. The same occupation code (15-1252) has a median wage of $213,110 in San Jose, CA and $83,730 in Midland, MI — a 2.5x spread across the 329 metropolitan areas where BLS publishes a median. This guide ranks every major market using the newest federal data, then shows what those medians are worth after 2026 taxes.
Quick answer
- National median for software developers: $135,980 ($65.38/hour); mean $148,100; 1,687,890 employed (BLS OEWS May 2025).
- Highest-paying metro: San Jose, CA — $213,110, 57% above the national median. Then San Francisco, CA ($186,640), Seattle, WA ($167,280), New York, NY-NJ ($166,830).
- Lowest published metro median: Midland, MI at $83,730 — still 64% above the U.S. all-occupations median of $50,980.
- After estimated 2026 taxes, the Seattle median ($125,602) nets almost exactly what the San Francisco median does ($125,702), because Washington has no state income tax.
The 40 highest-paying metros for software developers
Ranked by the BLS median annual wage for Software Developers in each metropolitan statistical area. “Premium” compares the developer median with the same metro's median for all occupations — a quick read on how far a developer salary goes relative to local wages. The take-home column is Salario's 2026 single-filer estimate; click a metro for the full local salary and cost-of-living page.
| # | Metro area | Median (annual) | Hourly | Premium vs. all jobs | Est. take-home 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $213,110 | $102.46 | +154% | $142,855 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $186,640 | $89.73 | +151% | $125,702 |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $167,280 | $80.42 | +130% | $125,602 |
| 4 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $166,830 | $80.21 | +172% | $116,492 |
| 5 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $166,090 | $79.85 | +149% | $116,484 |
| 6 | Boulder, CO | $164,560 | $79.12 | +137% | $117,211 |
| 7 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $163,270 | $78.50 | +178% | $111,769 |
| 8 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | $162,090 | $77.93 | +187% | $122,055 |
| 9 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $160,920 | $77.37 | +188% | $110,381 |
| 10 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $159,430 | $76.65 | +204% | $109,501 |
| 11 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $158,290 | $76.10 | +206% | $108,828 |
| 12 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $156,910 | $75.44 | +187% | $108,013 |
| 13 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $156,000 | $75.00 | +157% | $104,493 |
| 14 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $154,930 | $74.49 | +118% | $106,960 |
| 15 | Pittsfield, MA | $154,860 | $74.45 | +199% | $109,370 |
| 16 | Napa, CA | $153,130 | $73.62 | +177% | $105,781 |
| 17 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $148,630 | $71.46 | +161% | $103,124 |
| 18 | Worcester, MA | $146,950 | $70.65 | +154% | $104,359 |
| 19 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $146,200 | $70.29 | +131% | $111,194 |
| 20 | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | $145,830 | $70.11 | +186% | $103,377 |
| 21 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $139,640 | $67.13 | +134% | $97,815 |
| 22 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $138,900 | $66.78 | +135% | $99,703 |
| 23 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $138,550 | $66.61 | +183% | $97,172 |
| 24 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $137,610 | $66.16 | +121% | $99,976 |
| 25 | Vallejo, CA | $136,930 | $65.83 | +134% | $96,215 |
| 26 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $135,920 | $65.35 | +172% | $99,253 |
| 27 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $135,620 | $65.20 | +123% | $99,060 |
| 28 | Salinas, CA | $135,160 | $64.98 | +185% | $95,170 |
| 29 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $135,020 | $64.91 | +166% | $95,087 |
| 30 | Punta Gorda, FL | $134,510 | $64.67 | +196% | $103,204 |
| 31 | Rochester, MN | $134,450 | $64.64 | +122% | $95,441 |
| 32 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $134,380 | $64.61 | +146% | $96,463 |
| 33 | Asheville, NC | $134,350 | $64.59 | +187% | $98,242 |
| 34 | Colorado Springs, CO | $134,280 | $64.56 | +155% | $97,846 |
| 35 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $134,120 | $64.48 | +136% | $102,937 |
| 36 | Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | $133,990 | $64.42 | +142% | $97,661 |
| 37 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $133,870 | $64.36 | +132% | $94,306 |
| 38 | Barnstable Town, MA | $133,690 | $64.27 | +137% | $95,959 |
| 39 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $133,290 | $64.08 | +159% | $102,370 |
| 40 | Winchester, VA-WV | $133,290 | $64.08 | +183% | $95,466 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (bls.gov/oes), SOC 15-1252, metropolitan statistical areas. Premium = developer median ÷ metro all-occupations median − 1. Computed by Salario.
Estimated take-home is for a single filer taking the 2026 standard deduction ($16,100): federal income tax, Social Security (6.2% up to $184,500) and Medicare (1.45%), plus estimated state income tax using the first state listed for multi-state metros. Local taxes, pre-tax benefits and credits are not modeled — use the paycheck calculator for your own situation.
What the ranking shows
California dominates the top of the table. Nine of the 20 highest medians are California metros, and they are not all tech hubs: Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Santa Maria-Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz-Watsonville all post developer medians above $155,000, largely because they sit inside the Bay Area and Los Angeles labor sheds. The premium column tells the story — in Oxnard, CA the developer median is 204% above the all-occupations median.
Small metros with one big employer punch above their weight. Manchester-Nashua, NH (#8, $162,090), Pittsfield, MA (#15, $154,860) and Bremerton-Silverdale, WA (#19, $146,200) outrank Chicago, Dallas and Austin. Medians in small areas move with a handful of employers, so treat them as real but less stable than the large-metro figures.
State tax reshuffles the after-tax order. Dallas, TX ranks #39 on gross pay ($133,290) but its estimated take-home of $102,370 beats Chicago, IL-IN (#32, $134,380 gross, $96,463 net) by about $5,907 a year despite the lower gross figure. Texas and Washington levy no state income tax; Illinois (4.95% flat) and California (up to 13.3%) do. Run your own numbers in the paycheck calculator.
Developer pay in the 25 largest job markets
Small metros can top the national ranking on the strength of one employer. This table restricts the comparison to the 25 largest metropolitan areas by total employment (all occupations), which is where most developer jobs actually are.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025. Metro employment is total employment across all occupations. Computed by Salario.
Even the lowest of the 25 big markets — St. Louis, MO-IL at $129,030 — sits within 5% of the national median. The gap between a big-city developer job and the national typical developer is small; the gap between a big-city developer and the big city's typical worker is enormous ($166,830 vs. $61,430 in New York).
The 10 lowest-paying metros
| Metro area | Developer median | vs. national median |
|---|---|---|
| Midland, MI | $83,730 | -38% |
| Jonesboro, AR | $84,990 | -37% |
| Rapid City, SD | $91,840 | -32% |
| Grand Forks, ND-MN | $92,120 | -32% |
| Williamsport, PA | $93,960 | -31% |
| Monroe, LA | $94,580 | -30% |
| Enid, OK | $94,830 | -30% |
| Alexandria, LA | $95,510 | -30% |
| Elizabethtown, KY | $95,980 | -29% |
| Goldsboro, NC | $96,140 | -29% |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025, lowest published metro medians for SOC 15-1252. Computed by Salario.
Every one of these metros still pays developers well above the local all-occupations median, and several are low-cost areas where $90,000 goes a long way. Compare any two metros with the cost of living calculator before assuming the coastal number is the better deal.
How to read these numbers
- →Median, not average. Half of developers in the metro earn more than the median and half earn less. The national mean ($148,100) is higher than the median ($135,980) because high earners pull the average up.
- →Wages, not total compensation. OEWS wages include base pay, commissions and production bonuses but exclude overtime, non-production bonuses and employer-paid benefits; stock and equity awards are not reported as wages. For large tech companies, equity can be a large share of total pay — see the software engineer salary guide for how levels and equity change the picture.
- →All industries. SOC 15-1252 covers developers at software companies, banks, insurers, retailers, hospitals and government. Metro medians are therefore lower than tech-only surveys.
- →Reference period May 2025. These are the newest OEWS estimates, published by BLS in 2026. Wages have moved since — BLS Current Employment Statistics put average hourly earnings for all private workers at $37.75 in August 2026 — so treat the metro medians as a ranking and a floor rather than a current offer.
Frequently asked questions
Which metro area pays software developers the most?
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA has the highest median wage for software developers of any U.S. metropolitan area: $213,110 per year ($102.46 per hour) in the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. That is 57% above the national median of $135,980. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont ($186,640), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ($167,280), New York-Newark-Jersey City ($166,830) and Boston-Cambridge-Newton ($166,090) round out the top five.
What is the national median salary for software developers?
The BLS OEWS May 2025 national median for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) is $135,980 per year, or $65.38 per hour. The mean is $148,100, and BLS counts 1,687,890 software developers employed across all industries. Medians are published for 329 metropolitan areas.
Does Seattle or San Francisco leave a developer with more after taxes?
Almost the same amount. San Francisco's median of $186,640 is $19,360 higher than Seattle's $167,280, but Washington has no state income tax while California does. Using Salario's 2026 single-filer estimate (federal tax, FICA and state tax), the San Francisco median nets about $125,702 and the Seattle median about $125,602 — a difference of roughly $100 a year before housing costs, which are far higher in the Bay Area.
Why are BLS software developer wages lower than the numbers on Levels.fyi?
BLS OEWS measures straight-time wages reported by employers across every industry that hires software developers — banks, hospitals, government and manufacturers as well as tech companies. It excludes stock and equity compensation, overtime and non-production bonuses, and it reports the median (the middle worker), not senior-level offers. Sites like Levels.fyi show self-reported total compensation at large tech firms, which skews toward the top of the market. Use BLS as the floor for what a typical developer earns in a metro, and treat self-reported total-comp figures as the ceiling.
Turn a metro median into your own numbers
Convert any figure above to hourly pay, take-home pay or a cost-of-living-adjusted equivalent in another city.
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