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Software Engineer Average Salary in United States 2024

How much money does a person working as Software Engineer make in United States?


Average Yearly Salary
91,800 USD
( 7,650 USD monthly)

LOW
45,900
USD
AVERAGE
91,800
USD
HIGH
142,000
USD
All salary figures displayed here are per year except when noted otherwise.
All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salary after tax for every career.

A person working as Software Engineer in United States typically earns around 91,800 USD. Salaries range from 45,900 USD (lowest) to 142,000 USD (highest).


Salary Variance

This is the average salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Software Engineer salaries in United States vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.



Software Engineer Pay Scale and Salaries in United States

Median and salary distribution United States Software Engineer yearly
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Salary Structure and Pay Scale Comparison

5% of people earn
84,500 USD or more
10% of people earn
74,900 to 84,500 USD
20% of people earn
53,600 USD or less
65% of people earn
53,600 to 74,900 USD
Minimum Salary
45,900 USD
Median
85,000 USD
Maximum
142,000 USD




Median Salary, maximum and minimum salary, minimum wage, starting salary, and the salary range

All salary figures displayed here are per year except when noted otherwise.
  • Salary Range, Minimum Wage, and Starting Salary

    Salaries for the position Software Engineer in United States range from 45,900 USD (starting salary) to 142,000 USD (maximum salary). It should be noted that the given figure is not the legally mandated minimum wage; rather, it represents the lowest figure reported in a salary survey that included thousands of participants and professionals from all regions of the country.

  • Median Salary

    With a median salary of 85,000 USD, half of the professionals who work as Software Engineer in United States earn less than this amount, and the other half earn more. The median salary denotes the middle value of salaries. Ideally, you would want to belong to the group earning more than the median salary, located on the right side of the salary distribution graph.

  • Percentiles and Salary Scale

    The median is closely associated with two other values known as the 25th and 75th percentiles. By examining the salary distribution chart, it can be determined that 25% of professionals employed as Software Engineer in United States earn less than 69,800 USD, while 75% earn more. Similarly, the chart shows that 75% earn less than 96,900 USD while 25% earn more.

  • Pay Scale Structure

    To provide a better understanding of expected salaries, we categorized the frequently occurring salaries into different ranges. This approach provides a more precise representation of salary distribution for the job title Software Engineer in United States compared to simply calculating the average. The majority of reported salaries, approximately 65%, fall within the range of 53,600 USD to 74,900 USD. About 20% of salaries are below the 53,600 USD mark, while 10% fall within the range of 74,900 USD to 84,500 USD. Only 5% of individuals have salaries exceeding 84,500 USD.

Salary Comparison by Years of Experience / Software Engineer / United States

How do experience and age affect pay?

0 - 2 Years
55,100 USD
2 - 5 Years+32%
72,900 USD
5 - 10 Years+34%
97,500 USD
10 - 15 Years+19%
116,000 USD
15 - 20 Years+8%
125,000 USD
20+ Years+7%
135,000 USD
Percentage increase and decrease are relative to the previous value
Salary comparison by years of experience yearly United States Software Engineer
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The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally, the more years of experience the higher the wage. We broke down salaries by experience level for people working as Software Engineer and this is what we found.


All salary figures displayed here are per year except when noted otherwise.

Employees with less than two years of experience earn approximately 55,100 USD.

While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 72,900 USD, 32% more than someone with less than two year's experience.

Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 97,500 USD, 34% more than someone with two to five years of experience.

Additionally, professionals whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 116,000 USD, 19% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.

If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 125,000 USD, 8% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.

Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 135,000 USD, 7% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.

On average, a person's salary doubles their starting salary by the time they cross the 10 years* experience mark.
* Based on the average change in salary over time. Salary variations differ from person to person.

Typical Salary Progress for Most Careers

Salary Comparison By Experience Level
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Salary Comparison By Education / Software Engineer / United States

How do education levels affect salaries?

Displayed below is the average salary variance between different education levels of professionals working as Software Engineer.

Certificate or Diploma
72,900 USD
Bachelor's Degree+37%
99,900 USD
Master's Degree+29%
129,000 USD
Percentage increase and decrease are relative to the previous value
Salary comparison by education level yearly United States Software Engineer
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We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down salaries by education level for the position Software Engineer in order to make a comparison.


Level 1: Certificate or Diploma

Employees at this education level have an average salary of 72,900 USD.


Level 2: Bachelor's Degree

At this level, the average salary becomes 99,900 USD, 37% more than the previous level.


Level 3: Master's Degree

At this level, the average salary becomes 129,000 USD, 29% more than the previous level.



Is a Master's degree or an MBA worth it? Should you pursue higher education?

A Master's degree program or any post-graduate program in United States costs anywhere from 39,600 USD to 119,000 USD and lasts approximately two years. That is quite an investment.

You can't really expect any salary increases during the study period, assuming you already have a job. In most cases, a salary review is conducted once education is completed and the degree has been attained.

Many people pursue higher education as a tactic to switch to a higher-paying job. The numbers seem to support the theory. The average increase in compensation while changing jobs is approximately 10% more than the customary salary increment.

If you can afford the costs of higher education, the return on investment is definitely worth it. You should be able to recover the costs in roughly a year or so.


Typical Salary Difference by Education for Most Careers

Salary Comparison By Education Level
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Salary and Compensation Comparison By Gender / Software Engineer / United States

Salary comparison by gender United States Software Engineer yearly
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Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? For the people who work as Software Engineer in United States, the average difference between the salary of male and female employees is 4%.

Male
93,800 USD
Female-4%
89,800 USD
Percentage increase and decrease are relative to the previous value

Salary Comparison By Gender in United States for all Careers

Salary comparison by gender yearly United States
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Average Annual Salary Increment Percentage / Software Engineer / United States

How much are annual salary increments in United States for individuals working as Software Engineer? How often do employees get salary raises?

Individuals working as Software Engineer in United States are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 12% every 16 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 16 months.

Annual Salary Increment Rate United States Software Engineer
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The figures provided here are averages of numbers. Those figures should be taken as general guidelines. Salary increments will vary from person to person and depend on many factors, but your performance and contribution to the success of the organization remain the most important factors in determining how much and how often you will be granted a raise.

United States / All Professions

Annual Salary Increment Rate United States
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The term Annual Salary Increase usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rare that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one-year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.

How to calculate the salary increment percentage?

The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 / Increase Frequency

The average salary increase in one year (12 months) in United States is 6%.

Worldwide Salary Raises: All Countries and All Jobs

World Average Annual Salary Increment
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Salary Packages and Schemes

Not all compensation increases are reflected directly in the salary. Some companies offer upgraded packages to their staff instead of cash money. The figures displayed here account only for direct increments to the base salary.



Bonus and Incentive Rates / Software Engineer / United States

How much and how often are bonuses being awarded?Annual Salary Bonus Rate United States Software Engineer
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44% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 56% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.

Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 3% to 6% of their annual salary.

Received Bonus
56%
No Bonus
44%

Types of Bonuses Considered

Individual Performance-Based Bonuses

The most standard form of bonus, where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.

Company Performance Bonuses

Occasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.

Goal-Based Bonuses

Granted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.

Holiday / End of Year Bonuses

These types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.

Bonuses Are Not Commissions!

People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.


What makes a position worthy of good bonuses and a high salary?

The main two types of jobs

Revenue GeneratorsSupporting Cast

Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business.

Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations.

Example:
A graphics designer working for a graphics designing company.

Example:
A graphic designer in the marketing department of a hospital.


Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.

Try to work for companies where your skills can generate revenue. We can't all generate revenue and that's perfectly fine.

Bonus Comparison by Seniority Level

Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.

Average Hourly Wage / Software Engineer / United States


44 USD per hour

The average hourly wage (pay per hour) for individuals working as Software Engineer in United States is 44 USD.This is the rate they get paid for every worked hour.


Hourly Wage = Annual Salary / ( 52 x 5 x 8 )

About The Hourly Pay Rate

The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually, jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fixed amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.

What is the minimum hourly rate of pay?

The minimum pay rate per hour for people working as Software Engineer in United States is 22 USD. This is the minimum as per the gathered data in the salary survey not the minimum hourly rate mandated by law.

Salary comparison with similar jobs

Job TitleAverage Salary
Information Technology-100%
Applications Engineer79,600 USD-13%
Big Data Architect113,000 USD+23%
BigQuery Specialist112,000 USD+22%
Business Intelligence Analyst100,000 USD+9%
Business Intelligence Consultant130,000 USD+42%
Business Intelligence Manager137,000 USD+49%
Business Systems Analyst89,400 USD-3%
Data Quality Analyst89,600 USD-2%
Data-driven Designer84,100 USD-8%
Director of Application Development132,000 USD+44%
Disaster Recovery Analyst86,900 USD-5%
Disaster Recovery Specialist85,200 USD-7%
Enterprise Infrastructure Architect121,000 USD+32%
ERP Analyst103,000 USD+12%
Functional Analyst97,700 USD+6%
Information Technology Systems Analyst94,800 USD+3%
Information Technology Training Analyst92,100 USD+0%
Neo4J Specialist86,800 USD-5%
OPS Manager125,000 USD+36%
Principal Data Engineer91,900 USD+0%
Reporting Analyst87,500 USD-5%
Salesforce Administrator91,600 USD-0%
Snowflake Specialist88,200 USD-4%
SOA Analyst89,400 USD-3%
Software Analyst92,400 USD+1%
Software Architect88,000 USD-4%
Software Engineer91,800 USD-0%
Solutions Architect128,000 USD+39%
Systems Analyst92,100 USD+0%
Systems Architect88,000 USD-4%
Technical Analyst80,600 USD-12%
Technology Business Analyst96,700 USD+5%

Salary Comparison By City

CityAverage Salary
Boston93,500 USD
Chicago110,000 USD
Houston107,000 USD
Las Vegas95,000 USD
Los Angeles111,000 USD
New York108,000 USD
San Francisco101,000 USD
San Jose100,000 USD

Salary Comparison By State

StateAverage Salary
Alabama91,600 USD
Alaska83,000 USD
Arizona102,000 USD
Arkansas88,700 USD
California105,000 USD
Colorado98,200 USD
Connecticut89,500 USD
Delaware86,200 USD
District of Columbia79,000 USD
Florida102,000 USD
Georgia104,000 USD
Hawaii83,200 USD
Idaho86,300 USD
Illinois106,000 USD
Indiana94,600 USD
Iowa90,700 USD
Kansas94,000 USD
Kentucky90,900 USD
Louisiana94,300 USD
Maine89,900 USD
Maryland95,300 USD
Massachusetts98,800 USD
Michigan96,100 USD
Minnesota94,200 USD
Mississippi92,000 USD
Missouri92,400 USD
Montana84,800 USD
Nebraska90,800 USD
Nevada86,900 USD
New Hampshire86,400 USD
New Jersey104,000 USD
New Mexico86,800 USD
New York105,000 USD
North Carolina95,700 USD
North Dakota81,100 USD
Ohio104,000 USD
Oklahoma88,500 USD
Oregon91,800 USD
Pennsylvania106,000 USD
Rhode Island81,200 USD
South Carolina94,400 USD
South Dakota87,300 USD
Tennessee95,400 USD
Texas105,000 USD
Utah92,800 USD
Vermont80,800 USD
Virginia102,000 USD
Washington94,300 USD
West Virginia86,900 USD
Wisconsin98,600 USD
Wyoming78,200 USD

Government vs Private Sector Salary Comparison

Where can you get paid more, working in a private company or the government? The difference between the public or government sector salaries and the private sector salaries in United States is 5% on average across all career fields.

Private Sector
92,800 USD
Public Sector+5%
97,500 USD
Percentage increase and decrease are relative to the previous value

Salary Statistics and Calculation Guide

What is considered to be a good and competitive salary for the job title Software Engineer in United States?

A good and competitive compensation would range anywhere between 85,000 USD and 96,900 USD. This is a very rough estimate. Experience and education play a very huge part in the final earnings.

Gross Salary (before tax) and Net Salary (after tax)

All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salary after tax for every career.

Base / Basic Salary

The base salary for a careers like Software Engineer in United States ranges from 45,900 USD to 69,800 USD. The base salary depends on many factors including experience and education. It is not easy to provide a figure with very little information, so take this range with a grain of salt.


What is the difference between the median and the average salary?

Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people earn more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary


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