Software Developer Salary by State (2026)

Name: Software Developer annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Software Developers earn the most in California at $174,410 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $79,380 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $135,980. All 51 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $174,410
National median: $135,980
Lowest median: $79,380
States reporting: 51

Top 5 states for Software Developers

1. California$174,410 median · $157,523 adjusted · 284,390 employed
2. Washington$166,540 median · $155,626 adjusted · 107,030 employed
3. New York$166,180 median · $153,983 adjusted · 113,510 employed
4. Massachusetts$165,210 median · $156,217 adjusted · 48,190 employed
5. Oregon$142,720 median · $138,079 adjusted · 21,830 employed

Lowest-paying states for Software Developers

51. Puerto Rico$79,380 median · no price parity · 2,020 employed
50. Mississippi$95,330 median · $109,634 adjusted · 1,880 employed
49. South Dakota$96,310 median · $108,719 adjusted · 2,380 employed
48. Louisiana$102,800 median · $116,544 adjusted · 4,080 employed
47. Arkansas$104,490 median · $120,190 adjusted · 6,050 employed

Software Developer salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of software developers OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
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1	California	$174,410	$136,990	$216,670	284,390	$157,523
2	Washington	$166,540	$132,290	$211,860	107,030	$155,626
3	New York	$166,180	$127,160	$205,540	113,510	$153,983
4	Massachusetts	$165,210	$131,370	$190,280	48,190	$156,217
5	Oregon	$142,720	$111,750	$170,600	21,830	$138,079
6	New Hampshire	$139,720	$107,240	$167,880	10,840	$134,133
7	Maryland	$138,680	$109,120	$178,000	31,350	$132,128
8	Colorado	$138,390	$122,470	$173,000	43,320	$134,291
9	District of Columbia	$136,880	$117,120	$169,580	6,120	$124,548
10	Virginia	$136,460	$106,600	$171,090	88,280	$134,970
11	New Jersey	$135,940	$107,020	$170,130	51,570	$124,939
12	North Carolina	$134,710	$104,530	$164,750	58,470	$142,813
13	Connecticut	$134,120	$105,750	$166,440	13,660	$129,447
14	Delaware	$133,020	$113,600	$164,640	3,380	$133,276
15	Texas	$132,150	$103,350	$162,530	163,880	$136,157
16	Illinois	$132,110	$101,540	$166,420	56,310	$132,166
17	Idaho	$131,590	$93,740	$160,570	5,750	$137,799
18	Georgia	$131,010	$103,410	$162,240	49,700	$136,054
19	Florida	$130,980	$101,970	$164,800	87,890	$126,656
20	Rhode Island	$130,590	$101,640	$154,040	5,070	$127,679
21	Minnesota	$130,050	$101,670	$156,750	35,890	$131,868
22	Arizona	$129,690	$102,310	$159,680	38,050	$128,818
23	South Carolina	$129,450	$95,750	$167,750	13,230	$138,081
24	Nevada	$128,810	$100,680	$167,820	4,520	$128,837
25	Utah	$128,810	$100,530	$160,570	31,940	$130,290
26	Pennsylvania	$126,550	$98,590	$158,390	55,920	$129,699
27	Missouri	$126,120	$97,540	$155,010	20,020	$138,873
28	Michigan	$125,570	$97,300	$140,100	43,460	$130,507
29	Vermont	$125,280	$102,820	$166,610	1,740	$127,892
30	New Mexico	$124,520	$95,690	$158,390	3,960	$135,037
31	Hawaii	$124,040	$82,830	$170,970	1,600	$112,814
32	Maine	$123,120	$99,200	$163,150	2,790	$126,862
33	Wisconsin	$122,660	$97,740	$138,590	21,730	$130,358
34	Alabama	$122,540	$86,990	$154,290	17,450	$137,960
35	Tennessee	$122,430	$90,750	$138,890	19,030	$133,264
36	Montana	$121,990	$94,800	$169,180	2,160	$128,892
37	West Virginia	$121,000	$82,700	$142,610	2,650	$135,200
38	Oklahoma	$118,100	$94,360	$138,940	6,880	$134,444
39	Wyoming	$115,170	$100,560	$153,090	1,510	$124,252
40	Iowa	$114,890	$95,600	$137,090	9,040	$130,911
41	Ohio	$114,090	$96,200	$135,490	44,790	$122,976
42	Kansas	$113,420	$86,460	$136,510	13,580	$125,927
43	Nebraska	$110,900	$91,000	$135,600	7,260	$123,081
44	Kentucky	$109,010	$91,960	$136,090	7,660	$120,909
45	Indiana	$105,920	$83,650	$135,630	14,130	$113,491
46	North Dakota	$105,600	$78,870	$126,510	1,450	$118,706
47	Arkansas	$104,490	$81,480	$127,740	6,050	$120,190
48	Louisiana	$102,800	$82,930	$122,740	4,080	$116,544
49	South Dakota	$96,310	$79,810	$121,190	2,380	$108,719
50	Mississippi	$95,330	$70,030	$127,570	1,880	$109,634
51	Puerto Rico	$79,380	$63,700	$97,600	2,020	N/A

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Software Developers, that changes the ranking: California leads on raw pay at $174,410, while California leads once prices are taken into account at $157,523.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Software Developer pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Software Developers the most?

California reports the highest median wage for Software Developers at $174,410 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($166,540) and New York ($166,180).

Which state pays Software Developers the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Software Developers at $79,380 a year, $95,030 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Software Developers earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts California first at $157,523 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $174,410. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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