Free Salary Estimator 2026
See what 35 tech, data, design, marketing and business jobs really pay in any US state or metro area. Every number comes from the official U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey, not from guesses or job ads.
- 35 jobs
- 585 places
- BLS data, May 2025
- No signup
Official BLS wage data · May 2025
Pay for in
Median pay
$135,980a year
Half of software developers in the United States earn more than this and half earn less. The average is $148,100, pulled up by the highest earners. BLS counts about 1,687,890 of these jobs here.
- 10th percentile
- $82,460
- 25th percentile
- $105,210
- Median
- $135,980
- 75th percentile
- $171,980
- 90th percentile
- $214,670
Middle half of earners 10th to 90th percentile
Check an offer or your pay
Type a salary to see roughly where it falls among software developers in the United States. It shows up on the ruler as a dashed amber line.
Compare places
Same job, same scale. Pay is not adjusted for cost of living.
United States
Your selection
$135,980
Where software developers earn the most
Metro and nonmetro areas, by median pay. Figures for areas with few jobs can change more from one year to the next.
How to read these numbers
- Where you might sit. BLS does not record years of experience. As a rough guide, people new to a job are more often near the 10th to 25th percentile and people with many years in it near the 75th to 90th. Skills, employer and industry matter as much as time in the role.
- What is included. Pay before tax: base pay plus commissions, tips and production bonuses where a job has them. Overtime pay, other bonuses and benefits are left out, and so is stock, so total pay at many tech companies is higher.
- Who is counted. People on an employer’s payroll. The self employed and owners of unincorporated businesses are not in the survey.
- Month and hour. Monthly is the yearly figure divided by 12. Hourly is the yearly figure divided by 2,080 hours, the typical work year BLS uses.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026. Official job title: Software Developers (SOC 15-1252).
See it on bls.govFree Tech Salary Estimator: Know Your Market Value
Most salary sites mix job ads, anonymous submissions and guesses. This one uses a single source: the wage survey run by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, where employers report what they actually pay. You see the same figures BLS publishes, for the job and place you choose.
For example, the median pay for software developers across the US was $135,980 a year in May 2025. The middle half earned between $105,210 and $171,980, and the top 10% earned more than $214,670. Pick a state or a metro area in the tool and the range changes to match that place.
Median Pay by Job in the US
Yearly pay before tax, May 2025. The middle half is the 25th to the 75th percentile. Select a job to open it in the estimator.
| Job | Median | Middle half | Jobs in the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and information systems managers | $175,140 | $138,060 to $220,730 | 670,570 |
| Architectural and engineering managers | $171,270 | $139,360 to $212,500 | 220,260 |
| Marketing managers | $166,790 | $123,020 to $216,410 | 395,240 |
| Computer hardware engineers | $161,740 | $126,090 to $202,990 | 76,660 |
| Sales managers | $148,270 | $100,360 to $207,340 | 637,080 |
| Computer and information research scientists | $140,300 | $103,570 to $188,700 | 37,200 |
| Database architects | $139,500 | $109,370 to $169,290 | 67,140 |
| Software developers | $135,980 | $105,210 to $171,980 | 1,687,890 |
| Computer network architects | $134,050 | $104,620 to $168,200 | 179,740 |
| Information security analysts | $129,180 | $97,810 to $163,500 | 190,650 |
| Data scientists | $120,230 | $85,660 to $158,880 | 262,440 |
| Computer occupations, all other | $116,580 | $79,370 to $157,500 | 435,370 |
| Computer systems analysts | $105,850 | $82,860 to $134,110 | 519,530 |
| General and operations managers | $105,770 | $72,320 to $167,280 | 3,503,020 |
| Statisticians | $105,650 | $82,220 to $141,490 | 29,030 |
| Database administrators | $104,620 | $79,610 to $135,460 | 69,990 |
| Software QA analysts and testers | $104,300 | $80,310 to $133,180 | 186,740 |
| Web and digital interface designers | $104,000 | $73,290 to $158,820 | 113,330 |
| Project management specialists | $102,320 | $78,440 to $133,100 | 1,066,670 |
| Management analysts | $101,860 | $77,950 to $133,370 | 898,280 |
| Computer programmers | $100,390 | $75,850 to $130,680 | 92,230 |
| Network and computer systems administrators | $99,130 | $78,010 to $126,640 | 314,340 |
| Web developers | $92,650 | $64,230 to $126,230 | 70,190 |
| Technical writers | $90,390 | $70,880 to $115,510 | 45,500 |
| Operations research analysts | $88,940 | $68,360 to $125,990 | 108,510 |
| Accountants and auditors | $83,680 | $67,020 to $109,810 | 1,449,500 |
| Market research analysts and marketing specialists | $78,760 | $58,350 to $108,310 | 899,580 |
| Writers and authors | $76,910 | $58,230 to $101,950 | 47,940 |
| Computer network support specialists | $76,220 | $58,240 to $98,750 | 146,190 |
| Human resources specialists | $75,940 | $58,610 to $99,380 | 912,430 |
| Public relations specialists | $74,750 | $56,260 to $100,370 | 283,380 |
| Sales representatives (services) | $69,990 | $47,670 to $100,480 | 1,256,010 |
| Graphic designers | $62,960 | $49,040 to $81,830 | 197,830 |
| Computer user support specialists | $61,860 | $49,000 to $79,040 | 717,190 |
| Customer service representatives | $44,770 | $36,870 to $51,780 | 2,595,750 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Job counts exclude the self employed.
Where This Salary Data Comes From
The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, run by BLS with state workforce agencies, asks employers how many people they employ in each job and what they pay them. Each set of estimates pools six survey rounds collected over three years, from a sample of about 1.1 million workplaces.
BLS publishes new estimates once a year. The May 2025 figures used here came out on May 15, 2026, and they are the newest official pay data available. When BLS releases the next set, the tool is rebuilt from the new files, so the numbers always match what BLS publishes.
BLS only publishes an estimate when enough employers report a job in an area. That is why a small metro area sometimes has no figure for a specialized job. When that happens, the tool tells you and suggests a larger area.
What the Numbers Include and Leave Out
Included
- Base pay before tax
- Commissions and production bonuses
- Tips, where a job has them
- Full time and part time employees on a payroll
Not included
- Overtime pay and other bonuses
- Stock, equity and benefits
- Freelancers and the self employed
- Any adjustment for cost of living
Because stock and most bonuses are left out, these figures can sit well below total pay at large tech companies. They are a fair picture of base pay across all employers, from small firms to large ones.
How to Use Salary Data When You Negotiate
- 1
Find the right job category
Pick the category that matches what you do every day, not just your title. A "web developer" building complex applications may fit Software developers better than Web developers.
- 2
Use the place you will work
Pay differs a lot between metro areas. Check the metro area of the job, and for a remote role check both where you live and where the company is based.
- 3
Place yourself on the range
Decide honestly where your experience and skills put you. Someone new to the field and someone with ten years in it should not anchor on the same number.
- 4
Check the offer before you answer
Type the offer into the tool. If it lands well below where you placed yourself, you have a clear, sourced reason to ask for more.
- 5
Talk about total pay
These figures leave out bonuses, stock and benefits. Ask what the full package is worth, and compare like with like.
Job Titles BLS Does Not Track Separately
Some common tech titles have no official category of their own. Search one of them in the tool and it shows these closest categories. Pick the one that fits your daily work.
- DevOps engineer
- Software developers, Network and computer systems administrators, Computer occupations, all other
- Site reliability engineer
- Software developers, Network and computer systems administrators, Computer occupations, all other
- Cloud engineer or cloud architect
- Computer network architects, Network and computer systems administrators, Computer occupations, all other
- Machine learning or AI engineer
- Software developers, Data scientists, Computer and information research scientists
- Data engineer
- Database architects, Software developers
- Data analyst or BI analyst
- Data scientists, Operations research analysts, Management analysts
- Product manager
- Computer and information systems managers, Project management specialists, Marketing managers
- Business analyst
- Management analysts, Computer systems analysts
- Engineering manager
- Computer and information systems managers, Architectural and engineering managers
- Solutions architect
- Computer network architects, Computer systems analysts, Software developers
- Blockchain developer
- Software developers, Computer occupations, all other
- Social media manager
- Market research analysts and marketing specialists, Public relations specialists, Marketing managers
Frequently Asked Questions About the Salary Estimator
Where does this salary data come from?
How accurate are these salary figures?
How often is the salary data updated?
Do the salaries include bonuses and stock?
Can I see salaries by experience level?
Why can't I find my exact job title?
Does it cover salaries outside the US?
Is the salary estimator free?
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About the data
- Source
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Survey
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
- Period
- May 2025
- Released
- May 15, 2026
- Jobs covered
- 35
- Places
- 585 in the US
- Next update
- When BLS releases May 2026 data