Applications Software Developers Salary Information in California

The average annual salaries for applications software developers in the state of California are shown in Table 1. The comparison of the salary statistics of applications software developers amongst California areas is shown in Table 2. The salary statistics are based on the national compensation survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022 and published in April 2023 [1].

Table 1 & 2. Annual Salary of Applications Software Developers in California (2022 Survey)

Percentile bracketAverage annual salary
10th Percentile Wage
$72,510
25th Percentile Wage
$96,090
50th Percentile Wage
$123,630
75th Percentile Wage
$154,710
90th Percentile Wage
$188,420

Table 1 shows the average annual salary for applications software developers in California in 5 percentile scales. The average annual salary for the 90th percentile (the top 10 percent of the highest paid) is $188,420. The median (50th percentile) annual salary is $123,630. The average annual salary for the bottom 10 percent is $72,510.

Median salary trend

The table and chart below show the trend of the median salary of applications software developers from 2012 to 2018.

YearMedian SalaryYearly Growth6-Year Growth
2018
$123,630
1.96% 17.08%
2017
$121,210
2.47% -
2016
$118,220
-1.29% -
2015
$119,740
3.47% -
2014
$115,590
6.68% -
2013
$107,870
4.96% -
2012
$102,520
- -

Table 3. Median Annual Salary of Applications Software Developers in California Cities (2022 Survey)

Table 3 shows the median annual salary of applications software developers in some California cities and metropolitan areas. We note that the median annual salary of applications software developers in state of California ranges from $60,700 to $138,040. The highest paying area for applications software developers in California is San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City with a median annual salary of $138,040. The second highest paying city/area in California State is San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (mean annual salary $138,000). The lowest paying area is San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles with a median annual salary of $60,700.

Cities/Areas Median Annual Salary
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City
$138,040
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont
$138,000
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara
$127,390
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward
$122,080
Napa
$120,980
Vallejo-Fairfield
$120,460
Santa Rosa-Petaluma
$117,780
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura
$116,620
Santa Cruz-Watsonville
$115,020
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
$113,670
Bakersfield-Delano
$113,100
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos
$110,930
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area
$110,390
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale
$109,960
Salinas
$107,940
Fresno
$107,170
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area
$106,900
Chico
$106,720
Visalia-Porterville
$106,120
Madera-Chowchilla
$105,970
Stockton
$102,530
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana
$102,170
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine
$101,930
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
$101,810
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville
$100,360
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara
$94,250
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area
$94,010
Modesto
$86,410
Merced
$84,850
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta
$80,040
Redding
$75,820
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area
$71,660
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles
$60,700