Highest-paying Cities for Systems Software Developers

The top 100 highest paying cities for systems software developers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of systems software developers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $171,150, Jacksonville, North Carolina is the highest paying city for systems software developers. It is followed by San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California (average annual salary $144,210). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of systems software developers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Systems Software Developers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Jacksonville, North Carolina	$171,150	$93,770	n/a
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$144,210	$88,370	28,290
3	Nashua, New Hampshire	$137,540	$95,330	780
4	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$136,150	$89,640	11,200
5	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$134,530	$90,270	17,090
6	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$129,020	$72,900	4,690
7	Boulder, Colorado	$126,580	$84,200	1,260
8	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$124,920	$88,710	130
9	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$124,480	$78,010	23,300
10	Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, New Hampshire	$123,910	$82,480	3,560
11	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$123,520	$75,500	22,780
12	Southwestern Virginia nonmetropolitan area, Virginia	$123,420	$83,110	60
13	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$123,080	$71,070	14,820
14	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$122,560	$56,100	1,250
15	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$122,180	$67,590	14,610
16	Amarillo, Texas	$122,140	$72,760	40
17	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$121,840	$59,470	8,570
18	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$121,410	$69,630	20,270
19	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$120,380	$72,840	30,230
20	Wilmington, New Jersey	$119,700	$84,060	940
21	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$119,550	$76,450	13,080
22	Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area, Utah	$119,300	$60,470	70
23	Merced, California	$118,930	$58,710	n/a
24	Medford, Oregon	$117,870	$51,600	30
25	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$117,420	$80,710	7,230
26	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$117,090	$72,890	17,290
27	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$116,880	$73,640	24,870
28	Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, New Hampshire	$116,820	$63,570	100
29	Waco, Texas	$116,760	$78,940	60
30	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$116,620	$73,750	2,250
31	Taunton-Norton-Raynham, Massachusetts	$116,240	$84,620	210
32	Athens-Clarke County, Georgia	$115,940	$38,940	90
33	Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$115,400	$72,500	1,890
34	Nassau-Suffolk, New York	$115,170	$59,500	2,480
35	Peabody, Massachusetts	$115,030	$76,320	210
36	Fort Wayne, Indiana	$114,750	$71,010	460
37	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$114,680	$68,860	8,300
38	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$114,660	$71,110	6,110
39	Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area, Vermont	$114,490	$60,850	80
40	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	$114,070	$72,350	100
41	Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisconsin	$113,880	$70,990	1,070
42	Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Massachusetts	$113,690	$73,220	60
43	Camden, New Jersey	$113,620	$71,380	1,090
44	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$113,300	$71,370	5,020
45	Salisbury, Maryland	$113,190	$74,240	90
46	Northeastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area, North Carolina	$113,030	$68,420	50
47	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$112,770	$69,580	710
48	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$112,710	$75,140	2,950
49	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$112,520	$71,950	17,320
50	Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area, Maine	$112,510	$68,970	120
51	Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida	$112,310	$52,950	570
52	Warner Robins, Georgia	$112,250	$70,880	160
53	Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Pennsylvania	$111,940	$63,050	50
54	St Marys County, Maryland	$111,760	$63,560	530
55	Idaho Falls, Idaho	$111,570	$72,200	180
56	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas	$111,520	$62,800	7,640
57	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$111,270	$67,660	1,460
58	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida	$111,120	$64,360	2,270
59	Northern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area, New Mexico	$110,740	$69,690	130
60	Binghamton, New York	$110,560	$65,550	550
61	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$110,310	$68,710	120
62	Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas	$110,290	$67,750	50
63	Framingham, Massachusetts	$110,240	$69,830	3,330
64	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$110,180	$66,520	11,870
65	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$110,160	$63,080	50
66	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$110,120	$64,200	11,140
67	Chico, California	$110,020	$71,080	40
68	Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, Massachusetts	$109,970	$72,750	n/a
69	Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas	$109,860	$73,510	110
70	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California	$109,730	$68,290	1,230
71	Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio	$109,330	$66,430	1,690
72	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$109,210	$76,320	290
73	Worcester, Massachusetts	$109,190	$75,200	690
74	Hinesville-Fort Stewart, Georgia	$109,140	$60,750	n/a
75	California-Lexington Park, Maryland	$109,090	$68,110	740
76	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$108,670	$67,160	15,230
77	Huntsville, Alabama	$108,590	$69,090	2,760
78	Holland-Grand Haven, Michigan	$108,510	$67,690	40
79	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$108,270	$66,020	3,770
80	Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont	$108,110	$57,380	700
81	North Central Texas nonmetropolitan area, Texas	$108,050	$65,110	150
82	Middle Georgia nonmetropolitan area, Georgia	$107,830	$76,330	40
83	Corvallis, Oregon	$107,750	$76,810	70
84	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$107,730	$57,700	2,470
85	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$107,660	$67,880	70
86	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$107,650	$69,270	5,860
87	Dalton, Georgia	$107,650	$84,970	50
88	Syracuse, New York	$107,570	$65,240	950
89	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$107,320	$69,500	1,600
90	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$107,270	$74,130	8,000
91	Pittsfield, Massachusetts	$107,170	$70,490	340
92	Tucson, Arizona	$106,990	$72,380	3,520
93	Manchester, New Hampshire	$106,990	$83,370	250
94	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$106,550	$69,170	1,900
95	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$106,430	$71,230	2,000
96	Jackson, Michigan	$106,270	$68,660	n/a
97	Utica-Rome, New York	$106,250	$65,190	290
98	Hagerstown-Martinsburg, West Virginia	$105,820	$50,930	70
99	Lynchburg, Virginia	$105,730	$70,110	280
100	Staunton-Waynesboro, Virginia	$105,710	$65,170	30

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for systems software developers.