The highest-paying states for 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 software developers in those states are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with an annual salary of $164,330, California is the highest paying state for software developers. It is followed by Washington (average annual salary $151,930). 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 software developers in a specific state, use the links in the table.
| Rank | State | Average Salary i | Entry Level Salary i |
# of Empl. i |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $164,330 |
$97,190 | 258,170 |
| 2 | Washington | $151,930 |
$83,800 | 91,200 |
| 3 | District of Columbia | $135,230 |
$87,760 | 7,760 |
| 4 | New York | $135,090 |
$78,840 | 92,040 |
| 5 | Alaska | $134,210 |
$83,870 | 390 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $132,330 |
$82,780 | 60,310 |
| 7 | Virginia | $130,980 |
$74,460 | 84,220 |
| 8 | Colorado | $129,920 |
$80,870 | 40,930 |
| 9 | Maryland | $129,810 |
$80,720 | 27,800 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $129,690 |
$77,310 | 3,490 |
| 11 | New Jersey | $127,900 |
$75,340 | 54,920 |
| 12 | North Carolina | $126,520 |
$72,940 | 57,690 |
| 13 | New Hampshire | $125,280 |
$78,300 | 8,350 |
| 14 | Georgia | $122,430 |
$68,240 | 52,920 |
| 15 | Oregon | $121,230 |
$65,820 | 19,880 |
| 16 | Illinois | $118,470 |
$67,560 | 58,300 |
| 17 | Delaware | $118,450 |
$80,760 | 5,300 |
| 18 | Texas | $111,700 |
$67,580 | 116,970 |
| 19 | Minnesota | $110,600 |
$74,520 | 36,360 |
| 20 | Connecticut | $110,420 |
$73,990 | 16,200 |
| 21 | Arizona | $110,380 |
$77,240 | 38,120 |
| 22 | Utah | $107,990 |
$50,650 | 22,030 |
| 23 | Nevada | $107,920 |
$72,740 | 4,150 |
| 24 | Florida | $107,440 |
$61,150 | 73,090 |
| 25 | Pennsylvania | $107,170 |
$66,610 | 43,370 |
| 26 | Nebraska | $106,720 |
$64,620 | 7,350 |
| 27 | Ohio | $104,500 |
$65,260 | 43,400 |
| 28 | Maine | $104,430 |
$65,880 | 2,500 |
| 29 | Iowa | $103,580 |
$64,910 | 9,310 |
| 30 | Alabama | $103,520 |
$58,930 | 15,680 |
| 31 | Tennessee | $103,270 |
$56,180 | 17,850 |
| 32 | Hawaii | $103,210 |
$56,160 | 2,380 |
| 33 | Kansas | $102,700 |
$60,300 | 12,270 |
| 34 | Louisiana | $102,670 |
$63,850 | 2,930 |
| 35 | Missouri | $101,650 |
$51,070 | 22,530 |
| 36 | Idaho | $101,440 |
$41,600 | 5,500 |
| 37 | Wyoming | $101,410 |
$53,420 | 660 |
| 38 | Michigan | $101,070 |
$61,090 | 42,200 |
| 39 | New Mexico | $100,750 |
$61,240 | 2,580 |
| 40 | Indiana | $100,510 |
$57,010 | 11,660 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $100,320 |
$64,500 | 6,400 |
| 42 | Wisconsin | $100,310 |
$61,730 | 18,450 |
| 43 | Oklahoma | $99,510 |
$57,620 | 7,740 |
| 44 | Vermont | $99,250 |
$60,340 | 1,580 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $98,630 |
$65,000 | 11,100 |
| 46 | Mississippi | $91,750 |
$52,470 | 2,600 |
| 47 | West Virginia | $88,190 |
$53,240 | 1,750 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $87,880 |
$38,880 | 5,140 |
| 49 | North Dakota | $84,860 |
$41,920 | 2,070 |
| 50 | Montana | $80,610 |
$62,330 | 2,120 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $80,290 |
$61,320 | 1,840 |
| 52 | Puerto Rico | $68,160 |
$41,360 | 1,400 |