Best US Cities for Software Engineers
Top US cities for Software Engineers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $159,300 | 1.45× | +$35,300 |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $152,100 | 1.30× | +$28,100 |
| 3 | San Diego, CA | $147,700 | 1.21× | +$23,700 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $147,600 | 1.35× | +$23,600 |
| 5 | Seattle, WA | $146,300 | 1.18× | +$22,300 |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $146,200 | 1.32× | +$22,200 |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $145,200 | 1.30× | +$21,200 |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $144,900 | 1.15× | +$20,900 |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $141,500 | 1.22× | +$17,500 |
| 10 | Denver, CO | $141,500 | 1.08× | +$17,500 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $159,300 | $77/hr |
| 2 | Irvine, CA | $152,100 | $73/hr |
| 3 | San Diego, CA | $147,700 | $71/hr |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $147,600 | $71/hr |
| 5 | Seattle, WA | $146,300 | $70/hr |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $146,200 | $70/hr |
| 7 | Honolulu, HI | $145,200 | $70/hr |
| 8 | Chula Vista, CA | $144,900 | $70/hr |
| 9 | Los Angeles, CA | $141,500 | $68/hr |
| 10 | Denver, CO | $141,500 | $68/hr |
| 11 | Boston, MA | $141,500 | $68/hr |
| 12 | Austin, TX | $140,100 | $67/hr |
| 13 | Aurora, CO | $140,100 | $67/hr |
| 14 | Long Beach, CA | $139,700 | $67/hr |
| 15 | Scottsdale, AZ | $139,700 | $67/hr |
| 16 | Chandler, AZ | $139,500 | $67/hr |
| 17 | Gilbert, AZ | $138,600 | $67/hr |
| 18 | Orlando, FL | $138,100 | $66/hr |
| 19 | Raleigh, NC | $137,600 | $66/hr |
| 20 | North Las Vegas, NV | $137,600 | $66/hr |
| 21 | Boise, ID | $137,600 | $66/hr |
| 22 | Colorado Springs, CO | $137,200 | $66/hr |
| 23 | Madison, WI | $137,200 | $66/hr |
| 24 | Mesa, AZ | $136,200 | $65/hr |
| 25 | Portland, OR | $136,000 | $65/hr |
| 26 | Sacramento, CA | $136,000 | $65/hr |
| 27 | Fort Worth, TX | $135,800 | $65/hr |
| 28 | Tucson, AZ | $135,800 | $65/hr |
| 29 | Albuquerque, NM | $134,800 | $65/hr |
| 30 | Baltimore, MD | $133,800 | $64/hr |
| 31 | Frisco, TX | $133,800 | $64/hr |
| 32 | Yonkers, NY | $132,700 | $64/hr |
| 33 | Anchorage, AK | $132,700 | $64/hr |
| 34 | Phoenix, AZ | $132,400 | $64/hr |
| 35 | Philadelphia, PA | $132,400 | $64/hr |
| 36 | Reno, NV | $132,400 | $64/hr |
| 37 | Charleston, SC | $132,400 | $64/hr |
| 38 | Salt Lake City, UT | $132,400 | $64/hr |
| 39 | Anaheim, CA | $131,800 | $63/hr |
| 40 | Virginia Beach, VA | $131,400 | $63/hr |
| 41 | Worcester, MA | $131,400 | $63/hr |
| 42 | Dallas, TX | $131,000 | $63/hr |
| 43 | Houston, TX | $129,600 | $62/hr |
| 44 | Miami, FL | $129,200 | $62/hr |
| 45 | San Antonio, TX | $128,300 | $62/hr |
| 46 | Newark, NJ | $128,300 | $62/hr |
| 47 | Riverside, CA | $128,300 | $62/hr |
| 48 | Columbus, OH | $127,700 | $61/hr |
| 49 | Kansas City, MO | $127,700 | $61/hr |
| 50 | El Paso, TX | $127,300 | $61/hr |
| 51 | St. Louis, MO | $127,300 | $61/hr |
| 52 | Winston-Salem, NC | $127,300 | $61/hr |
| 53 | Memphis, TN | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 54 | Oklahoma City, OK | $126,400 | $61/hr |
| 55 | Chicago, IL | $126,200 | $61/hr |
| 56 | Stockton, CA | $126,200 | $61/hr |
| 57 | Hialeah, FL | $126,200 | $61/hr |
| 58 | Las Vegas, NV | $125,700 | $60/hr |
| 59 | Minneapolis, MN | $125,700 | $60/hr |
| 60 | Plano, TX | $125,700 | $60/hr |
| 61 | Wichita, KS | $125,000 | $60/hr |
| 62 | Mobile, AL | $125,000 | $60/hr |
| 63 | Atlanta, GA | $124,900 | $60/hr |
| 64 | Tampa, FL | $124,900 | $60/hr |
| 65 | Henderson, NV | $124,900 | $60/hr |
| 66 | Wilmington, DE | $124,000 | $60/hr |
| 67 | St. Paul, MN | $124,000 | $60/hr |
| 68 | Chesapeake, VA | $124,000 | $60/hr |
| 69 | Fresno, CA | $124,000 | $60/hr |
| 70 | Nashville, TN | $123,600 | $59/hr |
| 71 | Bakersfield, CA | $123,600 | $59/hr |
| 72 | St. Petersburg, FL | $123,600 | $59/hr |
| 73 | Norfolk, VA | $123,100 | $59/hr |
| 74 | Jacksonville, FL | $122,700 | $59/hr |
| 75 | Charlotte, NC | $122,700 | $59/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $122,300 | $59/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $122,300 | $59/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $122,300 | $59/hr |
| 79 | Pittsburgh, PA | $121,800 | $59/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $121,800 | $59/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $121,800 | $59/hr |
| 82 | Milwaukee, WI | $121,400 | $58/hr |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | $121,400 | $58/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $121,000 | $58/hr |
| 85 | Detroit, MI | $120,500 | $58/hr |
| 86 | Cincinnati, OH | $120,500 | $58/hr |
| 87 | Lexington, KY | $120,500 | $58/hr |
| 88 | Corpus Christi, TX | $120,500 | $58/hr |
| 89 | Buffalo, NY | $120,500 | $58/hr |
| 90 | Greensboro, NC | $120,500 | $58/hr |
| 91 | Knoxville, TN | $120,500 | $58/hr |
| 92 | Cleveland, OH | $120,100 | $58/hr |
| 93 | Indianapolis, IN | $119,700 | $58/hr |
| 94 | Louisville, KY | $119,700 | $58/hr |
| 95 | Omaha, NE | $119,700 | $58/hr |
| 96 | Lincoln, NE | $119,200 | $57/hr |
| 97 | Birmingham, AL | $118,800 | $57/hr |
| 98 | Toledo, OH | $118,800 | $57/hr |
| 99 | Lubbock, TX | $118,800 | $57/hr |
| 100 | Fort Wayne, IN | $117,900 | $57/hr |
Does location actually decide Software Engineer pay?
Before the ranking: Software Engineer work can be done fully remotely, which makes this list less binding than it looks. The spread from Fort Wayne at $117,900 to San Francisco at $159,300 is 35%, but a remote role lets you take a high-metro salary while paying low-metro housing — usually worth more than moving for the top of this list.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The number that ranks these metros is not the number you live on. In San Francisco, $159,300 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $123,300 a year after housing. In Fort Wayne, $117,900 against $850 leaves about $107,700. The top still wins after rent, but by $15,600 rather than the $41,400 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
The metros at the top are not simply the expensive ones; they are where the hiring is. San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom); San Diego (US Navy, Qualcomm). Depth of demand for tech work is what lifts pay above the local baseline, and it is why two equally costly cities can pay this role differently.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.