Software engineer salary (2024)

The average salary for a software engineer is $107,700.

The average salary for software engineers across all years of experience and in several different locations is $107,700 per year in the United States. The average salary may differ depending on your experience level and where you will be working.

Entry-level Software engineers on average can make nearly $85,000 per year whereas senior-level workers can make on average $160,000.

These averages are based on salary alone, not including equity or other compensation.

For a more in-depth look at salaries based on AngelList job data, check out our unique, dynamic salary tool which allows you to customize your salary estimate based on your role, location, skills, and market.

How much do software engineers make?

Software engineer pay by experience level

While pay can be influenced by education and location, the amount of time you have worked in the field is one of the top determinants of salary.

Whether you’ve just entered the job market or you’re an experienced professional, it’s expected to see fluctuations in salary based on this criteria.

Entry-level Software engineers can make an average salary of $85,000 annually.
Mid-level Software engineers can make an average salary of $130,000 annually.
Senior-level Software engineers can make an average salary of $160,000 annually.

The highest average salary a Software Engineer in Technology can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $112,000. This pay is 4% higher than the average salary in startups, which is $116,667. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.

Salary outlook

The past couple of decades have shown positive linear growth for software engineer salaries. In 2001, the average software engineer made $62,890 a year, and by 2019, that average salary had risen by $30,000. In 2020, software developers had a median salary of $110,140 with almost 2 million jobs on the market, and that number is expected to continue to rise by 22% between 2020 and 2030.

Remote software engineer salary and trends

The average salary for remote software engineers is $121,138 with a salary range from $102,486 to $160,000 annually in the United States. Terminal’s State of Remote Engineering Report revealed that 85% of engineers work completely remote, but less than half of employers offer remote options for their employees. Even though 19% of software engineers were fully remote prior to the pandemic, 80% of engineers surveyed wanted hybrid work options while one-third prefer to stay working fully remote.

The benefits of being remote include flexible scheduling, saving time and money commuting and a greater pool of potential jobs, as you can apply to remote jobs all over the world.

What are the best-paying cities for software engineers?

Trying to decide where to pursue your next role? Look no further: Below are the top cities that pay the highest average salaries according to Wellfound data.

• Austin, TX - Average salary: $175,000 - 64% higher than national average
• Seattle, WA - Average salary: $162,000 - 51% higher than national average
• San Francisco, CA - Average salary: $157,000 - 47% higher than national average
• Santa Monica, CA - Average salary: $145,000 - 36% higher than national average
• Boston, MA - Average salary: $142,000 - 33% higher than national average
• San Francisco, CA - Average salary: $140,000 - 31% higher than national average

Top software engineer skills

Wondering what employers look for when hiring software engineers? Different skills can impact your desired salary. To help you nail your interview, we’ve listed some of the top skills for software engineers.

• Celery
• Swift
• Clojure
• WebAssembly
• Ruby on Rails
• Node,js
• Python
• Javascript
• C++ / C
• Product Management
• Java
• Business Development
• Project Management
• CSS
• HTML

Frequently asked questions

What is a good starting salary for a software engineer?

A good starting salary for an entry-level software engineer is $85,000 depending on your location.

What is the career path for a software engineer?

The career path for a software engineer often begins as a junior software engineer before becoming a senior software engineer; from there they can choose the path of an engineer manager or a technical lead. For an in-depth look at the software engineer career path, check out our article on how to get a software engineering job.

Related job salaries

Below, we’ve listed some related jobs for software engineers in case you’re looking to switch engineering jobs.

• Full-stack engineer. The average salary for a full-stack engineer is $116,000.
• Backend engineer. The average salary for a backend engineer is $101,000.
• Frontend engineer. The average salary for a frontend engineer is $101,000.

Are you a recruiter?

If you’re a recruiter, startup founder or hiring manager, learn the tips and tricks to hiring on your team with our developer guides. Get started with Wellfound’s hiring guides.