Software Engineering salary

234 market ranges · employer-stated pay · updated Oct 24, 2026

The best-evidenced figure here is for software engineering roles at senior level across the United States: 1,684 postings where the employer stated pay put the middle half between $146,875 and $207,500, with a median of $175,000.

Pay rises with seniority across the United States: the medians run entry-level $91,475, mid-level $147,150, senior $175,000 and lead $238,950. Moving from entry-level to lead is worth roughly 161% more.

Location moves the number too. Of the 15 cities with at least 25 postings in USD at senior level, Palo Alto has the highest median at $220,925 and Chicago the lowest at $153,317, a gap of roughly 44%.

Every range here is counted from real postings, never modelled. Every range in the table rests on at least 10 postings.

Every measured range

234 by market and level

Market	Level	Market range	Median	Sample
United States · country-wide	Entry	$75,382 – $114,337	$91,475	168
Canada · country-wide	Entry	CA$70,000 – CA$97,500	CA$80,000	29
United States · country-wide	Mid	$111,714 – $185,000	$147,150	1,662
Canada · country-wide	Mid	CA$95,000 – CA$138,000	CA$112,500	213
United Kingdom · country-wide	Mid	£50,000 – £87,030	£60,000	77
Italy · country-wide	Mid	€37,000 – €49,401	€43,450	19
United States · country-wide	Senior	$146,875 – $207,500	$175,000	1,684
Canada · country-wide	Senior	CA$125,000 – CA$171,382	CA$147,125	250
United Kingdom · country-wide	Senior	£64,635 – £100,000	£76,500	53
United States · country-wide	Lead	$187,250 – $282,500	$238,950	77
Remote · United States	Mid	$122,081 – $190,850	$150,000	288
Remote · Canada	Mid	CA$105,000 – CA$149,000	CA$122,363	33
Remote · United States	Senior	$150,000 – $205,000	$177,150	387
Remote · Canada	Senior	CA$131,300 – CA$170,000	CA$153,550	65
Annapolis Junction	Mid	$146,056 – $186,875	$171,250	30
Annapolis Junction	Senior	$172,500 – $217,197	$200,000	20
Arlington	Mid	$112,325 – $160,475	$137,500	23
Atlanta	Mid	$106,838 – $143,273	$130,875	20
Atlanta	Senior	$136,803 – $185,300	$160,163	30
Austin	Mid	$121,600 – $172,581	$137,250	32
Austin	Senior	$145,483 – $197,150	$175,000	35
Bellevue	Senior	$182,000 – $223,475	$197,598	23
Boston	Mid	$117,000 – $193,000	$126,825	33
Boston	Senior	$153,413 – $200,000	$174,000	56
Chantilly	Mid	$138,300 – $189,750	$166,500	19
Chicago	Mid	$116,943 – $166,597	$140,000	51
Chicago	Senior	$135,000 – $169,310	$153,317	67
Denver	Mid	$113,500 – $148,457	$125,000	25
Denver	Senior	$152,000 – $195,000	$177,793	29
Irvine	Senior	$137,538 – $184,400	$157,500	20
London	Mid	£61,250 – £136,250	£80,000	35
London	Senior	£96,000 – £115,000	£99,250	21
Los Angeles	Mid	$125,625 – $181,250	$155,000	23
Los Angeles	Senior	$170,000 – $204,313	$187,500	26
Mountain View	Mid	$170,000 – $209,000	$192,500	29
Mountain View	Senior	$205,000 – $238,000	$209,500	28
New York	Mid	$157,500 – $225,000	$190,000	229
New York	Senior	$175,500 – $232,323	$200,000	227
Ottawa	Mid	CA$92,500 – CA$121,432	CA$104,350	20
Palo Alto	Senior	$200,000 – $250,000	$220,925	30
Redwood City	Mid	$161,200 – $207,500	$185,750	18
Reston	Mid	$119,041 – $160,000	$150,265	21
San Diego	Mid	$138,625 – $176,875	$150,738	18
San Diego	Senior	$157,500 – $193,000	$167,000	25
San Francisco	Mid	$169,488 – $240,000	$200,000	212
San Francisco	Senior	$195,575 – $250,000	$220,500	214
San Jose	Mid	$122,750 – $210,750	$153,000	42
San Jose	Senior	$163,250 – $244,475	$197,425	44
Santa Clara	Mid	$155,875 – $201,800	$164,500	18
Santa Clara	Senior	$169,898 – $205,538	$184,095	30
Seattle	Mid	$138,576 – $191,650	$162,000	39
Seattle	Senior	$178,950 – $210,400	$196,500	59
Sunnyvale	Mid	$148,125 – $184,488	$164,600	26
Sunnyvale	Senior	$177,125 – $210,950	$201,500	30
Toronto	Entry	CA$72,875 – CA$106,250	CA$87,750	19
Toronto	Mid	CA$101,250 – CA$155,000	CA$124,250	78
Toronto	Senior	CA$130,000 – CA$172,500	CA$154,350	89
Vancouver	Senior	CA$157,500 – CA$194,740	CA$170,905	26
Washington	Mid	$124,113 – $190,563	$146,938	36
Washington	Senior	$160,000 – $223,125	$188,950	24

Entry is junior titles. Mid is mid-level and manager titles. Senior is senior titles. Lead is director, VP and above.

Top 60 of 234 ranges by sample size.

Ranges span the 25th to 75th percentile of employer-stated base pay for the market and level. Median is the 50th percentile. Sample is the number of postings measured.

by the team behind techroles