Our world is advancing at a faster pace every year. With the advent of the Internet, the cloud and a bounty of mobile devices, our need to consume and access data continues to grow exponentially. This is a great thing for techies, especially software engineers, as it has created a vibrant market that provides ample job opportunities across the country.
But where can you find the best pay? That depends. Due to the variance in the cost of living – such as housing, transportation, food, etc. – the buying power of the same paycheck in Silicon Valley (where the cost of living is 21.3 percent higher than the national average) isn’t going to be equal to a paycheck in Madison, Wis. (where the cost of living is 2.3 percent lower than the national average).
To get an accurate read on the value of software engineer salaries across the country, Glassdoor has identified the 25 Best Paying Cities for Software Engineers by identifying the ‘real adjusted salary” for each city.
‘Real adjusted salary’ is determined by looking at the ratio of each city’s local median software engineer base salary to its official cost of living figures from the federal government. (Note: Government figures compare the average cost of living price level in each city to the national average, which is set at 100.)
25 Best Cities for Software Engineer Salaries
Click through for the 25 best paying cities for software engineers based on the city’s ‘real adjusted salary,’ as identified by Glassdoor.
Seattle, Wash.
Seattle, Wash., boasts a real adjusted salary of $105,735, with a cost of living of 7.1 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $113,242. At the time of posting, there were over 4,000 software engineer job openings.
San Jose, Calif.
San Jose, Calif., boasts a real adjusted salary of $100,989, with a cost of living of 21.3 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $122,500. At the time of posting, there were over 2,000 software engineer job openings.
San Francisco, Calif.
San Francisco, Calif., boasts a real adjusted salary of $99,751, with a cost of living of 20.3 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $120,000. At the time of posting, there were over 2,000 software engineer job openings.
Madison, Wis.
Madison, Wis., boasts a real adjusted salary of $97,236, with a cost of living of 2.3 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $95,000. At the time of posting, there were over 100 software engineer job openings.
Raleigh, N.C.
Raleigh, N.C., boasts a real adjusted salary of $94,142, with a cost of living of 4.4 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $90,000. At the time of posting, there were over 400 software engineer job openings.
Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas, boasts a real adjusted salary of $91,185, with a cost of living of 1.3 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $90,000. At the time of posting, there were over 800 software engineer job openings.
Boston, Mass.
Boston, Mass., boasts a real adjusted salary of $90,171, with a cost of living of 10.9 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $100,000. At the time of posting, there were over 1,900 software engineer job openings.
Sacramento, Calif.
Sacramento, Calif., boasts a real adjusted salary of $89,669, with a cost of living of 2.6 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $92,000. At the time of posting, there were over 100 software engineer job openings.
Portland, Ore.
Portland, Ore., boasts a real adjusted salary of $89,374, with a cost of living of 0.7 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $90,000. At the time of posting, there were over 400 software engineer job openings.
Atlanta, Ga.
Atlanta, Ga., boasts a real adjusted salary of $89,286, with a cost of living of 4.8 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $85,000. At the time of posting, there were over 1,300 software engineer job openings.
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, boasts a real adjusted salary of $88,294, with a cost of living of 0.8 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $89,000. At the time of posting, there were over 1,300 software engineer job openings.
Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C., boasts a real adjusted salary of $88,143, with a cost of living of 4.7 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $84,000. At the time of posting, there were over 100 software engineer job openings.
Omaha, Neb.
Omaha, Neb., boasts a real adjusted salary of $88,017, with a cost of living of 5.7 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $83,000. At the time of posting, there were over 100 software engineer job openings.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Phoenix, Ariz., boasts a real adjusted salary of $87,997, with a cost of living of 1.4 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $86,765. At the time of posting, there were over 500 software engineer job openings.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, boasts a real adjusted salary of $87,262, with a cost of living of 0.3 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $87,000. At the time of posting, there were over 200 software engineer job openings.
Denver, Colo.
Denver, Colo., boasts a real adjusted salary of $85,878, with a cost of living of 4.8 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $90,000. At the time of posting, there were over 800 software engineer job openings.
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas, boasts a real adjusted salary of $85,696, with a cost of living of 5.9 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $80,640. At the time of posting, there were over 100 software engineer job openings.
Charlotte, N.C.
Charlotte, N.C., boasts a real adjusted salary of $85,653, with a cost of living of 6.6 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $80,000. At the time of posting, there were over 300 software engineer job openings.
San Diego, Calif.
San Diego, Calif., boasts a real adjusted salary of $85,034, with a cost of living of 17.6 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $100.000. At the time of posting, there were over 600 software engineer job openings.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Pittsburgh, Pa., boasts a real adjusted salary of $84,926, with a cost of living of 5.8 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $80,000. At the time of posting, there were over 400 software engineer job openings.
Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas, boasts a real adjusted salary of $84,493, with a cost of living of 0.6 percent above the national average. Median base salary for the city is $85,000. At the time of posting, there were over 300 software engineer job openings.
Boulder, Colo.
Boulder, Colo., boasts a real adjusted salary of $84,424, with a cost of living of 9.4 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $92,360. At the time of posting, there were over 150 software engineer job openings.
Palm Bay-Melbourne, Fla.
Palm Bay-Melbourne, Fla., boasts a real adjusted salary of $84,122, with a cost of living of 4.9 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $80,000. At the time of posting, there were over 100 software engineer job openings.
Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson, Ariz., boasts a real adjusted salary of $83,248, with a cost of living of 2.7 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $81,000. At the time of posting, there were over 50 software engineer job openings.
Huntsville, Ala.
Huntsville, Ala., boasts a real adjusted salary of $83,242, with a cost of living of 8.7 percent below the national average. Median base salary for the city is $76,000. At the time of posting, there were over 200 software engineer job openings.
