Occupation salary profile

Software Developers

SOC 15-1252 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions, applying principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis. Update software or enhance existing software capabilities. May work with computer hardware engineers to integrate hardware and software systems, and develop specifications and performance requirements. May maintain databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team.

National median · BLS
$135,980
▲ +2.18% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$136,433
▲ +3.09% YoY · 156,018 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$148,100
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
1,687,890
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Software Developers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 156,018 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$82,460$97,157
25th$105,210$112,923
Median (50th)$135,980$136,433
75th$171,980$170,000
90th — top pay$214,670$204,181
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $136,433 for Software Developers — 0.3% above the BLS national median of $135,980.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Software Developers

BLS projects employment of software developers to grow 10.2% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 95,300 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
1,717,800 → 1,892,600
+174,700 jobs
Projected change
+10.2%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
95,300
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
1.5% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $136,433
Change vs prior year +3.09%
After inflation (CPI-U) -0.04%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 21,382 13.7% $85,000 $96,000 $129,000
Level II 61,251 39.3% $108,000 $119,480 $147,192
Level III 29,360 18.8% $134,971 $153,388 $185,900
Level IV 24,752 15.9% $155,750 $177,975 $213,512
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Software Developers

The 50 most-filed job titles inside SOC 15-1252, from 156,018 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Software Engineer 37,090 23.77% $114,399 $142,864 $182,002 +1.82%
Software Developer 20,500 13.14% $97,200 $109,845 $125,686 +6.13%
Software Development Engineer 10,659 6.83% $131,082 $154,400 $180,710 -2.95%
Software Engineering 5,345 3.43% $160,000 $179,863 $202,393 +7.16%
Staff Software Engineer 2,469 1.58% $153,301 $188,043 $222,264 +3.32%
Data Engineer 2,367 1.52% $105,997 $120,000 $140,000 +3.52%
Lead Software Engineer 1,606 1.03% $133,536 $149,781 $165,000 +2.73%
Java Developer 1,564 1% $94,398 $106,558 $117,936 +3.58%
DevOps Engineer 1,440 0.92% $104,491 $113,000 $134,971 +6.6%
Engineer generic 1,097 0.7% $125,000 $140,000 $160,000 +2.12%
Principal Software Engineer 1,025 0.66% $150,080 $168,169 $201,000 +0.7%
Application Developer 1,000 0.64% $105,227 $113,000 $131,000 +5.2%
Machine Learning Engineer 949 0.61% $151,819 $185,000 $215,000 +2.79%
Applications Consultant 929 0.6% $126,942 $134,565 $151,819 +3.51%
Vice President, Lead Software Engineer 805 0.52% $155,000 $167,200 $182,100 +2.89%
Full Stack Developer 802 0.51% $92,935 $106,000 $120,865 +0.75%
Manager generic 790 0.51% $134,971 $155,143 $181,150 +3.59%
Developer generic 732 0.47% $105,250 $125,000 $144,058 -0.77%
Consultant generic 714 0.46% $105,206 $119,300 $144,939 -9.62%
Software Development Engineering 665 0.43% $153,493 $181,100 $212,202 +3.44%
Salesforce Developer 655 0.42% $103,210 $112,923 $125,260 +6.53%
Associate, Software Engineer 650 0.42% $123,625 $136,400 $147,400 +4.12%
.NET Developer 639 0.41% $94,820 $106,442 $113,256 +5.19%
Solutions Architect 631 0.4% $140,000 $160,000 $180,710 +0%
Full Stack Engineer 630 0.4% $105,997 $113,547 $127,504 +1.14%
Member of Technical Staff generic 625 0.4% $179,600 $202,527 $250,000 +11.66%
Solution Architect 622 0.4% $129,010 $149,726 $165,000 +5.59%
Software Engineering Applications 600 0.38% $158,735 $185,372 $205,482 +5.44%
Staff Engineer 585 0.37% $157,934 $187,574 $215,000 +7.95%
Technical Lead 525 0.34% $110,500 $130,707 $153,189 +8.63%
Solution Specialist 515 0.33% $95,000 $109,000 $124,300 -9.48%
Principal Engineer 503 0.32% $140,013 $159,000 $200,000 +2.66%
Site Reliability Engineer 501 0.32% $117,400 $140,445 $175,000 +1.75%
Systems Engineer 479 0.31% $106,579 $125,000 $142,940 +1.09%
Manager, Software Engineering 479 0.31% $153,301 $168,405 $193,588 +3.89%
Associate generic 409 0.26% $110,947 $131,997 $148,200 -2.22%
Software Architect 402 0.26% $112,990 $134,971 $155,927 -0.02%
Software Engineering Systems 395 0.25% $157,800 $181,100 $206,138 +2.27%
Software Engineer/Developer 394 0.25% $108,935 $112,923 $117,832 +6.53%
Application Engineer 385 0.25% $107,000 $114,670 $146,520 -1.52%
Technical Architect 384 0.25% $121,077 $134,448 $155,000 +5.45%
Cloud Engineer 363 0.23% $107,411 $117,749 $140,000 +1.58%
System Development Engineer 360 0.23% $135,095 $149,240 $163,862 -1.52%
Programmer Analyst 344 0.22% $102,357 $115,000 $128,960 +8.49%
Vice President generic 340 0.22% $165,225 $179,750 $195,250 +2.13%
SAP Consultant 332 0.21% $103,211 $110,000 $122,720 +5.77%
IT Consultant 326 0.21% $105,414 $117,749 $137,259 +6.43%
Software Associate 325 0.21% $115,000 $115,000 $115,000 +8.29%
Staff Software Development Engineer 323 0.21% $159,803 $179,812 $201,018 -1.06%
Java Full Stack Developer 312 0.2% $93,038 $105,997 $112,986 +5.2%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Software Developers

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Programming4.0
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.6
  • Active Learning3.5
  • Reading Comprehension3.5
  • Systems Analysis3.5
  • Active Listening3.4
  • Complex Problem Solving3.4
  • Systems Evaluation3.4
  • Technology Design3.4
Top knowledge areas
  • Computers and Electronics4.8
  • Mathematics3.6
  • Customer and Personal Service3.6
  • English Language3.3
  • Education and Training2.8
  • Engineering and Technology2.8
  • Design2.7
  • Telecommunications2.6
Software and technology used
Amazon Web Services AWS softwareApache KafkaAtlassian JIRACC#C++Cascading style sheets CSSDockerGitGitHubGoGoogle AngularHypertext markup language HTMLIBM TerraformJavaScriptJenkins CIKubernetesLinux

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What software developers do

  • Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints.
  • Develop or direct software system testing or validation procedures, programming, or documentation.
  • Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces.
  • Modify existing software to correct errors, adapt it to new hardware, or upgrade interfaces and improve performance.
  • Prepare reports or correspondence concerning project specifications, activities, or status.
  • Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system.
  • Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements.
  • Design, develop and modify software systems, using scientific analysis and mathematical models to predict and measure outcomes and consequences of design.
Also called
DeveloperSoftware ArchitectSoftware DeveloperSoftware EngineerApplication DeveloperApplication Integration EngineerDevOps Engineer (Development Operations Engineer)Infrastructure EngineerSoftware Development EngineerSystems Engineer
More job titles for this occupation (80)
AI Specialist (Artificial Intelligence Specialist)Application AnalystApplication ArchitectApplication EngineerApplication IntegratorApplication ProgrammerApplication Software Engineering IT Specialist (Application Software Engineering Information Technology Specialist)Application Support EngineerApplication Systems AnalystApplication Systems ArchitectBeta TesterBusiness Application DeveloperCertified Internetwork ExpertCommercial Drone Software DeveloperComputer Application DeveloperComputer Application EngineerComputer ArchitectComputer ConsultantComputer EngineerComputer Programmer AnalystComputer Software EngineerComputer Systems Software ArchitectComputer Systems Software EngineerDevOps Architect (Development and Operations Architect)DevOps Developer (Development and Operations Developer)Drone Software Development EngineerEDP System Engineer (Electronic Data Processing System Engineer)Embedded EngineerEmbedded Software EngineerEmbedded Systems Software DeveloperEnterprise Systems EngineerExtract Transform Load DeveloperFull Stack DeveloperFull Stack EngineerFull Stack Software EngineerGame DeveloperGame EngineerGraphic EngineerImplementation SpecialistInformation ArchitectInterface DesignerInternet Application DeveloperInternet ConsultantKnowledge Management Application DeveloperMainframe Systems ProgrammerMobile Application DeveloperMobile Device DeveloperOperating System Designer (OS Designer)Operating System Specialist (OS Specialist)Publishing Systems AnalystSecure Software AssessorServer EngineerSimulation DeveloperSite Reliability EngineerSOA Developer (Service Oriented Architecture Developer)Software Application ArchitectSoftware Application DesignerSoftware Application DeveloperSoftware Application EngineerSoftware Application SpecialistSoftware Computer SpecialistSoftware Design EngineerSoftware DesignerSoftware Engineering Systems IT Specialist (Software Engineering Systems Information Technology Specialist)Software Quality Engineer (SQE)Software Requirements Engineer (SRE)Software Systems DeveloperSoftware Systems EngineerSoftware WriterSolution ArchitectSolution EngineerSolutions ArchitectSystems Analyst EngineerSystems CoordinatorSystems Integration EngineerSystems Software DesignerSystems Software EngineerSystems Software SpecialistSystems Support EngineerUI Designer (User Interface Designer)

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.