Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

15-1251 Computer Programmers

Create, modify, and test the code and scripts that allow computer applications to run. Work from specifications drawn up by software and web developers or other individuals. May develop and write computer programs to store, locate, and retrieve specific documents, data, and information.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
199,540 1.6 % $44.53 $92,610 1.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $24.11 $31.62 $41.61 $53.91 $67.43
Annual Wage (2) $50,150 $65,760 $86,550 $112,120 $140,250


Industry profile for this occupation:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Computer Systems Design and Related Services 79,650 3.66 $44.05 $91,620
Software Publishers 9,890 2.29 $59.75 $124,280
Management of Companies and Enterprises 8,740 0.35 $43.89 $91,300
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services 6,880 2.05 $47.96 $99,770
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 6,380 0.21 $37.85 $78,740

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Computer Systems Design and Related Services 79,650 3.66 $44.05 $91,620
Software Publishers 9,890 2.29 $59.75 $124,280
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services 6,880 2.05 $47.96 $99,770
Other Pipeline Transportation 70 0.85 $47.88 $99,580
Scientific Research and Development Services 4,640 0.66 $51.22 $106,530

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) 70 0.31 $61.06 $127,000
Software Publishers 9,890 2.29 $59.75 $124,280
Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media 30 0.29 $59.12 $122,960
Natural Gas Distribution 250 0.23 $57.46 $119,520
Grantmaking and Giving Services 90 0.06 $54.79 $113,960


Geographic profile for this occupation:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 24,400 1.40 1.03 $49.90 $103,790
Texas 20,430 1.64 1.21 $45.97 $95,620
New York 13,380 1.41 1.03 $44.50 $92,550
Florida 9,670 1.10 0.81 $38.64 $80,370
Illinois 9,260 1.54 1.13 $45.20 $94,010




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alabama 6,200 3.14 2.31 $43.44 $90,360
Delaware 1,080 2.39 1.76 $39.53 $82,220
Rhode Island 1,110 2.30 1.70 (8) (8)
New Jersey 9,070 2.22 1.63 $44.91 $93,410
Maryland 5,610 2.08 1.53 $45.77 $95,190




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Washington 5,680 1.71 1.26 $79.14 $164,610
District of Columbia 620 0.86 0.63 $56.42 $117,350
California 24,400 1.40 1.03 $49.90 $103,790
Massachusetts 4,540 1.25 0.92 $46.89 $97,520
Connecticut 2,630 1.58 1.16 $46.39 $96,480





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 15,070 1.56 1.15 $47.15 $98,070
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 9,240 2.53 1.86 $47.47 $98,730
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 7,720 1.65 1.22 $46.37 $96,450
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 7,150 2.25 1.66 $48.12 $100,090
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 6,920 1.11 0.82 $46.06 $95,800
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 6,120 2.48 1.82 $55.96 $116,400
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 5,280 1.83 1.35 $45.46 $94,550
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 5,040 2.49 1.83 (8) (8)
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 4,150 1.48 1.09 $46.89 $97,540
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 3,850 1.26 0.93 $48.11 $100,070