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




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

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Huntsville, AL 2,400 10.31 7.59 $46.48 $96,670
State College, PA 360 5.30 3.90 $34.18 $71,090
Ithaca, NY 240 4.73 3.48 $49.57 $103,100
Bloomington, IN 310 4.34 3.20 $29.91 $62,210
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 1,930 4.26 3.14 $37.84 $78,700
Dover-Durham, NH-ME 220 4.08 3.00 $44.34 $92,230
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 1,240 3.95 2.91 $45.03 $93,670
Montgomery, AL 630 3.87 2.85 $38.66 $80,400
Birmingham-Hoover, AL 1,910 3.69 2.72 $42.38 $88,150
California-Lexington Park, MD 170 3.50 2.58 $49.76 $103,510




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 6,120 2.48 1.82 $55.96 $116,400
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 3,510 3.08 2.26 $54.80 $113,990
Charlottesville, VA 140 1.22 0.90 $54.69 $113,760
Redding, CA 30 0.45 0.33 $54.66 $113,690
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 440 1.06 0.78 $52.84 $109,910
Waterbury, CT 40 0.55 0.40 $50.80 $105,670
Raleigh, NC 1,230 1.89 1.39 $50.56 $105,170
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 2,290 1.08 0.80 $50.11 $104,220
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 3,780 2.53 1.86 $50.01 $104,030
California-Lexington Park, MD 170 3.50 2.58 $49.76 $103,510

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 320 2.30 1.70 $41.10 $85,480
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 230 2.24 1.65 (8) (8)
Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 200 1.01 0.74 $36.41 $75,740
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 170 0.52 0.38 $37.99 $79,010
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 160 1.49 1.10 $45.61 $94,870

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

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 320 2.30 1.70 $41.10 $85,480
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 230 2.24 1.65 (8) (8)
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 160 1.49 1.10 $45.61 $94,870
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 110 1.11 0.81 $29.82 $62,010
Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area 100 1.02 0.75 $38.09 $79,240

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 160 1.49 1.10 $45.61 $94,870
Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area 70 0.90 0.66 $45.45 $94,540
Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area 40 0.86 0.63 $44.76 $93,090
Northern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area 30 0.23 0.17 $43.56 $90,610
Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 90 0.49 0.36 $43.49 $90,460


About May 2019 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020