Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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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:
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:
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 |
United States Department of Labor
