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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

15-1256 Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

This occupation includes the the 2018 SOC occupations 15-1252 Software Developers and 15-1253 Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers and the 2010 SOC occupations 15-1132 Software Developers, Applications and 15-1133 Software Developers, Systems Software.


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)
1,406,870 0.8 % $53.66 $111,620 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $30.88 $39.63 $51.69 $65.54 $79.13
Annual Wage (2) $64,240 $82,430 $107,510 $136,320 $164,590


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 472,180 21.72 $52.52 $109,240
Software Publishers 122,320 28.33 $57.81 $120,250
Management of Companies and Enterprises 69,940 2.84 $52.35 $108,880
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services 48,050 14.29 $52.83 $109,890
Other Information Services 40,670 12.53 $60.52 $125,890

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Software Publishers 122,320 28.33 $57.81 $120,250
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing 35,780 22.54 $63.34 $131,750
Computer Systems Design and Related Services 472,180 21.72 $52.52 $109,240
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services 48,050 14.29 $52.83 $109,890
Other Information Services 40,670 12.53 $60.52 $125,890

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers 70 0.14 $101.64 $211,400
Support Activities for Water Transportation 50 0.05 $63.88 $132,870
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing 35,780 22.54 $63.34 $131,750
Cable and Other Subscription Programming 2,120 3.99 $62.50 $130,010
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities 26,450 2.81 $61.58 $128,090


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 249,620 14.36 1.50 $64.60 $134,370
Texas 109,510 8.81 0.92 $51.89 $107,940
New York 78,890 8.28 0.86 $57.48 $119,570
Washington 77,650 23.40 2.44 $63.40 $131,870
Virginia 73,310 18.90 1.97 $55.02 $114,440




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)
Washington 77,650 23.40 2.44 $63.40 $131,870
Virginia 73,310 18.90 1.97 $55.02 $114,440
Colorado 44,510 16.62 1.73 $53.62 $111,540
Massachusetts 55,710 15.39 1.61 $55.42 $115,270
California 249,620 14.36 1.50 $64.60 $134,370




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 249,620 14.36 1.50 $64.60 $134,370
Washington 77,650 23.40 2.44 $63.40 $131,870
New York 78,890 8.28 0.86 $57.48 $119,570
District of Columbia 5,880 8.12 0.85 $57.01 $118,580
Maryland 29,710 11.00 1.15 $55.81 $116,080





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 100,470 10.41 1.09 $58.76 $122,230
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 81,950 71.83 7.50 $70.06 $145,730
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 71,940 35.60 3.72 $64.47 $134,090
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 70,780 22.26 2.32 $56.79 $118,110
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 65,790 26.61 2.78 $69.83 $145,250
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 56,260 9.02 0.94 $58.25 $121,150
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 55,260 19.75 2.06 $55.74 $115,940
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 51,370 14.05 1.47 $53.05 $110,340
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 46,970 10.04 1.05 $50.30 $104,610
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 40,400 14.73 1.54 $49.75 $103,490




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)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 81,950 71.83 7.50 $70.06 $145,730
Boulder, CO 7,080 38.09 3.98 $56.95 $118,450
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 71,940 35.60 3.72 $64.47 $134,090
Huntsville, AL 6,610 28.36 2.96 $53.08 $110,400
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 65,790 26.61 2.78 $69.83 $145,250
Bloomington, IL 2,220 25.10 2.62 $50.22 $104,460
Cedar Rapids, IA 3,330 23.17 2.42 $51.70 $107,530
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 7,260 23.10 2.41 $52.11 $108,400
Madison, WI 8,900 22.52 2.35 $45.49 $94,620
Raleigh, NC 14,600 22.44 2.34 $52.24 $108,660




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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 81,950 71.83 7.50 $70.06 $145,730
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 65,790 26.61 2.78 $69.83 $145,250
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 71,940 35.60 3.72 $64.47 $134,090
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 100,470 10.41 1.09 $58.76 $122,230
Battle Creek, MI 100 1.84 0.19 $58.25 $121,160
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 56,260 9.02 0.94 $58.25 $121,150
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 1,870 5.90 0.62 $58.10 $120,840
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 3,910 9.46 0.99 $57.88 $120,390
Ocean City, NJ 50 1.34 0.14 $57.77 $120,150
Madera, CA 30 0.75 0.08 $57.54 $119,680

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 850 6.07 0.63 $43.00 $89,440
Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 790 5.02 0.52 $42.47 $88,340
Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 750 3.68 0.38 $40.87 $85,010
Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area 680 13.83 1.44 $49.25 $102,430
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 630 6.12 0.64 $55.76 $115,990

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)
Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area 680 13.83 1.44 $49.25 $102,430
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 630 6.12 0.64 $55.76 $115,990
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 850 6.07 0.63 $43.00 $89,440
West Montana nonmetropolitan area 400 5.25 0.55 $45.07 $93,750
Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 790 5.02 0.52 $42.47 $88,340

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)
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $60.10 $125,010
West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 630 6.12 0.64 $55.76 $115,990
Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 200 2.06 0.21 $54.46 $113,280
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area 140 1.14 0.12 $53.80 $111,910
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 110 1.06 0.11 $53.72 $111,740


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