Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

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.

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National estimates for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Industry profile for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Geographic profile for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

National estimates for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
1,476,800	0.9 %	$ 54.94	$ 114,270	0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 31.35	$ 40.39	$ 52.95	$ 67.53	$ 81.78
Annual Wage (2)	$ 65,210	$ 84,020	$ 110,140	$ 140,470	$ 170,100

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Industry profile for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Computer Systems Design and Related Services	480,840	21.86	$ 53.73	$ 111,770
Software Publishers	139,820	28.65	$ 58.96	$ 122,630
Management of Companies and Enterprises	76,470	3.16	$ 53.26	$ 110,790
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services	53,000	14.76	$ 53.89	$ 112,090
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	44,650	2.93	$ 52.69	$ 109,600

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Software Publishers	139,820	28.65	$ 58.96	$ 122,630
Computer Systems Design and Related Services	480,840	21.86	$ 53.73	$ 111,770
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	34,440	21.46	$ 70.10	$ 145,800
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services	53,000	14.76	$ 53.89	$ 112,090
Communications Equipment Manufacturing	9,410	11.16	$ 55.67	$ 115,780

Top paying industries for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Inland Water Transportation	40	0.16	$ 116.89	$ 243,130
Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers	120	0.26	$ 89.94	$ 187,070
Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Stores	60	0.01	$ 70.49	$ 146,630
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	34,440	21.46	$ 70.10	$ 145,800
Electronics and Appliance Stores	540	0.12	$ 65.95	$ 137,170

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Geographic profile for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	249,700	15.20	1.43	$ 66.16	$ 137,620
Texas	113,140	9.35	0.88	$ 52.68	$ 109,570
Washington	99,630	31.18	2.94	$ 66.54	$ 138,400
New York	83,330	9.59	0.90	$ 58.80	$ 122,300
Virginia	77,260	20.87	1.97	$ 56.18	$ 116,850

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Washington	99,630	31.18	2.94	$ 66.54	$ 138,400
Virginia	77,260	20.87	1.97	$ 56.18	$ 116,850
Colorado	48,230	18.71	1.76	$ 54.18	$ 112,700
Massachusetts	59,010	17.62	1.66	$ 57.59	$ 119,790
California	249,700	15.20	1.43	$ 66.16	$ 137,620

Top paying states for Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Washington	99,630	31.18	2.94	$ 66.54	$ 138,400
California	249,700	15.20	1.43	$ 66.16	$ 137,620
New York	83,330	9.59	0.90	$ 58.80	$ 122,300
Massachusetts	59,010	17.62	1.66	$ 57.59	$ 119,790
District of Columbia	8,110	11.80	1.11	$ 57.52	$ 119,630

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

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	104,470	11.83	1.11	$ 59.43	$ 123,600
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	92,710	47.40	4.46	$ 67.75	$ 140,930
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	77,900	70.63	6.65	$ 75.71	$ 157,480
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	75,910	25.12	2.37	$ 57.65	$ 119,920
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	64,310	27.59	2.60	$ 69.59	$ 144,740
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	60,310	10.36	0.98	$ 56.91	$ 118,360
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	57,950	22.27	2.10	$ 57.66	$ 119,940
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	52,490	14.63	1.38	$ 53.45	$ 111,180
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	47,040	10.78	1.02	$ 51.89	$ 107,920
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	41,810	15.88	1.50	$ 50.50	$ 105,050

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	77,900	70.63	6.65	$ 75.71	$ 157,480
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	92,710	47.40	4.46	$ 67.75	$ 140,930
Boulder, CO	7,470	41.15	3.88	$ 56.10	$ 116,690
Bloomington, IL	2,750	33.36	3.14	$ 52.32	$ 108,830
Huntsville, AL	7,480	32.42	3.05	$ 53.96	$ 112,250
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	8,660	27.95	2.63	$ 51.44	$ 107,000
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	64,310	27.59	2.60	$ 69.59	$ 144,740
Madison, WI	9,710	25.40	2.39	$ 46.83	$ 97,400
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	75,910	25.12	2.37	$ 57.65	$ 119,920
Cedar Rapids, IA	3,360	24.47	2.30	$ 52.71	$ 109,640