Average Software Developers Salary in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Software Developers in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA earn a median annual salary of $213,110, which is +56.7% compared to the national median. There are 87,350 workers employed locally in this occupation.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (metro area).
Local wage range
- 10th
- $138,420
- 25th
- $173,650
- Median
- $213,110
- 75th
- $226,080
- 90th
- $289,150
All values are percentiles of annual wages.
This local range is the useful part of the page. The median tells you the center of the market in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, while the percentile band shows how compressed or wide the local pay distribution actually is.
Cost-of-living context
Services: 156.7%
Rents: 211.9%
Comparable metros for this occupation
| Metro | Median annual wage | Compare | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $186,640 | Compare | 69,030 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $167,280 | Compare | 92,770 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $166,830 | Compare | 121,000 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $166,090 | Compare | 42,310 |
| Boulder, CO | $164,560 | Compare | 7,130 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $163,270 | Compare | 20,610 |
The point of this table is not random nearby places. It is to show the other labor markets where this same occupation looks stronger or weaker on the same OEWS release.
Top occupations in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
| Occupation | Median annual wage | LQ |
|---|---|---|
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $700,850 | 0.92 |
| Psychiatrists | $353,500 | 1.23 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $351,760 | 1.43 |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | $347,870 | N/A |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, And Flight Engineers | $343,140 | 0.07 |
| Lawyers | $301,320 | 1.10 |
| Computer And Information Systems Managers | $291,660 | 3.90 |
| Obstetricians And Gynecologists | $263,990 | N/A |
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA has salary data for 592 occupations. The highest-paid occupation in this area is Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric.
Trend for Software Developers in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Historical trend data is not yet available for this occupation in this area.
Outlook and page notes
Nationally, Software Developers are projected to change by +15.8% from 2024 to 2034, with 115,200 annual openings.
Use this page to answer three separate questions: what the occupation pays here, how large the local market is, and whether this market is unusually concentrated for the occupation.
For metro pages in particular, read long-term trend rows as directional until the area comparability layer is fully wired. OEWS area definitions can change over time, and that matters more at the metro level than at the state level.