Software Engineer Salary
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Software engineer postings, which here include software, backend, frontend, full-stack and mobile engineers, advertised a median range of $139,000 to $200,000 in October 2026, in our US Job Postings Report: October 2026. That range is from postings that state pay: 6,867 of the 9,889 we read on US employers' career sites, or 69%. The $139,000 bottom is the 11th highest of the 117 roles in this report, whose median is $85,000. These are advertised ranges, which can differ from what people end up earning.
Salary by level: bottom, middle and top of the range
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| Level | Bottom | Middle | Top | Postings that state pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intern | $56k | $80k | $94k | 294 |
| Junior | $80k | $98k | $120k | 344 |
| Mid | $104k | $125k | $150k | 344 |
| Senior | $143k | $173k | $200k | 1,953 |
| Lead | $140k | $170k | $202k | 1,092 |
| Principal | $175k | $218k | $255k | 919 |
| Director | $207k | $246k | $295k | 156 |
| Executive | - | - | - | - |
69% of software engineer postings state pay, and the chart is of those. Each bar runs from the median bottom of the advertised range to its median top, and the gap marks the middle. A dash means we do not publish that figure this month. These are advertised ranges, which can differ from what people end up earning.
Salary by industry
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| Industry | Bottom | Middle | Top | Postings that state pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Media & entertainment | $164k | $197k | $226k | 128 |
| Technology / IT | $146k | $178k | $206k | 3,743 |
| Finance & insurance | $123k | $155k | $182k | 850 |
| Manufacturing & industry | $110k | $147k | $182k | 1,107 |
| Healthcare | $107k | $146k | $180k | 238 |
| Professional services | $89k | $140k | $163k | 249 |
By the sector of the employer's main industry, of postings that state pay, highest middle first. A sector with fewer than 100 such postings, or where one employer holds over 30% of them, is left out. Industry is read by our AI. Checked on 500 random postings, it was about 90% right.
The middle of the advertised range is $98,000 at junior level, $125,000 at mid level, $173,000 at senior level and $218,000 at principal level.
Skills named in postings
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| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Python | 38% |
| Java | 33% |
| AWS | 27% |
| CI/CD | 25% |
| TypeScript | 24% |
| JavaScript | 23% |
| React | 22% |
| Agile | 20% |
| Kubernetes | 20% |
| SQL | 18% |
| C++ | 18% |
| Git | 17% |
| Distributed systems | 17% |
| Docker | 17% |
| Microservices | 14% |
Salary by skill named in postings
| Distributed systems | $200k | $161k | +$39k | +$29k |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes | $174k | $169k | +$5k | +$15k |
| TypeScript | $173k | $169k | +$3k | +$14k |
| Docker | $160k | $170k | −$10k | +$12k |
| C++ | $165k | $170k | −$5k | +$12k |
| Python | $168k | $170k | −$3k | +$10k |
| AWS | $170k | $170k | $0k | +$8k |
| Git | $145k | $170k | −$25k | +$5k |
| Microservices | $163k | $170k | −$8k | +$4k |
| CI/CD | $157k | $170k | −$13k | −$2k |
| Java | $156k | $170k | −$14k | −$4k |
| JavaScript | $150k | $170k | −$21k | −$5k |
| React | $160k | $170k | −$10k | −$9k |
| SQL | $143k | $170k | −$28k | −$21k |
| Agile | $142k | $170k | −$28k | −$25k |
The middle of the advertised range for postings that name each skill and for those that do not, of 6,878 postings that state pay. Senior postings name different skills from junior ones, so the plain difference partly measures seniority. “At the same level” compares postings of one level at a time and weighs the levels by the postings naming the skill; it stands on the postings whose title gives a level, which is a minority, and is a dash where no level has 50 postings on each side. A skill with fewer than 100 postings on either side, or where one employer holds over 30% of them, is left out.
Python appears in 38% of postings, Java in 33% and AWS in 27%.
Also in postings this month
Bonus, equity and commission
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| Extra | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Bonus | 35% |
| Equity | 32% |
| Commission | 3% |
| Sign-on bonus | 1% |
From 9,851 postings. Bonus, commission and equity are read by our AI, which was right on 140 of 146 postings checked and found 140 of 154.
Benefits named
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| Benefit | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Health | 50% |
| Paid leave | 46% |
| Retirement | 44% |
| Parental leave | 23% |
| Learning budget | 19% |
| Remote stipend | 3% |
| Four-day week | 0% |
From 9,851 postings. Health means medical, dental or vision cover; retirement, a pension or 401(k); paid leave, paid time off, vacation or paid holidays; learning budget, money for training, tuition or conferences; remote stipend, an allowance for a home office, internet or coworking. Benefits are read by our AI, which was right on 219 of 241 postings checked and found 219 of 243.
Remote, hybrid or onsite
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| Work mode | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Onsite | 36% |
| Remote | 35% |
| Hybrid | 28% |
69% of software engineer postings state a work mode, and the chart is of those.
Education
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| Education | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 93% |
| Secondary school | 3% |
| Master's degree | 2% |
| Vocational training | 2% |
| No formal education | 0% |
| Doctorate | 0% |
59% of software engineer postings state education, and the chart is of those. 31% say experience can stand in for a degree. Experience in place of a degree is read by our AI, which was right on 65 of 67 postings checked and found 65 of 78.
Who hires
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| Industry | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Technology / IT | 57% |
| Manufacturing & industry | 14% |
| Finance & insurance | 12% |
| Healthcare | 4% |
| Professional services | 4% |
| Media & entertainment | 2% |
| Education | 1% |
| Retail & consumer goods | 1% |
| Hospitality, travel & leisure | 1% |
Every sector with at least 1% of the 9,575 software engineer postings that name an industry, by the sector of the employer's main industry. A dash is a sector where one employer holds over 30% of its postings. Industry is read by our AI. Checked on 500 random postings, it was about 90% right. The 9 sectors shown hold 96% of them.
Using these figures
Postings ask for 1 year of experience at junior level, 3 years at mid level and 5 years at senior level. Those figures let you read a posting's level from its experience requirement and use the advertised range for that level as your reference when you are asked for expectations or weigh an offer.
On your resume, state the years of experience behind each role you list. For full resumes for this job, see software engineer resume examples.
Compare every role in the US Job Postings Report: October 2026.
From 9,889 software engineer postings at 2,332 employers' career sites we crawl, first seen October 1 to 31, 2026, in the United States. This is not all US jobs: we read employers with an online career site, which leans toward tech and toward mid-size and large companies, and we keep adding employers. So a posting count is only a sample size. Role, level, work mode and education are read from each posting by our AI and were checked against the postings on a sample of 1,049: role 96% right, level 94%, work mode 85%, education 98%, years 99%. Skills are read the same way and have had a lighter check: a second model, on 108 postings, found 96% named in the posting and 87% really skills. Visa sponsorship is read the same way and was checked against the postings: 129 of 150 that our AI counted as sponsoring say so, and most of the others only accept people who already hold a visa. Of 3,350 postings it did not count that mention a visa, 3 say they sponsor. So the visa shares run a little high.
