Software Engineers working in California earn normally around 130,800 USD per year and most of the Software salaries are between 77,300 USD and 185,000 USD per year.
If you earn less than 77,300 USD then it might be the time to speak with your boss to get a raise or to look for a new Software Developer job in California.
If you want to check the stats for a different technology or city, select it below (not all options have enough data yet):
| Market Percentile | salary |
|---|---|
| top 10% of market | 185,000 USD |
| top 25% of market | 160,000 USD |
| average salary | 131,400 USD |
| median salary | 130,800 USD |
| bottom 25% of market | 105,000 USD |
| bottom 10% of market | 77,300 USD |
The average salary for Software Developers in California is 131,400 USD per year, while the median salary is 130,800 USD per year - where does the difference between average and median come from?
The average salary is calculated as the sum of all salaries divided by the number of them. The median salary is the one that the typical Software Developer earns, which means, exactly 50% earn more than 130,800 USD and 50% earn less than this.
The difference occurs because often there are a few very high outlier salaries, which drag the average salary value up. Therefore, if you compare your salary to the market, it is better to look at the median value.
The top 25% best earning Software Developers earn more than 160,000 USD per year and the top 10% reach over 185,000 USD, which is quite a nice compensation and something to strive for.
At the same time, 25% of the lowest earning Software Engineers earn less than 105,000 USD per year and 10% earn less than 77,300 USD.
You have to be aware that the salaries for Software Developers can vary a lot in different states. This page shows the salaries in California, but you can select a different state below:
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