Software engineer salary in Washington, DC
What software engineers are paid in Washington, DC, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with how your own pay compares. Figures from the BLS OEWS release dated May 2025.
Median annual pay
$154,930
Middle half earn
$123,720 to $176,230
People in this job here
69,060
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Software Developers, Washington, DC, annual pay, May 2025
- 10th percentile
- $96,450
- 25th percentile
- $123,720
- Median
- $154,930
- 75th percentile
- $176,230
- 90th percentile
- $213,660
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 15-1252. Percentiles across everyone employed in the occupation, not experience levels.
At a glance
How Washington, DC compares
- The median here is 14% above the national median of $135,980.
- Washington, DC ranks 9th for median pay among the 50 largest US metros with published figures for this occupation.
- About 69,060 people work in this occupation here, roughly 1 in every 45 jobs in the metro.
- Pay varies widely within the job: the 90th percentile earns 2.2 times the 10th.
Worked from BLS OEWS, May 2025. Not adjusted for the cost of living.
| Percentile | Washington, DC | National |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $96,450 | $82,460 |
| 25th percentile | $123,720 | $105,210 |
| Median | $154,930 | $135,980 |
| 75th percentile | $176,230 | $171,980 |
| 90th percentile | $213,660 | $214,670 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 15-1252. National page for software engineers
By metro
Other metros for software engineers
Median annual pay in the largest US metros where BLS published figures for this occupation, highest first, May 2025.
- San Jose, CA$213,110
- San Francisco, CA$186,640
- Seattle, WA$167,280
- New York, NY$166,830
- Boston, MA$166,090
- San Diego, CA$163,270
- Los Angeles, CA$160,920
- Portland, OR$156,000
- Sacramento, CA$139,640
- Baltimore, MD$138,900
- Denver, CO$137,610
- Charlotte, NC$135,920
- Chicago, IL$134,380
- Austin, TX$134,120
- Dallas, TX$133,290
- Riverside, CA$133,270
- Philadelphia, PA$133,040
- Atlanta, GA$132,960
- Raleigh, NC$132,770
- Miami, FL$132,650
- Hartford, CT$132,520
- Richmond, VA$132,120
- Phoenix, AZ$131,750
- Minneapolis, MN$130,920
- Detroit, MI$130,760
- Providence, RI$130,690
- Tampa, FL$130,450
- Jacksonville, FL$130,330
- Las Vegas, NV$129,940
- Orlando, FL$129,620
- Salt Lake City, UT$129,600
- Houston, TX$129,440
- Virginia Beach, VA$129,090
- St. Louis, MO$129,030
- San Antonio, TX$128,430
- Buffalo, NY$127,850
- Nashville, TN$126,610
- Memphis, TN$125,580
- Kansas City, MO$124,990
- Pittsburgh, PA$124,500
- Milwaukee, WI$123,730
- Oklahoma City, OK$122,390
- Columbus, OH$122,340
- Cincinnati, OH$121,420
- Cleveland, OH$111,310
- Louisville/Jefferson County, KY$110,270
- Grand Rapids, MI$107,520
- Indianapolis, IN$106,870
- San Juan, PR$79,380
Medians from BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Skills
What employers look for in a software engineer
The skills our software engineer resume example leads with, written for US employers.
- Python
- Java
- TypeScript
- Go
- React
- Node.js
- PostgreSQL
- AWS
- Docker
- Kubernetes
See the full software engineer resume example, with bullets and keywords.
Negotiating
Using these numbers
Below $123,720 puts you in the bottom quarter for software engineers in Washington, DC. That is worth raising, with evidence of what you deliver.
The median, $154,930, is the middle of the market, not a ceiling. An offer at or near it is a fair starting point to negotiate from.
Asking for $176,230 or more puts you in the top quarter, so it needs a reason an employer will accept: a wider scope, a competing offer, or a skill that is hard to hire for.
Percentiles are not experience levels. They describe everyone doing the job, so a senior hire can sit at the median of a market full of senior people.
About the numbers
What these figures are
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and these figures are from the release dated May 2025. They cover wage and salary workers in Software Developers, a category that is often broader than a single job title. Self-employed people are not included.
They are base pay: bonuses, equity and overtime are not included, and they are not adjusted for the cost of living. The metro is Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV as BLS defines it.
Questions
Questions about software engineer pay in Washington, DC
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