Salaries / Software Developer
Office & Admin · SOC 15-1252
Software Developer salary
Software developers design, build, and maintain the applications and systems that run on computers and phones.
Median annual
$132,000
Median hourly
$63.50
Typical range
$77,000 to $208,000
Source: National estimate (to be replaced by live BLS data). Figures are gross pay and vary by location, employer, and experience.
The pay range, visually.
Low end (about the 10th percentile), median, and high end (about the 90th percentile).
By state
State figures are estimates derived from the national median and a state wage index, shown to give a rough sense of local differences.
Your skills are a business
Ideas we have for people in office & admin.
The same experience that earns a paycheck as a software developer can start a business. Here are real ideas from our marketplace that fit this field.
Turn a Messy Spreadsheet Into a Team Portal
A tool that takes the one giant spreadsheet a small business secretly runs on and turns it into a clean, permissioned web portal, so staff enter data through simple forms instead of breaking formulas in a shared file.
Launch a Micro SaaS Product
Build a small niche software tool that solves one painful problem and sell it as a monthly subscription.
Start a Web Design Agency
Build and maintain websites for small businesses, earning project fees plus recurring income from hosting and care plans.
Start an AI App Development Agency
Build custom apps, internal tools, and client portals for small businesses using AI app builders, charging project fees plus monthly maintenance.
You could hire software developers, not just be one.
We have a staffing calculator to price the work and a full course on how to start a staffing agency, so you can turn a field you already know into a business that puts other people to work.