Software Salaries by City

USA Cities with Highest Salaries for Information Technology

Charlotte and Jacksonville offer the best salaries in IT.

When adjusted for the cost of living index, Charlotte, NC and Jacksonville, FL offers the highest salaries in the Information Technology Industry. San Francisco and San Jose offer the lowest salaries when adjusted for cost of living.

The following series of tables provide average salary information for 25 metropolitan areas. The cities are ranked from highest to lowest salary. The data has been tabulated from Bureau Labor Statistics.

Job definitions and explanation of cost of living index is provided at the end of this article.

Detail Tables

Computer and Information Systems Management

Rank	Metropolitan Area	Annual Salary
1	Jacksonville, FL MSA	111,660
2	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA	111,102
3	Denver, CO PMSA	105,963
4	Fort Worth-Arlington, TX PMSA	105,931
5	Atlanta, GA MSA	105,666
6	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI MSA	100,039
7	Kansas City, MO-KS MSA	98,589
8	Columbus, OH MSA	96,684
9	El Paso, TX MSA	95,916
10	Detroit, MI PMSA	95,802
11	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI PMSA	95,682
12	Memphis, TN-AR-MS MSA	94,411
13	Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH PMSA	94,034
14	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA	93,429
15	Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA PMSA	90,150
16	Oklahoma City, OK MSA	89,654
17	Tucson, AZ MSA	88,258
18	Indianapolis, IN MSA	86,340
19	San Jose, CA PMSA	82,950
20	Baltimore, MD PMSA	80,164
21	Las Vegas, NV-AZ MSA	79,249
22	Nashville, TN MSA	78,540
23	Boston, MA-NH PMSA	78,044
24	Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA	76,394
25	San Francisco, CA PMSA	74,352
26	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA	69,842

Computer Programmers

Rank	Metropolitan Area	Annual Salary
1	Atlanta, GA MSA	80,555
2	Jacksonville, FL MSA	78,286
3	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA	74,580
4	Fort Worth-Arlington, TX PMSA	72,624
5	Memphis, TN-AR-MS MSA	68,342
6	Denver, CO PMSA	67,025
7	Kansas City, MO-KS MSA	66,422
8	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI MSA	65,132
8	El Paso, TX MSA	64,775
9	Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH PMSA	63,515
10	Detroit, MI PMSA	63,200
11	Indianapolis, IN MSA	62,062
12	Columbus, OH MSA	61,194
13	Nashville, TN MSA	60,824
14	Oklahoma City, OK MSA	57,807
15	Tucson, AZ MSA	57,383
16	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI PMSA	55,125
17	Las Vegas, NV-AZ MSA	54,952
18	Boston, MA-NH PMSA	54,788
19	Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA PMSA	51,298
20	Baltimore, MD PMSA	50,463
21	San Jose, CA PMSA	50,456
22	Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA	49,414
23	San Francisco, CA PMSA	48,746
24	Fresno, CA MSA	47,686
25	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA	47,323

Computer Software Engineers

Rank	Metropolitan Area	Annual Salary
1	El Paso, TX MSA	88,323
2	Jacksonville, FL MSA	87,818
3	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA	80,504
4	Fort Worth-Arlington, TX PMSA	79,728
5	Baltimore, MD PMSA	79,719
6	Memphis, TN-AR-MS MSA	77,047
7	Denver, CO PMSA	76,545
8	Tucson, AZ MSA	75,847
9	Atlanta, GA MSA	75,377
10	Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA PMSA	74,882
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI MSA	73,572
12	Detroit, MI PMSA	72,538
13	Las Vegas, NV-AZ MSA	72,140
14	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA	71,147
15	Indianapolis, IN MSA	70,746
16	Columbus, OH MSA	69,983
17	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI PMSA	67,241
18	Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH PMSA	67,127
19	Nashville, TN MSA	65,505
20	Boston, MA-NH PMSA	64,612
21	Oklahoma City, OK MSA	64,490
22	Fresno, CA MSA	63,987
23	San Jose, CA PMSA	57,460
24	Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA	56,545
25	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA	52,967
26	San Francisco, CA PMSA	51,760

Computer Systems Analysts

Rank	Metropolitan Area	Salary
1	Fort Worth-Arlington, TX PMSA	80,566
2	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI PMSA	78,131
3	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA	75,493
4	Atlanta, GA MSA	75,312
5	Kansas City, MO-KS MSA	74,118
6	Denver, CO PMSA	71,795
7	Jacksonville, FL MSA	70,962
8	Memphis, TN-AR-MS MSA	69,920
9	Detroit, MI PMSA	69,252
10	Columbus, OH MSA	66,721
11	El Paso, TX MSA	66,242
12	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI MSA	64,368
13	Indianapolis, IN MSA	64,082
14	Nashville, TN MSA	63,361
15	Baltimore, MD PMSA	62,935
16	Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH PMSA	62,906
17	Las Vegas, NV-AZ MSA	62,794
18	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA	62,256
19	Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA PMSA	61,876
20	Oklahoma City, OK MSA	61,558
21	Tucson, AZ MSA	61,512
22	Jacksonville, NC MSA	56,765
23	Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA	53,990
24	Fresno, CA MSA	51,726
25	Boston, MA-NH PMSA	51,605
26	San Jose, CA PMSA	50,145
27	San Francisco, CA PMSA	44,788
28	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA	44,536

Database Administrators

Rank	Metropolitan Area	Salary
1	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA	76,005
2	Memphis, TN-AR-MS MSA	73,611
3	Atlanta, GA MSA	68,855
4	Jacksonville, FL MSA	68,010
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI MSA	67,624
6	Tucson, AZ MSA	65,599
7	Kansas City, MO-KS MSA	63,322
8	Denver, CO PMSA	62,522
9	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA	60,953
10	Fort Worth-Arlington, TX PMSA	60,605
11	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI PMSA	60,274
12	Baltimore, MD PMSA	60,234
13	El Paso, TX MSA	60,186
14	Columbus, OH MSA	59,760
15	Detroit, MI PMSA	59,273
16	Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH PMSA	59,193
17	Indianapolis, IN MSA	59,011
18	Nashville, TN MSA	57,893
19	Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA PMSA	57,447
20	Las Vegas, NV-AZ MSA	55,854
21	Oklahoma City, OK MSA	55,375
22	Boston, MA-NH PMSA	53,606
23	Fresno, CA MSA	53,049
24	Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA	49,117
25	San Jose, CA PMSA	46,874
26	San Francisco, CA PMSA	45,964
27	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA	42,641

Network Systems Administration

Rank	Metropolitan Area	Salary
1	Memphis, TN-AR-MS MSA	69,734
2	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA	67,498
3	Nashville, TN MSA	67,101
4	Jacksonville, FL MSA	66,365
5	Fort Worth-Arlington, TX PMSA	64,309
6	Atlanta, GA MSA	63,785
7	Denver, CO PMSA	63,279
8	Kansas City, MO-KS MSA	63,256
9	Oklahoma City, OK MSA	60,148
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI MSA	60,148
11	Baltimore, MD PMSA	59,605
12	Columbus, OH MSA	57,931
13	Detroit, MI PMSA	57,409
14	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI PMSA	57,005
15	Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH PMSA	55,986
16	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA	55,918
17	Indianapolis, IN MSA	54,770
18	El Paso, TX MSA	54,060
19	Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA PMSA	53,429
20	Tucson, AZ MSA	51,394
21	Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV PMSA	50,365
22	Las Vegas, NV-AZ MSA	50,212
23	Boston, MA-NH PMSA	49,952
24	San Jose, CA PMSA	48,839
25	Fresno, CA MSA	46,856
26	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA	42,601
27	San Francisco, CA PMSA	42,437

Cost of Living Adjustment

All the salaries have been adjusted to the annual index of 100. An index of the overall cost of living for an area, where 100 equals the national average. It takes in account housing, food and groceries, transportation, utilities, health care, and miscellaneous expenses such as clothing, services, and entertainment.

While the salary may be more in San Francisco, it cost a lot more money to live there than it does Columbus, Ohio. In fact the average salary for a computer programmer in San Francisco was $87,000 in 2004, but this is equivalent of only $48,746 in Columbus. Another way to look at this would be the average programmer in Columbus earned $61,194 per year. They would need a raise of $109,000 to move to San Francisco - just to stay even.

Job Definitions

Computer programmers write, test, and maintain the detailed instructions, called programs, that computers must follow to perform their functions. They also conceive, design, and test logical structures for solving problems by computer. Many technical innovations in programming—advanced computing technologies and sophisticated new languages and programming tools—have redefined the role of a programmer and elevated much of the programming work done today. Job titles and descriptions may vary, depending on the organization. In this occupational statement, computer programmer refers to individuals whose main job function is programming; this group has a wide range of responsibilities and educational backgrounds.

Computer Software Engineers working in applications or systems development analyze users’ needs and design, construct, test, and maintain computer applications software or systems. Software engineers can be involved in the design and development of many types of software, including software for operating systems and network distribution, and compilers, which convert programs for execution on a computer. In programming, or coding, software engineers instruct a computer, line by line, how to perform a function. They also solve technical problems that arise. Software engineers must possess strong programming skills, but are more concerned with developing algorithms and analyzing and solving programming problems than with actually writing code.

Computer support specialists provide technical assistance, support, and advice to customers and other users. This occupational group includes technical support specialists and help-desk technicians. These troubleshooters interpret problems and provide technical support for hardware, software, and systems. They answer telephone calls, analyze problems using automated diagnostic programs, and resolve recurrent difficulties. Support specialists may work either within a company that uses computer systems or directly for a computer hardware or software vendor. Increasingly, these specialists work for help-desk or support services firms, where they provide computer support to clients on a contract basis.

Computer systems analysts solve computer problems and apply computer technology to meet the individual needs of an organization. They help an organization to realize the maximum benefit from its investment in equipment, personnel, and business processes. Systems analysts may plan and develop new computer systems or devise ways to apply existing systems’ resources to additional operations. They may design new systems, including both hardware and software, or add a new software application to harness more of the computer’s power. Most systems analysts work with specific types of systems—for example, business, accounting, or financial systems, or scientific and engineering systems—that vary with the kind of organization. Some systems analysts also are known as systems developers or systems architects.

Network or computer systems administrators design, install, and support an organization’s LAN (local-area network), WAN (wide-area network), network segment, Internet, or intranet system. They provide day-to-day onsite administrative support for software users in a variety of work environments, including professional offices, small businesses, government, and large corporations. They maintain network hardware and software, analyze problems, and monitor the network to ensure its availability to system users. These workers gather data to identify customer needs and then use that information to identify, interpret, and evaluate system and network requirements. Administrators also may plan, coordinate, and implement network security measures.

Source: For more information visit www.bls.gov

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