Software engineer salary in Boston, MA
Software engineers in the Boston metro earn a median of $166,090 a year. That is 22.1% above the US median, and 12.8% above it once you account for higher prices in Boston.
Median salary
$166,090
US median: $135,980
The middle half earn
$131,880 – $183,740
25th to 75th percentile
After cost of living
$153,410
Boston prices: 8.3% above US average
H-1B median offer
$154,606
2,590 approved applications
Pay range
The top 10% of software engineers in Boston earn more than $214,100 a year. The bottom 10% earn less than $102,950.
10th percentile $102,950, 25th $131,880, 75th $183,740, 90th $214,100.
10th percentile $82,460, 25th $105,210, 75th $171,980, 90th $214,670.
10th percentile $120,000, 25th $131,082, 75th $176,600, 90th $190,000.
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Box: the middle half (25th to 75th). Dark mark: the median.
How far the pay goes in Boston
Prices in Boston are 8.3% above the US average, which makes the median worth $153,410 in US-average dollars. Housing costs 48.4% more than the US average.
Black line: US average = 100. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024.
Other tech jobs in Boston
Median yearly pay and the number of people in each job across the Boston metro.
| Job | People | Median |
|---|---|---|
| IT managers | 20,530 | $214,960 |
| Software engineers | 42,310 | $166,090 |
| Network architects | 5,240 | $160,650 |
| Information security analysts | 5,220 | $136,550 |
| Database administrators | 1,910 | $132,370 |
| Data scientists | 7,930 | $132,040 |
| Computer systems analysts | 17,470 | $129,180 |
| Computer programmers | 1,600 | $128,900 |
| Web and digital interface designers | 2,330 | $122,270 |
| QA analysts and testers | 6,050 | $122,210 |
| Network and systems administrators | 6,760 | $116,770 |
| Web developers | 1,450 | $108,520 |
| IT support specialists | 13,580 | $77,850 |
What H-1B employers offer in Boston
From October 2025 to June 2026, the Department of Labor approved 2,590 H-1B applications for software engineers in the Boston metro, from 759 employers.
Median offer
$154,606
Middle half
$131,082 – $176,600
Employers
759
Applications by wage level
- Level I (entry): 368
- Level II: 878
- Level III: 503
- Level IV (most experienced): 464
- Not stated: 377
These are salaries offered on approved applications, not salaries paid. Each application lists only its main work site.
Job outlook
+15.8%
The BLS expects over 267,000 more software developer jobs across the US from 2024 to 2034. Jobs overall are expected to grow 3.1%.
896 open tech jobs in Boston right now
From over 200 companies. 79 were posted in the past week.
Sources and notes
- Salaries and job counts: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published May 15, 2026), Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro. The BLS counts software engineers as "Software Developers" (job code 15-1252).
- Cost of living: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
- H-1B offers: US Department of Labor, H-1B application data, October 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Approved H-1B applications with job code 15-1252 and a work site in one of the metro area's 7 counties.
- Job outlook: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024 to 2034, whole US.
- Open jobs: counted on hiredaemon as this page loads.