Software engineer salary in Los Angeles, CA
Software engineers in the Los Angeles metro earn a median of $160,920 a year. That is 18.3% above the US median, and 4.2% above it once you account for higher prices in Los Angeles.
Median salary
$160,920
US median: $135,980
The middle half earn
$127,530 – $191,540
25th to 75th percentile
After cost of living
$141,700
Los Angeles prices: 13.6% above US average
H-1B median offer
$157,123
1,834 approved applications
Pay range
The top 10% of software engineers in Los Angeles earn more than $223,150 a year. The bottom 10% earn less than $98,270.
10th percentile $98,270, 25th $127,530, 75th $191,540, 90th $223,150.
10th percentile $82,460, 25th $105,210, 75th $171,980, 90th $214,670.
10th percentile $117,864, 25th $129,667, 75th $184,558, 90th $200,875.
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Box: the middle half (25th to 75th). Dark mark: the median.
How far the pay goes in Los Angeles
Prices in Los Angeles are 13.6% above the US average, which makes the median worth $141,700 in US-average dollars. Housing costs 70.4% more than the US average.
Black line: US average = 100. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024.
Other tech jobs in Los Angeles
Median yearly pay and the number of people in each job across the Los Angeles metro.
| Job | People | Median |
|---|---|---|
| IT managers | 23,180 | $204,370 |
| Software engineers | 55,540 | $160,920 |
| Network architects | 3,500 | $147,510 |
| Data scientists | 9,850 | $129,740 |
| Information security analysts | 4,820 | $129,630 |
| QA analysts and testers | 7,200 | $122,210 |
| Computer systems analysts | 16,900 | $121,560 |
| Database administrators | 2,280 | $112,540 |
| Web developers | 2,310 | $107,290 |
| Computer programmers | 3,400 | $107,090 |
| Web and digital interface designers | 9,220 | $106,550 |
| Network and systems administrators | 8,770 | $106,290 |
| IT support specialists | 20,660 | $75,070 |
What H-1B employers offer in Los Angeles
From October 2025 to June 2026, the Department of Labor approved 1,834 H-1B applications for software engineers in the Los Angeles metro, from 759 employers.
Median offer
$157,123
Middle half
$129,667 – $184,558
Employers
759
Applications by wage level
- Level I (entry): 279
- Level II: 665
- Level III: 330
- Level IV (most experienced): 363
- Not stated: 197
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%.
704 open tech jobs in Los Angeles right now
From over 100 companies. 45 were posted in the past week.
Jobs nearby: Costa Mesa, Hawthorne, Long Beach, Irvine, El Segundo, Torrance
Sources and notes
- Salaries and job counts: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published May 15, 2026), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim 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 Los Angeles or Orange county.
- Job outlook: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024 to 2034, whole US.
- Open jobs: counted on hiredaemon as this page loads.