Software engineer salary in Philadelphia, PA
Software engineers in the Philadelphia metro earn a median of $133,040 a year. That is 2.2% below the US median, and 4.6% below it once you account for higher prices in Philadelphia.
Median salary
$133,040
US median: $135,980
The middle half earn
$103,920 – $165,140
25th to 75th percentile
After cost of living
$129,730
Philadelphia prices: 2.6% above US average
H-1B median offer
$123,796
2,080 approved applications
Pay range
The top 10% of software engineers in Philadelphia earn more than $190,180 a year. The bottom 10% earn less than $82,960.
10th percentile $82,960, 25th $103,920, 75th $165,140, 90th $190,180.
10th percentile $82,460, 25th $105,210, 75th $171,980, 90th $214,670.
10th percentile $94,168, 25th $109,845, 75th $153,319, 90th $167,490.
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Box: the middle half (25th to 75th). Dark mark: the median.
How far the pay goes in Philadelphia
Prices in Philadelphia are 2.6% above the US average, which makes the median worth $129,730 in US-average dollars. Housing costs 13.1% more than the US average.
Black line: US average = 100. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024.
Other tech jobs in Philadelphia
Median yearly pay and the number of people in each job across the Philadelphia metro.
| Job | People | Median |
|---|---|---|
| IT managers | 15,090 | $173,470 |
| Network architects | 3,070 | $138,850 |
| Software engineers | 28,480 | $133,040 |
| Information security analysts | 2,710 | $132,560 |
| Data scientists | 6,480 | $109,910 |
| Computer systems analysts | 8,520 | $105,050 |
| Database administrators | 1,580 | $104,930 |
| Web and digital interface designers | 1,420 | $104,840 |
| QA analysts and testers | 2,650 | $102,740 |
| Computer programmers | 1,770 | $101,420 |
| Network and systems administrators | 4,050 | $100,460 |
| Web developers | 810 | $94,570 |
| IT support specialists | 12,850 | $62,210 |
What H-1B employers offer in Philadelphia
From October 2025 to June 2026, the Department of Labor approved 2,080 H-1B applications for software engineers in the Philadelphia metro, from 875 employers.
Median offer
$123,796
Middle half
$109,845 – $153,319
Employers
875
Applications by wage level
- Level I (entry): 268
- Level II: 876
- Level III: 294
- Level IV (most experienced): 434
- Not stated: 208
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%.
150 open tech jobs in Philadelphia right now
From 51 companies. 14 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), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 11 counties.
- Job outlook: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024 to 2034, whole US.
- Open jobs: counted on hiredaemon as this page loads.