Software engineer salary in Raleigh, NC
Software engineers in the Raleigh metro earn a median of $132,770 a year. That is 2.4% below the US median, and 0.5% below it once you account for lower prices in Raleigh.
Median salary
$132,770
US median: $135,980
The middle half earn
$103,480 – $166,650
25th to 75th percentile
After cost of living
$135,260
Raleigh prices: 1.8% below US average
H-1B median offer
$135,000
1,624 approved applications
Pay range
The top 10% of software engineers in Raleigh earn more than $185,110 a year. The bottom 10% earn less than $80,080.
10th percentile $80,080, 25th $103,480, 75th $166,650, 90th $185,110.
10th percentile $82,460, 25th $105,210, 75th $171,980, 90th $214,670.
10th percentile $110,000, 25th $113,547, 75th $151,744, 90th $167,317.
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Box: the middle half (25th to 75th). Dark mark: the median.
How far the pay goes in Raleigh
Prices in Raleigh are 1.8% below the US average, which makes the median worth $135,260 in US-average dollars. Housing is the exception. It costs 3.5% more than the US average.
Black line: US average = 100. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024.
Other tech jobs in Raleigh
Median yearly pay and the number of people in each job across the Raleigh metro.
| Job | People | Median |
|---|---|---|
| IT managers | 6,010 | $173,960 |
| Information security analysts | 2,510 | $143,640 |
| Software engineers | 12,580 | $132,770 |
| Database administrators | 510 | $122,950 |
| Data scientists | 1,990 | $120,710 |
| Network architects | 2,190 | $120,640 |
| QA analysts and testers | 1,760 | $110,800 |
| Computer systems analysts | 4,530 | $108,480 |
| Network and systems administrators | 2,730 | $103,380 |
| Web and digital interface designers | 770 | $102,860 |
| Web developers | 430 | $82,250 |
| IT support specialists | 5,320 | $62,460 |
What H-1B employers offer in Raleigh
From October 2025 to June 2026, the Department of Labor approved 1,624 H-1B applications for software engineers in the Raleigh metro, from 717 employers.
Median offer
$135,000
Middle half
$113,547 – $151,744
Employers
717
Applications by wage level
- Level I (entry): 130
- Level II: 643
- Level III: 420
- Level IV (most experienced): 273
- Not stated: 158
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%.
140 open tech jobs in Raleigh right now
From 55 companies. 12 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), Raleigh-Cary 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 Franklin, Johnston or Wake county.
- Job outlook: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024 to 2034, whole US.
- Open jobs: counted on hiredaemon as this page loads.