Software engineer salary in San Jose, CA
Software engineers in the San Jose metro earn a median of $213,110 a year. That is 56.7% above the US median, and 41.9% above it once you account for higher prices in San Jose.
Median salary
$213,110
US median: $135,980
The middle half earn
$173,650 – $226,080
25th to 75th percentile
After cost of living
$192,990
San Jose prices: 10.4% above US average
H-1B median offer
$191,450
13,918 approved applications
Pay range
The top 10% of software engineers in San Jose earn more than $289,150 a year. The bottom 10% earn less than $138,420.
10th percentile $138,420, 25th $173,650, 75th $226,080, 90th $289,150.
10th percentile $82,460, 25th $105,210, 75th $171,980, 90th $214,670.
10th percentile $149,365, 25th $167,000, 75th $222,335, 90th $256,000.
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Box: the middle half (25th to 75th). Dark mark: the median.
How far the pay goes in San Jose
Prices in San Jose are 10.4% above the US average, which makes the median worth $192,990 in US-average dollars. Housing costs 111.9% more than the US average.
Black line: US average = 100. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024.
Other tech jobs in San Jose
Median yearly pay and the number of people in each job across the San Jose metro.
| Job | People | Median |
|---|---|---|
| IT managers | 19,070 | $291,660 |
| Software engineers | 87,350 | $213,110 |
| Web and digital interface designers | 4,400 | $201,260 |
| Network architects | 2,730 | $186,110 |
| Data scientists | 6,060 | $185,080 |
| Information security analysts | 2,280 | $176,120 |
| Web developers | 1,130 | $166,670 |
| QA analysts and testers | 6,480 | $166,530 |
| Computer systems analysts | 7,260 | $157,140 |
| Computer programmers | 980 | $154,920 |
| Database administrators | 580 | $138,620 |
| Network and systems administrators | 2,460 | $133,360 |
| IT support specialists | 5,790 | $93,590 |
What H-1B employers offer in San Jose
From October 2025 to June 2026, the Department of Labor approved 13,918 H-1B applications for software engineers in the San Jose metro, from 982 employers.
Median offer
$191,450
Middle half
$167,000 – $222,335
Employers
982
Applications by wage level
- Level I (entry): 1,106
- Level II: 2,946
- Level III: 979
- Level IV (most experienced): 984
- Not stated: 7,903
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%.
902 open tech jobs in San Jose right now
From 81 companies. 73 were posted in the past week.
Jobs nearby: Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara
Sources and notes
- Salaries and job counts: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published May 15, 2026), San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 San Benito or Santa Clara county.
- Job outlook: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024 to 2034, whole US.
- Open jobs: counted on hiredaemon as this page loads.