Software engineer salary in St. Louis, MO
Software engineers in the St. Louis metro earn a median of $129,030 a year. That is 5.1% below the US median, and 0.2% below it once you account for lower prices in St. Louis.
Median salary
$129,030
US median: $135,980
The middle half earn
$101,670 – $156,320
25th to 75th percentile
After cost of living
$135,700
St. Louis prices: 4.9% below US average
H-1B median offer
$115,000
950 approved applications
Pay range
The top 10% of software engineers in St. Louis earn more than $169,030 a year. The bottom 10% earn less than $77,730.
10th percentile $77,730, 25th $101,670, 75th $156,320, 90th $169,030.
10th percentile $82,460, 25th $105,210, 75th $171,980, 90th $214,670.
10th percentile $96,090, 25th $97,386, 75th $138,000, 90th $148,368.
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Box: the middle half (25th to 75th). Dark mark: the median.
How far the pay goes in St. Louis
Prices in St. Louis are 4.9% below the US average, which makes the median worth $135,700 in US-average dollars. Housing costs 21.0% less than the US average.
Black line: US average = 100. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024.
Other tech jobs in St. Louis
Median yearly pay and the number of people in each job across the St. Louis metro.
| Job | People | Median |
|---|---|---|
| IT managers | 6,160 | $167,130 |
| Software engineers | 9,820 | $129,030 |
| Information security analysts | 1,640 | $106,420 |
| Web developers | 490 | $106,360 |
| Database administrators | 550 | $104,650 |
| Network architects | 2,010 | $103,370 |
| Data scientists | 2,640 | $99,600 |
| Computer programmers | 660 | $96,920 |
| Computer systems analysts | 3,920 | $96,290 |
| QA analysts and testers | 1,360 | $94,590 |
| Network and systems administrators | 2,840 | $88,940 |
| Web and digital interface designers | 650 | $74,780 |
| IT support specialists | 5,940 | $60,940 |
What H-1B employers offer in St. Louis
From October 2025 to June 2026, the Department of Labor approved 950 H-1B applications for software engineers in the St. Louis metro, from 448 employers.
Median offer
$115,000
Middle half
$97,386 – $138,000
Employers
448
Applications by wage level
- Level I (entry): 96
- Level II: 436
- Level III: 196
- Level IV (most experienced): 185
- Not stated: 37
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%.
108 open tech jobs in St. Louis right now
From 26 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), St. Louis 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 15 counties.
- Job outlook: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024 to 2034, whole US.
- Open jobs: counted on hiredaemon as this page loads.