Sample Report
Live Data — 81 submissions

Compensation Benchmark
Software Engineer

United States market data based on 81 anonymized, verified salary submissions. Updated continuously.

Report Date
September 2026
Geography
United States
Sample Size
81 data points
25th Percentile
$161,000
base salary
Median
Median Base
$198,000
base salary
75th Percentile
$243,000
base salary
Median Total Comp
$249,500
incl. bonus & equity

Base Salary Distribution

Range from 25th to 75th percentile with median marker

$161,000
25th Percentile
$198,000
Median
$243,000
75th Percentile

Compensation by Experience Level

Base salary ranges across career stages

Entry Level (0–2 yrs)
n=16$140,000
P25: $123,750P75: $149,625
Mid Level (3–5 yrs)
n=28$182,750
P25: $162,500P75: $196,250
Senior (6–10 yrs)
n=20$224,500
P25: $211,375P75: $237,250
Staff+ (11+ yrs)
n=17$322,000
P25: $299,500P75: $353,500
P25–P75 range
Median

Median Base Salary by Company Size

How compensation varies with employer headcount

1-50emp.
$220,250
n=8
51-200emp.
$195,500
n=16
201-1000emp.
$184,000
n=25
1001-5000emp.
$209,500
n=19
5000+emp.
$192,250
n=12

Median Base Salary by Metro Area

Top markets with at least 3 data points

1
New York City, New York
$267,500
n=14
2
Denver, Colorado
$224,000
n=3
3
Los Angeles, California
$209,500
n=9
4
Austin, Texas
$205,000
n=6
5
San Francisco, California
$202,500
n=9
6
Seattle, Washington
$199,750
n=10
7
Remote
$188,000
n=15
8
Chicago, Illinois
$184,000
n=5

“Remote” includes fully remote roles where no specific metro was reported.

Data Methodology & Privacy

All data is anonymized and aggregated from voluntary, self-reported salary submissions. No individual respondent can be identified. Outliers are filtered for accuracy. Data is continuously refreshed as new submissions are received. Fairpay never collects names, employer names, or other personally identifiable information.

Get Your Full Benchmark Report

This is a sample for one role. Full reports include multiple roles, downloadable data, total compensation breakdowns, and more detail on every metric.

Reports start at $49 — one-time purchase, instant delivery