The highest-paying cities for software engineers in 2026 are San Francisco, CA, Austin, TX, New York, NY, with median base salaries up to $280K. Based on public job postings.
| # | City | Median base | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $280K | 749 |
| 2 | Austin, TX | $277K | 25 |
| 3 | New York, NY | $275K | 464 |
| 4 | Denver, CO | $260K | 43 |
| 5 | Seattle, WA | $250K | 53 |
| 6 | Los Angeles, CA | $250K | 42 |
| 7 | Boston, MA | $222K | 51 |
| 8 | Chicago, IL | $203K | 26 |
| 9 | San Diego, CA | $194K | 16 |
| 10 | Atlanta, GA | $182K | 41 |
Figures are base salary only, from public job postings (2025–2026) — equity and bonus are separate. Methodology: median of disclosed USD annual salary bands; companies with at least 10 disclosed-salary postings.
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For the latest engineering compensation benchmarks, levels.fyi and The Pragmatic Engineer are the most cited sources.
Related: Software Engineer Salary Guide: SF, NYC, and Remote (2026) · Data Engineer Salary Guide: SF, NYC, Remote (2026)Tell us about your open roles and we'll start sourcing within 48 hours.
