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Software Developers

SOC 15-1252 · 2024-2034

Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions, applying principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis. Update software or enhance existing software capabilities. May work with computer hardware engineers to integrate hardware and software systems, and develop specifications and performance requirements. May maintain databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team.

How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.

What California expects of this job

Typical pay in California
$179,292per year
Projected openings
207,260
Projected change
+18.4%
Usually needs
Bachelor's degree

Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth · Numerous Job Openings

The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.

Skills this work uses most

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.

  1. Programming
  2. Critical Thinking
  3. Judgment and Decision Making
  4. Reading Comprehension
  5. Systems Analysis
  6. Active Learning

Pay by region

RegionTypical pay in CaliforniaProjected openings
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties)$213,93063,580
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties)$183,91539,150
Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties)$175,78814,620
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County)$167,4501,440
San Rafael MD (Marin County)$166,964690
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County)$163,56816,600
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County)$161,78125,050
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County)$155,84712,940
Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties)$149,50650
Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County)$144,976400
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties)$144,8635,100
Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County)$142,511370
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County)$142,2441,620
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties)$140,4773,290
Vallejo MSA (Solano County)$138,227240
Salinas MSA (Monterey County)$137,950190
Merced MSA (Merced County)$136,99530
Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County)$136,995200
Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County)$136,193540
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County)$135,598350
Napa MSA (Napa County)$134,612100
Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County)$131,931430
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties)$131,366130
North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties)$130,88370
Chico MSA (Butte County)$129,928120
Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties)$129,722490
Visalia MSA (Tulare County)$127,791130
Redding MSA (Shasta County)$126,672120
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties)$121,84430

What the pay actually ranges across

The lowest-paid tenth earn under
$108,001
A quarter earn under
$140,825
Half earn under
$179,292
Three quarters earn under
$222,735
The highest-paid tenth earn over
$280,303

A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.

Similar work

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.

OccupationTypical pay in CaliforniaProjected openingsProjected change
Computer Occupations, All Other$138,20359,320+11.1%
Computer Programmers$120,0286,210-3.8%
Computer Systems Analysts$131,29541,500+9.7%
Computer Hardware Engineers$190,36412,740+7.8%
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers$132,34419,160+9.3%
Database Architects$174,9233,880+9.5%

Programs that train for this job — 74