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Senior Software Specialist salary

Average senior software specialist salary

$99,874

$48.02 hourly rate

Entry-level senior software specialist salary
$79,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does a senior software specialist make?

The average senior software specialist salary in the United States is $99,874. Senior software specialist salaries typically range between $79,000 and $124,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for senior software specialists is $48.02 per hour.

Senior software specialist salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Senior software specialists earn the highest average salary in California.

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Where can a Senior Software Specialist earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
152k
132k
112k
92k
72k
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California$127,915
Saint Louis, MO$81,760
Compare salary by company
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132k
112k
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BNY Mellon$121,816
Alcatel Networks Inc$102,377

Senior Software Specialist salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and Comparably, the average salary for a senior software specialist typically falls between $99,874 and $156,530.
zippia
$99,874yearly
glassdoor[1]
$156,530yearly
comparably[2]
$137,449yearly
ZipRecruiter[3]
$110,000yearly

Average senior software specialist salary by state

The average senior software specialist salary in California, Virginia, and New Jersey are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average senior software specialist salary states are Indiana, Tennessee, and Kansas.

  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Highest paying states for senior software specialists

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1California$122,520$58.90
2Virginia$114,116$54.86
3Vermont$110,281$53.02
4Arizona$112,545$54.11
5Washington$105,024$50.49
6New Jersey$113,985$54.80
7Rhode Island$101,543$48.82
8Maryland$111,948$53.82
9Delaware$101,382$48.74
10New Hampshire$101,837$48.96
11Texas$96,347$46.32
12Illinois$99,389$47.78
13District of Columbia$108,910$52.36
14Massachusetts$100,946$48.53
15South Carolina$106,036$50.98
16Oregon$96,597$46.44
17Georgia$95,108$45.73
18Wyoming$90,938$43.72
19New York$100,152$48.15
20West Virginia$95,162$45.75
21Minnesota$96,072$46.19
22Michigan$93,502$44.95
23North Carolina$92,257$44.35
24Florida$95,567$45.95
25Montana$92,479$44.46
26Nebraska$93,083$44.75
27Utah$89,156$42.86
28Nevada$92,270$44.36
29Louisiana$93,623$45.01
30Iowa$89,387$42.97
31Idaho$89,842$43.19
32New Mexico$92,676$44.56
33Connecticut$92,115$44.29
34Maine$91,555$44.02
35Pennsylvania$89,684$43.12
36Ohio$88,335$42.47
37South Dakota$88,013$42.31
38Colorado$89,421$42.99
39Alaska$89,540$43.05
40Indiana$83,201$40.00
41Hawaii$87,705$42.17
42Mississippi$87,688$42.16
43Wisconsin$84,657$40.70
44Alabama$84,348$40.55
45Kansas$82,094$39.47
46Kentucky$84,786$40.76
47North Dakota$85,033$40.88
48Arkansas$80,774$38.83
49Tennessee$82,795$39.81
50Missouri$81,440$39.15
51Oklahoma$80,704$38.80

Highest paying cities for senior software specialists

The highest-paying cities for senior software specialists are San Jose, CA, Jersey City, NJ, and Rockville, MD.

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
1San Jose, CA$127,915$61.50
2Jersey City, NJ$114,087$54.85
3Rockville, MD$111,898$53.80
4Columbia, SC$106,187$51.05
5Olympia, WA$105,516$50.73
6Shrewsbury, MA$101,048$48.58
7New York, NY$100,315$48.23
8Chicago, IL$99,654$47.91
9Austin, TX$96,709$46.49
10Saint Petersburg, FL$96,543$46.41
11Alpharetta, GA$95,301$45.82
12Ann Arbor, MI$93,412$44.91
13Omaha, NE$93,302$44.86
14Raleigh, NC$93,086$44.75
15Hartford, CT$92,063$44.26
16Harrisburg, PA$89,684$43.12
17Iowa City, IA$89,575$43.06
18Colorado Springs, CO$89,477$43.02
19Nashville, TN$82,845$39.83
20Saint Louis, MO$81,760$39.31

Senior Software Specialist salary details

A senior software specialist's salary ranges from $79,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $124,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Senior Software Specialist Salary Graph
Average Senior Software Specialist Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a senior software specialist's salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$124,000$10,333$60
75th Percentile$112,000$9,333$54
Average$99,874$8,323$48
25th Percentile$88,000$7,333$42
10th Percentile$79,000$6,583$38

Highest paying senior software specialist jobs

The highest paying types of senior software specialists are staff software engineer, principal software engineer, and software engineer lead.

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Software Engineer Lead$125,565$10,464$60.37342,462
Software Engineer$100,260$8,355$48.20339,938
Software Systems Engineer$107,102$8,925$51.49370,518
Software Consultant$88,605$7,384$42.60275,746
Staff Software Engineer$136,653$11,388$65.70371,213
Principal Software Engineer$134,230$11,186$64.53345,893

Top companies hiring senior software specialists now:

  1. Citi Jobs (4)
  2. BJ's Wholesale Club Jobs (5)
  3. Nokia Jobs (7)
  4. American Express Jobs (15)
  5. Dell Jobs (8)

Which companies pay senior software specialists the most?

Senior software specialist salaries at BNY Mellon and PerkinElmer are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average senior software specialist salary at companies like BJ's Wholesale Club and TAD PGS are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1BNY Mellon$121,816$58.57
2PerkinElmer$114,429$55.01
3BJ's Wholesale Club$110,309$53.03
4TAD PGS$109,675$52.73
5Nokia$109,034$52.42
6ISYS Technologies$108,232$52.03
7Activehealth Management$106,507$51.21
8Insight Enterprises$105,075$50.52
9Nabors Drilling USA, LP$104,569$50.27
10DUCK CREEK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.$104,441$50.21
11Nabors Industries$104,441$50.21
12Optum$104,180$50.09
13Memphis Light, Gas & Water$103,619$49.82
14Pearson$103,293$49.66
15STL Communications, Inc.$103,249$49.64
16Halliburton$103,041$49.54
17Charles Schwab$102,888$49.47
18Domino's Pizza$102,490$49.27
19CoStar Group$102,456$49.26
20Alcatel Networks Inc$102,377$49.22

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$99,000$97,800$96,600$95,400$94,200$93,000
MaleFemale

Senior Software Specialist salary by industry

The average senior software specialist salary varies across industries:

  • The average senior software specialist salary in the retail industry is $112,279, the highest of any industry.
  • The average senior software specialist salary in the finance industry is $108,878.
  • Senior software specialists in the technology industry earn an average salary of $100,414, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for senior software specialists

RankIndustryAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Retail$112,279$53.98
2Telecommunication$108,878$52.35
3Finance$104,762$50.37
4Energy$103,758$49.88
5Professional$101,697$48.89
6Technology$100,414$48.28

High Paying Senior Software Specialist Jobs

Senior Software Specialist salary trends

The average senior software specialist salary has risen by $18,541 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average senior software specialist earned $81,333 annually, but today, they earn $99,874 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for senior software specialists over the last decade.

Compare senior software specialist salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average senior software specialist salary over time

Compare senior software specialist salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

    Senior Software Specialist salary by year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2025$99,900$48.02+3.3%
    2024$96,600$46.43+2.3%
    2023$94,400$45.38+1.8%
    2022$92,700$44.58+1.7%
    2021$91,200$43.83+1.8%

    Recently added senior software specialist salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    Charles Schwab CorporationSR Specialist-Software Development & EngineeringSan Francisco, CA10/18/2024$155,605
    AttSR Specialist Software EngineeringAlpharetta, GA10/17/2024$94,300
    Charles Schwab CorporationSR Specialist-Software Development & EngineeringWestlake, TX10/11/2024$149,781
    Remotefront Pvt. Ltd.SR Specialist Software EngineeringAlpharetta, GA10/09/2024$141,000
    Coupa SoftwareSR. Software Implementation Specialist-PaymentsSan Francisco, CA10/04/2024$133,025
    Remotefront Pvt. Ltd.SR Specialist Software EngineeringAlpharetta, GA09/28/2024$94,000
    at&TSR Specialist Software EngineeringPlano, TX09/26/2024$94,300
    at&TSR Specialist Software EngineeringBothell, WA09/26/2024$94,300
    at&TSR Specialist Software EngineeringAlpharetta, GA09/24/2024$94,300
    Charles Schwab & Company, Inc.SR. Specialist-Software Development & EngineeringAustin, TX09/20/2024$122,696

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