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Software Director salary
Average software director salary
$150,380
How much does a software director make?
The average software director salary in the United States is $150,380. Software director salaries typically range between $103,000 and $218,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for software directors is $72.3 per hour.
Software director salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Software directors earn the highest average salary in California.
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Where can a Software Director earn more?
Software Director salary estimates from across the web
Average software director salary by state
The highest-paying states for software directors are California, Alaska, and Nevada. The lowest average software director salary states are South Dakota, Alabama, and Kansas.
- State View
- County View
Highest paying states for software directors
| Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $177,860 | $85.51 |
| 2 | Washington | $144,784 | $69.61 |
| 3 | Vermont | $140,467 | $67.53 |
| 4 | Oregon | $138,550 | $66.61 |
| 5 | Nevada | $154,982 | $74.51 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $149,506 | $71.88 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $140,292 | $67.45 |
| 8 | Alaska | $160,733 | $77.28 |
| 9 | Idaho | $138,126 | $66.41 |
| 10 | Utah | $125,911 | $60.53 |
| 11 | Virginia | $130,829 | $62.90 |
| 12 | Arizona | $132,459 | $63.68 |
| 13 | New Hampshire | $137,335 | $66.03 |
| 14 | New York | $135,290 | $65.04 |
| 15 | Delaware | $126,392 | $60.77 |
| 16 | Rhode Island | $123,951 | $59.59 |
| 17 | Texas | $127,867 | $61.47 |
| 18 | Maryland | $128,950 | $62.00 |
| 19 | Connecticut | $126,133 | $60.64 |
| 20 | Maine | $129,834 | $62.42 |
| 21 | District of Columbia | $126,094 | $60.62 |
| 22 | Hawaii | $126,592 | $60.86 |
| 23 | Indiana | $121,861 | $58.59 |
| 24 | Wyoming | $114,690 | $55.14 |
| 25 | North Carolina | $118,810 | $57.12 |
| 26 | Pennsylvania | $119,046 | $57.23 |
| 27 | Ohio | $117,403 | $56.44 |
| 28 | West Virginia | $104,831 | $50.40 |
| 29 | New Mexico | $113,771 | $54.70 |
| 30 | Louisiana | $108,075 | $51.96 |
| 31 | Montana | $110,200 | $52.98 |
| 32 | North Dakota | $113,501 | $54.57 |
| 33 | Wisconsin | $108,905 | $52.36 |
| 34 | Michigan | $115,346 | $55.45 |
| 35 | Colorado | $108,950 | $52.38 |
| 36 | Minnesota | $111,701 | $53.70 |
| 37 | Illinois | $111,845 | $53.77 |
| 38 | South Carolina | $104,794 | $50.38 |
| 39 | Oklahoma | $103,356 | $49.69 |
| 40 | Georgia | $109,143 | $52.47 |
| 41 | South Dakota | $98,525 | $47.37 |
| 42 | Alabama | $98,480 | $47.35 |
| 43 | Iowa | $107,166 | $51.52 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $104,409 | $50.20 |
| 45 | Mississippi | $97,396 | $46.83 |
| 46 | Nebraska | $104,265 | $50.13 |
| 47 | Tennessee | $101,688 | $48.89 |
| 48 | Kansas | $98,471 | $47.34 |
| 49 | Arkansas | $94,891 | $45.62 |
| 50 | Missouri | $98,657 | $47.43 |
| 51 | Florida | $94,846 | $45.60 |
Highest paying cities for software directors
The highest-paying cities for software directors are San Francisco, CA, Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ, and Boston, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $199,458 | $95.89 |
| 2 | Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ | $150,289 | $72.25 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $140,588 | $67.59 |
| 4 | Hillsboro, OR | $139,899 | $67.26 |
| 5 | New York, NY | $135,410 | $65.10 |
| 6 | Phoenix, AZ | $134,452 | $64.64 |
| 7 | Austin, TX | $130,109 | $62.55 |
| 8 | Germantown, MD | $128,697 | $61.87 |
| 9 | Washington, DC | $126,059 | $60.61 |
| 10 | Durham, NC | $121,365 | $58.35 |
| 11 | Philadelphia, PA | $119,591 | $57.50 |
| 12 | Detroit, MI | $115,916 | $55.73 |
| 13 | Chicago, IL | $112,572 | $54.12 |
| 14 | Minneapolis, MN | $111,700 | $53.70 |
| 15 | Cincinnati, OH | $111,527 | $53.62 |
| 16 | Marietta, GA | $109,074 | $52.44 |
| 17 | Denver, CO | $108,752 | $52.28 |
Software Director salary details
A software director's salary ranges from $103,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $218,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a software director's salary?
| Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $218,000 | $18,167 | $105 |
| 75th Percentile | $182,000 | $15,167 | $88 |
| Average | $150,380 | $12,532 | $72 |
| 25th Percentile | $123,000 | $10,250 | $59 |
| 10th Percentile | $103,000 | $8,583 | $50 |
Highest paying software director jobs
The highest paying types of software directors are director of software development, software engineering manager, and staff software engineer.
| Job Title | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Development Manager | $134,747 | $11,229 | $64.78 | 265,464 |
| Director Of Software Development | $158,853 | $13,238 | $76.37 | 136,310 |
| Principal Software Engineer | $134,230 | $11,186 | $64.53 | 345,893 |
| Software Systems Engineer | $107,102 | $8,925 | $51.49 | 370,518 |
| Software Engineer-Consultant | $113,987 | $9,499 | $54.80 | 317,033 |
| Lead Software Developer | $115,072 | $9,589 | $55.32 | 309,029 |
Top companies hiring software directors now:
Which companies pay software directors the most?
Software director salaries at NVIDIA and Rivian are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average software director salary at companies like Electronic Arts and Micron Technology are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NVIDIA | $228,648 | $109.93 |
| 2 | Rivian | $198,589 | $95.48 |
| 3 | Electronic Arts | $188,979 | $90.86 |
| 4 | Micron Technology | $184,708 | $88.80 |
| 5 | Gracenote | $178,740 | $85.93 |
| 6 | Intel | $175,096 | $84.18 |
| 7 | Amazon | $174,105 | $83.70 |
| 8 | General Electric | $173,214 | $83.28 |
| 9 | Workday | $169,217 | $81.35 |
| 10 | Solectron Corp | $167,490 | $80.52 |
| 11 | IntegriChain | $164,772 | $79.22 |
| 12 | ARM | $163,043 | $78.39 |
| 13 | The Oregon Clinic | $162,694 | $78.22 |
| 14 | Millennium Trust | $161,133 | $77.47 |
| 15 | Recruit | $158,884 | $76.39 |
| 16 | Honeywell | $157,782 | $75.86 |
| 17 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $154,701 | $74.38 |
| 18 | SiTime | $152,216 | $73.18 |
| 19 | Robert Half | $151,093 | $72.64 |
| 20 | Cooper Lighting LLC | $146,772 | $70.56 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Software Director salary by industry
The average software director salary varies across industries:
- The average software director salary in the start-up industry is $160,403, the highest of any industry.
- The average software director salary in the finance industry is $157,925.
- Software directors in the health care industry earn an average salary of $127,339, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for software directors
| Rank | Industry | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start-up | $160,403 | $77.12 |
| 2 | Technology | $157,925 | $75.93 |
| 3 | Professional | $153,481 | $73.79 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $135,929 | $65.35 |
| 5 | Health Care | $127,339 | $61.22 |
High Paying Software Director Jobs
Software Director salary trends
The average software director salary has risen by $27,917 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average software director earned $122,463 annually, but today, they earn $150,380 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for software directors over the last decade.
Compare software director salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average software director salary over time
Compare software director salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Software Director salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $150,000 | $72.30 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $145,000 | $69.92 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $142,000 | $68.33 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | $140,000 | $67.13 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $137,000 | $66.00 | +1.8% |
Recently added software director salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Aerospace Corporation | Director of Vehicle System Software | Chantilly, VA | 12/13/2024 | $168,200 |
| The Aerospace Corporation | Director of Vehicle System Software | El Segundo, CA | 12/13/2024 | $168,200 |
| Magic Leap | Director, Calibration Software | Sunnyvale, CA | 12/11/2024 | $148,000 |
| Peyton Resource Group | Software Engineering Director-Networking, Embedded SW | Plano, TX | 12/11/2024 | $170,000 |
| DXC Technology | Insurance Software Sales Director-Life & Wealth Any US Location | Bay City, TX | 11/21/2024 | $132,500 |
| Skyworks Solutions, Inc. | Director-Software/Firmware | Hillsboro, OR | 11/21/2024 | $166,600 |
| Skyworks | Director-Software/Firmware | Hillsboro, OR | 11/21/2024 | $166,600 |
| DXC | Insurance Software Sales Director-Life & Wealth Any US Location | Nome, TX | 10/24/2024 | $275,300 |
| Insulet Corporation | Director, Data Cloud Software (Remote/Flexible) | Acton, CA | 10/24/2024 | $187,220 |
| Qualcomm | Chipset Software PE, Director | Ione, OR | 10/24/2024 | $207,600 |
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