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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

15-1131 Computer Programmers

Create, modify, and test the code, forms, and script that allow computer applications to run. Work from specifications drawn up by software developers or other individuals. May assist software developers by analyzing user needs and designing software solutions. May develop and write computer programs to store, locate, and retrieve specific documents, data, and information.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3) 		Mean hourly
wage		 Mean annual
wage (2) 		Wage RSE (3)
230,470 2.4 % $43.07 $89,580 1.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median) 		75% 90%
Hourly Wage $23.46 $30.97 $40.52 $52.46 $64.73
Annual Wage (2) $48,790 $64,410 $84,280 $109,120 $134,630

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Computer Systems Design and Related Services 93,370 4.46 $43.05 $89,550
Software Publishers 16,510 4.19 $50.55 $105,150
Management of Companies and Enterprises 9,910 0.42 $41.95 $87,250
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 6,640 0.30 $37.14 $77,250
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 6,480 0.21 $35.67 $74,200

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Computer Systems Design and Related Services 93,370 4.46 $43.05 $89,550
Software Publishers 16,510 4.19 $50.55 $105,150
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services 6,460 2.03 $43.00 $89,450
Other Information Services 2,100 0.71 $46.03 $95,730
Scientific Research and Development Services 4,560 0.68 $49.25 $102,440

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nonresidential Building Construction (8) (8) $62.26 $129,510
Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services 780 0.36 $54.08 $112,480
Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media 40 0.33 $53.68 $111,660
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities 2,060 0.22 $53.49 $111,270
Natural Gas Distribution 410 0.38 $52.52 $109,250

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 29,740 1.75 1.10 $46.86 $97,470
Texas 20,960 1.73 1.09 $44.22 $91,970
New York 15,380 1.64 1.03 $43.87 $91,250
Illinois 11,350 1.89 1.19 $44.16 $91,860
Florida 10,390 1.21 0.76 $37.93 $78,890




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alabama 7,750 3.99 2.50 $41.99 $87,340
Washington 9,670 2.97 1.86 $61.02 $126,920
Nebraska 2,430 2.48 1.56 $36.80 $76,540
Connecticut 4,110 2.48 1.56 $44.89 $93,370
Delaware 1,110 2.47 1.55 $38.59 $80,260




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Washington 9,670 2.97 1.86 $61.02 $126,920
District of Columbia 1,090 1.53 0.96 $50.58 $105,200
California 29,740 1.75 1.10 $46.86 $97,470
Arizona 3,320 1.19 0.75 $46.10 $95,900
Massachusetts 4,420 1.24 0.78 $45.85 $95,380





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 17,380 1.83 1.15 $44.60 $92,770
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 9,390 1.53 0.96 $44.66 $92,900
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 9,280 2.60 1.63 $47.02 $97,810
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 8,950 4.51 2.83 $62.16 $129,290
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 8,790 1.89 1.19 $45.17 $93,950
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 7,560 2.41 1.51 $47.11 $97,980
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 6,350 2.63 1.65 $50.90 $105,880
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 6,020 2.11 1.33 $44.18 $91,890
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 4,670 1.57 0.98 $43.75 $90,990
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 4,380 1.63 1.02 $46.23 $96,170