Programmer salary: $158K median
The median advertised Programmer salary is $158K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $116K to $226K: counted from 60 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range: about $76 an hour or $13,167 a month. A tenth of the postings offer $256K or more. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
Check an offer against these figuresAll programmer jobs
$158Kmedian advertised salary
$116K – $226Kmiddle half of roles
$168Kaverage advertised salary
60roles counted
Programmer salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $216K, 37% more than senior roles ($158K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $158K | $116K–$226K | 28 |
| Lead and above | $216K | $175K–$256K | 15 |
| No level in the title | $100K | $94K–$130K | 17 |
Skills that pay more for Programmer roles
| Skill | Median with it | Above the median | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unreal Engine | $226K | +$68K | 13 |
| C++ | $226K | +$68K | 14 |
| Python | $196K | +$38K | 14 |
| Statistics | $188K | +$30K | 7 |
| GCP | $188K | +$30K | 7 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Epic Games | $226K | 13 |
| Veeva | $140K | 3 |
| Ensono | $106K | 16 |
Highest-paying open Programmer roles
All programmer jobs- Principal Backend Programmer (Developer Platform)Epic Games · BLANK,BLANK,Multiple Locations$223K - $360KLead and aboveGoPythonGCP
- Senior Software Programmer, Audio EngineEpic Games · BLANK,BLANK,Multiple Locations$214K - $345KSeniorC++Unreal Engine
- Senior Director, Head of Statistical ProgrammingKardigan · 🇺🇸Princeton, New Jersey, United States$248K - $323KLead and aboveRGitRegulatory compliance
- Systems Research Engineer, GPU ProgrammingTogether AI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$200K - $300KCUDAReinforcement learningGPU programming
- Principal Physics Engine Programmer, C++ (Modeling & Simulation)Code Metal · Remote$250K - $290KRemoteLead and aboveC++SAP
- Associate Director/Director of Statistical ProgrammingBridgeBio Pharma · 🇺🇸Remote - USA$242K - $269KRemoteLead and above
- Senior Graphics Programmer, Mobile (iOS/Android)PlayStation Global · 🇺🇸United States, San Diego, CA$172K - $258KSeniorPythonC++iOS
- Associate Director, Statistical ProgrammingTango Therapeutics · 🇺🇸Boston, MA$172K - $258KLead and abovePythonSQLR
- Director, Statistical ProgrammingKardigan · 🇺🇸South San Francisco, California, United States, Princeton…$183K - $250KLead and aboveRGitPRDs
- Staff Physics Engine Programmer, C++ (Modeling & Simulation)Code Metal · Remote$200K - $250KRemoteLead and aboveC++SAP
- Patient Ambassador Programming Lead (Associate Director level)Praxis Precision Medicines · 🇺🇸United States - Remote$205K - $228KRemoteLead and aboveSuccessFactors
- Senior NC ProgrammerAnduril Industries · 🇺🇸Santa Ana, California, United States$132K - $220KSeniorComputer VisionSensor fusionCNC machining
- Senior Graphics ProgrammerPlayStation Global · 🇺🇸United States, San Diego, CA$139K - $208KSeniorPythonC++C#
- Director, Mainframe Systems ProgrammingEnsono · 🇺🇸Remote - United States$135K - $205KRemoteLead and above
- Senior Manager, Statistical ProgrammingImmunome, Inc. · 🇺🇸US Remote$176K - $201KRemoteSeniorGCPAgileData quality
- Senior Consultant - Clinical Data ProgrammingVeeva · 🇺🇸North Carolina - Raleigh$80K - $200KRemoteSeniorPythonSQL
- Senior Consultant - Clinical Data ProgrammingVeeva · 🇺🇸Massachusetts - Boston$80K - $200KRemoteSeniorPythonSQL
- Associate Director, Statistical ProgrammingKailera Therapeutics, Inc. · 🇺🇸US-Remote$159K - $195KRemoteLead and aboveGCPRegulatory complianceClinical trials
- Associate Director, Statistical ProgrammingDefinium Therapeutics · Remote$155K - $195KRemoteLead and aboveClinical trialsProject managementStatistics
- Principal Clinical Database Systems ProgrammerBridgeBio Pharma · 🇺🇸Remote - USA$172K - $189KRemoteLead and abovePythonSQLGCP
Questions about Programmer pay
- What is the average Programmer salary?
- $168K a year on average and $158K at the median, across 60 open Programmer postings at companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.
- What is the typical range?
- The middle half of the postings offer $116K to $226K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Programmer pay?
- Epic Games ($226K), Veeva ($140K), Ensono ($106K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Is a programmer a high-paying job?
- The median Programmer posting advertises $158K a year, less than the median of all 55,899 job postings with pay on Jobs Every Hour ($174K). That is 9% below the middle of the market.
- How much can you earn as a programmer?
- A tenth of the postings offer $256K a year or more; the highest open Programmer role advertises up to $360K. Pay rises with level: see the table by level.
- What is the Programmer salary per hour and per month?
- The median of $158K a year is about $76 an hour (2,080 working hours) and $13,167 a month before tax. The middle half of postings: $56 to $109 an hour.
- Which skills pay more for Programmer roles?
- Postings that ask for Unreal Engine (+$68K, 13 postings), C++ (+$68K, 14 postings), Python (+$38K, 14 postings) advertise more than the $158K median of all Programmer postings with pay.
- Where do these figures come from?
- From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.
Writing about this? A sentence you can quote
The median advertised salary for Programmer roles at companies is $158K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $116K to $226K. Counted from 60 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Jobs Every Hour, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/programmer/
Free to use with the link.