Computer Programmers · SOC 15-1251

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Computer Programmerss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for computer programmers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (16 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 207 metro areas

Computer Programmers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Boulder, CO	$155,030	Not published	Not published
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$154,920	980	0.9
3	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$141,920	1,150	1.9
4	Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	$136,880	490	1.8
5	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$134,130	1,600	1.0
6	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$132,850	90	0.9
7	Bend, OR	$132,280	90	0.8
8	Portland-South Portland, ME	$131,960	190	0.6
9	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$130,790	Not published	Not published
10	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$130,730	2,440	1.0
11	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$130,390	2,680	0.9
12	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$128,900	1,600	0.6
13	Kahului-Wailuku, HI	$128,240	40	0.6
14	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$126,750	6,670	0.7
15	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$125,240	Not published	Not published
16	Visalia, CA	$121,710	40	0.2
17	Naples-Marco Island, FL	$119,330	Not published	Not published
18	Worcester, MA	$119,010	90	0.3
19	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$118,000	1,570	0.8
20	Colorado Springs, CO	$117,020	60	0.2
21	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	$116,370	Not published	Not published
22	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$114,110	90	0.7
23	Corvallis, OR	$113,950	30	0.9
24	Iowa City, IA	$113,590	100	1.1
25	Lexington Park, MD	$112,990	110	1.6

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Computer Programmers overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.