It’s no secret that professionals in the tech industry make some of the highest salaries in the country. U.S. tech salaries vary widely, but they are by far some of the highest across all industries. Data indicates that tech workers make anywhere from 20% to 85% more than the average salary throughout the United States.
Because of the disparity in costs of living throughout American cities, tech salaries have to vary widely and—depending on their location— a software engineer can get more bang for their buck.
In 2022, Shrm reported that tech salaries were now commonly breaking the six figure mark. The biggest pay raise went to the web developers, who saw a 21.3 percent increase between 2020 to 2021. Of course salaries vary by seniority and experience, especially in certain specialized positions that require high-level training.
Source: PayScale
Given the conversation surrounding the tech layoffs and all the uncertainties that come with it, new salary transparency laws provide some clarity on just how much some of these top tech professionals are making in some areas of the U.S. by the biggest companies. The idea is that job seekers can see the ranges offered by other companies as they apply for jobs.
New Salary Transparency Laws Provide Insight Into High Tech Salaries
Certain states are now required to post salary ranges on their job ads. Starting January 1st, California and Washington joined the ranks of New York City and Colorado in requiring transparent salary ranges in ads. Comprehensive.io, a salary tracker started by Roger Lee, who also started the layoffs.fyi, offers some a quick way to view some of the highest-paying salaries by job role and location.
The salary tracker posts the shared salary ranges by companies in the states and localities that require salary transparency. The top salaries, for example, for software engineers in the top companies in California and New York City look a little like this:
One detail to note: Some of the listed salary ranges include the full compensation package with benefits, equity, and perks and some just list the base pay.
One critique is that some companies get around the transparency laws by posting big salary ranges that muddle the actual salary offered. The thinking behind the laws is to encourage companies to be more forthcoming about what they are willing to offer for a position and making it easier for the applicants to know where they stand. These laws, however, has supporters and critics alike and are only seen in a few areas.
U.S. tech salaries, vary widely within the country. In nearshoring markets like Mexico, salaries also vary by region. Emerging talent has seen some rise in their salaries, but they are still well below the average U.S. tech salary. Want to learn about tech salaries in Mexico? Our tech salaries report dives into Mexico’s burgeoning tech ecosystem.
