Software Engineer Salaries: Seattle Area vs. Bay Area

Compare software engineer salary records in the Seattle area and major Bay Area cities using public compensation records. The Seattle-area group includes Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland. The Bay Area group includes San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, San Jose, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Redwood City, and Fremont.

This report focuses on reported base salary for software engineer records. It does not include equity, bonuses, benefits, remote-work policy, cost of living, or company-specific leveling. Use it as a location research starting point, then inspect the underlying records for comparable employers, years, and title wording.

Summary

Recent Records

136,712

Software engineer public salary records from 2023 to 2025.

Recent Average

$162,592

Average base salary across recent matching records.

Markets

2

Seattle-area and Bay Area city groups.

Location Comparison

The chart uses recent records from 2023 to 2025 so the comparison reflects the current dataset more closely. The all-years line keeps the longer historical record visible without making older data drive the main comparison.

Seattle Area

12,589 recent records Recent median $173,195

Seattle Bellevue Redmond Kirkland

Observed recent range: $65,000 to $2,220,000 All years: 56,816 records, median $147,101, average $153,015

Recent 25th $152,099 Recent average $180,352 Recent 75th $203,020

Bay Area

33,992 recent records Recent median $192,868

San Francisco Sunnyvale Mountain View San Jose Palo Alto Menlo Park Cupertino Santa Clara Redwood City Fremont

Observed recent range: $60,000 to $3,030,000 All years: 157,588 records, median $160,000, average $167,056

Recent 25th $170,000 Recent average $201,914 Recent 75th $226,360

Data Coverage

Year Range

2014 to 2026

Years currently represented in this location comparison.

Sources

H-1B filings: 608,393 records

Public compensation records vary by source. H-1B filings are strongest for base salary research, while public payroll disclosures may reflect a different slice of the labor market.

How To Read This Comparison

A higher salary range in one market does not automatically mean better take-home value. Cost of living, equity, taxes, seniority, employer mix, and remote-work rules can all change the practical comparison. The strongest use of this page is to identify the records and locations worth deeper research before interviews or negotiations.

Search The Records

Use the search tool to inspect individual software engineer records by employer, city, state, and year.

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