Software Engineer salary in Burlington, NC

Based on 25 certified H-1B filings in the Burlington, NC metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Mebane, Graham.

Also listed as: Software Developer, Software Development Engineer, SDE

Median salary$135,179
Middle 50%$110k–$154.9k
vs. national median−3%comparison median $139,194
Filings25FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $87,204 and $187,114.
PercentileSalary
10th$97,872
25th$110,050
50th (median)$135,179
75th$154,877
90th$160,505

Salary by year

Median salary

$70k $110k $150k FY2020: median $87,597 (52 filings) FY2021: median $94,736 (32 filings) FY2022: median $105,248 (35 filings) FY2023: median $121,742 (19 filings) FY2025: median $138,606 (18 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 52 filings FY20 FY2021: 32 filings FY21 FY2022: 35 filings FY22 FY2023: 19 filings FY23 FY2024: 9 filings FY24 FY2025: 18 filings FY25 FY2026: 7 filings FY26 52
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$87,597$79,456$113,14052
FY2021$94,736$88,000$115,42232
FY2022$105,248$89,887$127,35635
FY2023$121,742$107,994$132,61619
FY2024–––9
FY2025$138,606$110,542$154,87718
FY2026–––7

Cost of living

Burlington's median Software Engineer salary of $135,179 is worth about $145,000 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Burlington = 93.2).

Compared with all workers here

All Software Developers in the Burlington, NC area earned a median of $127,570 in May 2025 (270 employed). The H-1B median here is $135,179, 6% higher.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings$135,17915

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I – 0
Mid-level · Level II – 0
Senior · Level III too few 6
Expert · Level IV $154,877 11

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Expert · Level IV$133,661$154,87711

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.