Expert Software Engineer salary in Burlington, NC

Based on 11 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the Burlington, NC metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Mebane, Graham.

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

Median salary$154,877
Middle 50%$138.6k–$158k
vs. all levels here+15%comparison median $135,179
Filings11FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $135,179 and $189,591.
PercentileSalary
10th$135,179
25th$138,606
50th (median)$154,877
75th$157,998
90th$173,666

Salary by year

Median salary

$100k $120k $140k FY2020: median $121,722 (21 filings) FY2021: median $118,000 (12 filings) FY2022: median $127,110 (14 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 21 filings FY20 FY2021: 12 filings FY21 FY2022: 14 filings FY22 FY2023: 8 filings FY23 FY2024: 4 filings FY24 FY2025: 8 filings FY25 FY2026: 3 filings FY26 21
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$121,722$111,446$130,00021
FY2021$118,000$112,060$122,88112
FY2022$127,110$108,936$137,24814
FY2023–––8
FY2024–––4
FY2025–––8
FY2026–––3

Cost of living

Burlington's median expert Software Engineer salary of $154,877 is worth about $166,200 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 $154,877, 21% higher.

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

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdingstoo few8

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.