Software Engineer salary in Charleston, SC

Based on 49 certified H-1B filings in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes North Charleston, Summerville, Ladson, Ridgeville, Mount Pleasant.

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

Median salary$125,840
Middle 50%$104k–$150.6k
vs. national median−10%comparison median $139,194
Filings49FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $79,685 and $209,477.
PercentileSalary
10th$100,451
25th$104,000
50th (median)$125,840
75th$150,550
90th$180,000

Salary by year

Median salary

$70k $110k $150k FY2020: median $79,250 (72 filings) FY2021: median $80,500 (32 filings) FY2022: median $85,952 (56 filings) FY2023: median $85,904 (51 filings) FY2024: median $101,000 (37 filings) FY2025: median $134,634 (28 filings) FY2026: median $115,000 (21 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 72 filings FY20 FY2021: 32 filings FY21 FY2022: 56 filings FY22 FY2023: 51 filings FY23 FY2024: 37 filings FY24 FY2025: 28 filings FY25 FY2026: 21 filings FY26 72
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$79,250$77,834$101,25072
FY2021$80,500$74,298$93,66932
FY2022$85,952$67,933$122,62556
FY2023$85,904$80,400$101,92051
FY2024$101,000$91,603$143,99837
FY2025$134,634$106,257$167,06528
FY2026$115,000$102,627$130,00021

Cost of living

Charleston's median Software Engineer salary of $125,840 is worth about $124,600 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Charleston = 101.0).

Compared with all workers here

All Software Developers in the Charleston, SC area earned a median of $132,150 in May 2025 (2,050 employed). The H-1B median here is $125,840, 5% lower.

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
Nagarrotoo few4
Amazontoo few2
Capgemini Americatoo few2
EnCharge AItoo few2
Gnosis Companiestoo few2
Mra Global Techtoo few2
V-Work Infotech Solutionstoo few2
Volvo Cartoo few2

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 $104,500 20
Senior · Level III $137,000 15
Expert · Level IV too few 2

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Mid-level · Level II$102,627$104,50020
Senior · Level III$122,117$137,00015

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.