Software Engineer salary in Philadelphia, PA

Based on 5,323 certified H-1B filings in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Wilmington, Malvern, Newark, Exton, West Chester.

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

Median salary$123,000
Middle 50%$105.3k–$146.8k
vs. national median−12%comparison median $139,194
Filings5,323FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $84,781 and $214,801.
PercentileSalary
10th$88,100
25th$105,300
50th (median)$123,000
75th$146,800
90th$165,288

Salary by year

Median salary

$80k $105k $130k FY2020: median $94,182 (5,113 filings) FY2021: median $100,000 (4,325 filings) FY2022: median $108,493 (4,341 filings) FY2023: median $109,109 (3,258 filings) FY2024: median $105,473 (3,262 filings) FY2025: median $123,000 (3,240 filings) FY2026: median $123,706 (2,083 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 5,113 filings FY20 FY2021: 4,325 filings FY21 FY2022: 4,341 filings FY22 FY2023: 3,258 filings FY23 FY2024: 3,262 filings FY24 FY2025: 3,240 filings FY25 FY2026: 2,083 filings FY26 5,113
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$94,182$87,485$111,0005,113
FY2021$100,000$89,773$120,0004,325
FY2022$108,493$92,082$126,0004,341
FY2023$109,109$95,701$132,3303,258
FY2024$105,473$100,069$140,0463,262
FY2025$123,000$105,206$146,0783,240
FY2026$123,706$109,845$153,2002,083

Cost of living

Philadelphia's median Software Engineer salary of $123,000 is worth about $119,900 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Philadelphia = 102.6).

Compared with all workers here

All Software Developers in the Philadelphia, PA area earned a median of $133,040 in May 2025 (28,480 employed). The H-1B median here is $123,000, 8% 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
JPMorgan Chase$153,600445
Comcast$127,078280
Deloitte$109,845179
The Vanguard Group$149,911108
SEI Investments Company$154,50085
Capgemini America$134,63382
Compunnel Software Group$110,00064
Susquehanna International Group$88,10064
Randstad$130,00058
EY$155,56656

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $88,088 790
Mid-level · Level II $109,845 2,130
Senior · Level III $135,200 764
Expert · Level IV $157,500 1,158

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$84,781$88,088790
Mid-level · Level II$109,845$109,8452,130
Senior · Level III$125,653$135,200764
Expert · Level IV$146,078$157,5001,158

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.