Expert Software Engineer salary in Philadelphia, PA

Based on 1,158 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV 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$157,500
Middle 50%$150.7k–$174.2k
vs. all levels here+28%comparison median $123,000
Filings1,158FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $145,312 and $244,715.
PercentileSalary
10th$146,078
25th$150,741
50th (median)$157,500
75th$174,207
90th$194,406

Salary by year

Median salary

$110k $145k $180k FY2020: median $122,331 (728 filings) FY2021: median $125,000 (668 filings) FY2022: median $133,838 (1,046 filings) FY2023: median $140,046 (703 filings) FY2024: median $146,968 (612 filings) FY2025: median $154,420 (724 filings) FY2026: median $162,498 (434 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 728 filings FY20 FY2021: 668 filings FY21 FY2022: 1,046 filings FY22 FY2023: 703 filings FY23 FY2024: 612 filings FY24 FY2025: 724 filings FY25 FY2026: 434 filings FY26 1,046
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$122,331$119,662$135,000728
FY2021$125,000$121,909$140,000668
FY2022$133,838$124,883$148,0001,046
FY2023$140,046$133,000$155,000703
FY2024$146,968$140,046$161,154612
FY2025$154,420$146,100$170,311724
FY2026$162,498$153,358$178,000434

Cost of living

Philadelphia's median expert Software Engineer salary of $157,500 is worth about $153,600 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 $157,500, 18% 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
JPMorgan Chase$167,200254
Comcast$146,078124
SEI Investments Company$157,50064
The Vanguard Group$157,90358
Deloitte$153,35839
Bank of America$154,50026
Capital One$162,10025
Susquehanna International Group$146,10023
Citi$164,16218
Oracle$153,35815

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.