Expert Software Engineer salary in Santa Maria, CA

Based on 14 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, La Jolla, Ste. 100.

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

Median salary$198,000
Middle 50%$190k–$209.9k
vs. all levels here+27%comparison median $156,229
Filings14FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $184,000 and $229,740.
PercentileSalary
10th$185,103
25th$190,000
50th (median)$198,000
75th$209,884
90th$227,820

Salary by year

Median salary

$120k $140k $160k FY2020: median $137,500 (11 filings) FY2021: median $150,500 (16 filings) FY2022: median $149,427 (15 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 11 filings FY20 FY2021: 16 filings FY21 FY2022: 15 filings FY22 FY2023: 8 filings FY23 FY2024: 4 filings FY24 FY2025: 8 filings FY25 FY2026: 6 filings FY26 16
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$137,500$122,000$164,00011
FY2021$150,500$142,250$170,81316
FY2022$149,427$143,593$155,50015
FY2023–––8
FY2024–––4
FY2025–––8
FY2026–––6

Cost of living

Santa Maria's median expert Software Engineer salary of $198,000 is worth about $182,000 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Santa Maria = 108.8).

Compared with all workers here

All Software Developers in the Santa Maria, CA area earned a median of $158,290 in May 2025 (1,680 employed). The H-1B median here is $198,000, 25% 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
NVIDIAtoo few3
Deckers Outdoortoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $120,000 16
Mid-level · Level II $150,218 21
Senior · Level III $160,659 11
Expert · Level IV $198,000 14

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$106,621$120,00016
Mid-level · Level II$132,350$150,21821
Senior · Level III$156,229$160,65911
Expert · Level IV$180,128$198,00014

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.