Expert Software Engineer salary in Seattle, WA

Based on 3,954 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Bothell, Issaquah.

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

Median salary$217,450
Middle 50%$212.2k–$234k
vs. all levels here+29%comparison median $168,376
Filings3,954FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $190,486 and $330,000.
PercentileSalary
10th$190,486
25th$212,202
50th (median)$217,450
75th$234,000
90th$263,328

Salary by year

Median salary

$160k $200k $240k FY2020: median $181,300 (1,244 filings) FY2021: median $185,000 (1,496 filings) FY2022: median $195,000 (2,475 filings) FY2023: median $200,494 (1,814 filings) FY2024: median $207,515 (2,015 filings) FY2025: median $212,946 (2,231 filings) FY2026: median $221,902 (1,723 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 1,244 filings FY20 FY2021: 1,496 filings FY21 FY2022: 2,475 filings FY22 FY2023: 1,814 filings FY23 FY2024: 2,015 filings FY24 FY2025: 2,231 filings FY25 FY2026: 1,723 filings FY26 2,475
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$181,300$156,000$198,7441,244
FY2021$185,000$164,417$200,0001,496
FY2022$195,000$175,000$210,2602,475
FY2023$200,494$182,312$216,6211,814
FY2024$207,515$190,486$224,5082,015
FY2025$212,946$190,923$226,9352,231
FY2026$221,902$212,202$242,2431,723

Cost of living

Seattle's median expert Software Engineer salary of $217,450 is worth about $195,700 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Seattle = 111.1).

Compared with all workers here

All Software Developers in the Seattle, WA area earned a median of $167,280 in May 2025 (92,770 employed). The H-1B median here is $217,450, 30% 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
Microsoft$220,487818
Meta$222,216618
Apple$197,400275
Amazon$219,500246
NVIDIA$212,202123
Google$221,500114
Salesforce$248,62486
Uber$221,60076
Snowflake$212,20275
TikTok$274,00068

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $129,000 5,322
Mid-level · Level II $161,735 11,398
Senior · Level III $187,595 6,255
Expert · Level IV $217,450 3,954

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$110,635$129,0005,322
Mid-level · Level II$149,240$161,73511,398
Senior · Level III$163,862$187,5956,255
Expert · Level IV$212,202$217,4503,954

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.