Expert Software Engineer salary in Winston-Salem, NC

Based on 28 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the Winston-Salem, NC metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Winston Salem, Lewisville, Clemmons, Kernersville, Advance.

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

Median salary$148,242
Middle 50%$148.2k–$160.9k
vs. all levels here+17%comparison median $127,067
Filings28FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $142,563 and $211,499.
PercentileSalary
10th$142,563
25th$148,242
50th (median)$148,242
75th$160,907
90th$165,548

Salary by year

Median salary

$100k $130k $160k FY2020: median $117,790 (40 filings) FY2021: median $118,498 (19 filings) FY2022: median $125,000 (23 filings) FY2023: median $129,605 (25 filings) FY2025: median $148,242 (19 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 40 filings FY20 FY2021: 19 filings FY21 FY2022: 23 filings FY22 FY2023: 25 filings FY23 FY2024: 7 filings FY24 FY2025: 19 filings FY25 FY2026: 9 filings FY26 40
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$117,790$117,790$118,49840
FY2021$118,498$118,498$120,00019
FY2022$125,000$120,000$140,50223
FY2023$129,605$129,605$141,00325
FY2024–––7
FY2025$148,242$144,384$161,02619
FY2026–––9

Cost of living

Winston-Salem's median expert Software Engineer salary of $148,242 is worth about $161,100 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Winston-Salem = 92.0).

Compared with all workers here

All Software Developers in the Winston-Salem, NC area earned a median of $124,130 in May 2025 (1,050 employed). The H-1B median here is $148,242, 19% 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
Herbalife International of America$154,12116

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 $105,957 36
Senior · Level III $127,134 22
Expert · Level IV $148,242 28

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$103,584$105,95736
Senior · Level III$123,074$127,13422
Expert · Level IV$148,242$148,24228

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.