Software Developers salary in Salem, OR

Median pay for software developers in Salem, OR: $106,600/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $78,610 – $158,610 · about 1,050 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($111,055) by −$4,455 (-4%).

What it's really worth in Salem

With Salem's cost of living at 102 (US=100), that $106,600 has the buying power of about $104,042 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $72,154 · median home $454,689 · median rent $1,628/mo.

Full Salem cost of living & taxes →

How Salem ranks for this job

On raw pay, Salem, OR is 116th of the 186 metros we hold software developers wages for. Once Salem's cost of living is applied, it ranks 170th.

The headline number flatters Salem. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, software developers here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.

What that salary buys in Salem

A median home in Salem, OR costs $454,689 — about 4.3× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,628/mo works out at 18% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.

Where software developers earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Salem.

Metro	Median pay	vs Salem	Rent vs Salem
San Jose, CA	$199,100	+87%	2.2×
San Francisco, CA	$172,340	+62%	2×
Seattle, WA	$167,030	+57%	1.4×
Santa Maria, CA	$154,200	+45%	2.1×

Same job elsewhere in OR

Metro	Median pay	vs Salem	Rent vs Salem
Portland, OR	$132,870	+25%	1.1×
Eugene, OR	$113,490	+6%	1.1×

Staying in OR keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

Other jobs in Salem