Software Developers in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$93,878
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$32,672
25.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$96,285
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$126,550
Kept after tax
$93,878
Worth in national money
$96,285
State rank
26
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 26 of 50 states for software developers, with a middle wage of $126,550. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Pennsylvania this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, software developers ranks 25 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $126,550 the take-home is $93,878, which is worth about $96,285 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $128,110, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania ranks 26 of 50 for software developers at $126,550. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Pennsylvania publishes a median for, software developers sits 25 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for software developers on its $126,550 median: $93,878 retained after tax becomes $96,285 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $128,110 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Software Developers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $126,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $178,080 |
| This salary | $126,550 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Pennsylvania | $93,878 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $97,763 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,320 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $120,892 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,102 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $126,550 as a midpoint for Pennsylvania, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $77,750 and the ninetieth is $178,080 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $93,878, from $126,550, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 25 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $96,285 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 25.
- The Pennsylvania median of $126,550 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $77,750 to $178,080. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $93,878 from $126,550. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 25 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $96,285, worked from $126,550, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 25 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $77,750 and the top tenth $178,080 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $96,285 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Pennsylvania's own levy, $93,878 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($77,750) and the ninetieth ($178,080) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $96,285 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $93,878 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.