Software Developers in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$93,576
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$35,234
27.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$98,499
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$128,810
Kept after tax
$93,576
Worth in national money
$98,499
State rank
25
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Utah is 25 of 50 states for software developers, with a middle wage of $128,810. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Utah. It ranks 24 out of 487 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $128,810 you keep $93,576 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $98,499 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $129,860, since top earners drag the number up.
- Utah ranks 25 of 50 for software developers at $128,810. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Utah, software developers ranks 24 of 487 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Utah is $93,576 after the full tax stack, from $128,810. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $98,499 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $129,860 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Software Developers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $128,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $177,970 |
| This salary | $128,810 |
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 Utah | $93,576 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,308 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,696 |
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 | $120,463 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,255 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of software developers in Utah earn under $128,810 and half over. The published range runs $77,810 at the tenth percentile to $177,970 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $93,576, from $128,810, 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 24 of 487 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $98,499 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 24.
- Figures are distribution medians for software developers in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $77,810 to $177,970; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $93,576 from $128,810. 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 24 of 487 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $98,499, worked from $128,810, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 24 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $77,810, the highest tenth $177,970, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $98,499.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Utah adds its own income tax on top — which is why $93,576 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($77,810) and the ninetieth ($177,970) 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?
Utah'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 $98,499 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 $93,576 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.