Boulder, CO · CBSA 14500
Software Engineer Salary in Boulder
VerifiedPublished metro-area wages for software engineers in Boulder, CO, from the BLS OEWS May 2024 release — with the local distribution set against Colorado and the national benchmark.
Software Engineers in Boulder earn a median of $159,670 per year, per BLS OEWS May 2024. The middle 50% earn $123,310–$206,980; the top 10% earn at least $239,200. That is 20% above the national median and 19% above the Colorado median. BLS reports 7,790 employed locally.
Median wage
Verified$159,670
+20% vs national
Top 10% earn
≥$239,200
BLS topcodes at this level
Employed in metro
7,790
Reliability High (5% RSE)
Software Engineer pay — Boulder vs Colorado vs national
All three distributions are published BLS percentiles on a single shared scale.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileentry / low | $97,930 | +23% |
| 25th percentile | $123,310 | +20% |
| Median50th percentile | $159,670 | +20% |
| 75th percentile | $206,980 | +22% |
| 90th percentiletop earners | ≥$239,200 | +13% |
| Meanaverage | $186,270 | +29% |
How concentrated software engineers are in Boulder
Location quotient compares local concentration to the national rate. Above 1.00 means this metro employs the occupation more densely than the country overall.
Location quotient
3.71
Jobs per 1,000
39.83
Metro rank (pay)
#6 of 381
All engineering roles
$144,540
At a location quotient of 3.71, Boulder is a genuine hub for this discipline — the occupation is roughly 3.7× as concentrated here as nationally, which usually means deeper employer competition and more lateral options.
Frequently asked questions
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Source details
Published wage from BLS OEWS May 2024 for SOC 15-1252 (Software Developers), Boulder, CO (metro area).
Benchmarks come from published government wage data via BLS OEWS. Local and emerging-role figures are labeled estimates. Full methodology →