Principal Software Developer Salary
$94.5K - $103K
9% of jobs
$103K - $111.5K
8% of jobs
$111.5K - $120K
7% of jobs
$123K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$120K - $128.5K
5% of jobs
$128.5K - $137K
10% of jobs
The median wage is $143.8K / yr.
$137K - $145.5K
15% of jobs
$145.5K - $154K
22% of jobs
$154.3K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$154K - $162.5K
13% of jobs
$162.5K - $171K
5% of jobs
$171K - $179.5K
2% of jobs
$179.5K - $188K
5% of jobs
$94.5K
$144K
$186K
$141,171
/year
$67.87
/hour
Principal Software Developer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$141,171
Columbus
Ohio
$136,357
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How much does a Principal Software Developer make?
As of Jun 11, 2026, the average annual pay for a Principal Software Developer in the United States is $141,171 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $67.87 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,714/week or $11,764/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $186,000 and as low as $94,500, the majority of Principal Software Developer salaries currently range between $123,500 (25th percentile) to $155,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $177,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Principal Software Developer varies little (about 31500), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.
A Principal Software Developer in your area makes on average $136,357 per year, or $4,814 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $141,171. Ohio ranks number 41 out of 50 states nationwide for Principal Software Developer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Principal Software Developer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Principal Software Developer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Principal Software Developer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Principal Software Developer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Pennington County, SD, , with Milford, CT, and Great Barrington, MA, close behind in the second and third positions. Great Barrington, MA, beats the national average by $42,717 (30.3%), and Pennington County, SD, furthers that trend with another $55,727 (39.5%) above the $141,171 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Principal Software Developer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 12% between Pennington County, SD, and Nantucket, MA, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for a Principal Software Developer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Pennington County, SD | $196,898 | $94.66 |
Milford, CT | $185,789 | $89.32 |
Great Barrington, MA | $183,888 | $88.41 |
Midland, MI | $180,718 | $86.88 |
Edison, NJ | $179,697 | $86.39 |
Owatonna, MN | $178,787 | $85.96 |
Burleigh County, ND | $175,151 | $84.21 |
Nome, AK | $175,122 | $84.19 |
York, PA | $174,866 | $84.07 |
Nantucket, MA | $173,708 | $83.51 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Principal Software Developer Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Principal Software Developer category.
For example Principal Clinical Database Programmer jobs pay as much as $34,713 (24.6%) more than the average Principal Software Developer salary of $141,171. If you're qualified, finding work as a Principal Clinical Database Programmer may help you make more money than that of the average Principal Software Developer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Principal Clinical Database Programmer | $175,884 | $84.56 |
Erlang | $152,782 | $73.45 |
Expert Software Engineer | $147,524 | $70.92 |
Aws Architect | $145,725 | $70.06 |
Senior Iam Engineer | $126,557 | $60.84 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
