Principal Software Development Engineer Salary
$60.5K - $76K
0% of jobs
$76K - $91.5K
0% of jobs
$91.5K - $107K
5% of jobs
$107K - $122.5K
8% of jobs
$134.3K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$122.5K - $138K
15% of jobs
$138K - $153.5K
18% of jobs
The median wage is $156.6K / yr.
$153.5K - $169K
18% of jobs
$178.6K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$169K - $184.5K
17% of jobs
$184.5K - $200K
11% of jobs
$200K - $215.5K
4% of jobs
$215.5K - $231K
3% of jobs
$60.5K
$158K
$231K
$160,936
/year
$77.37
/hour
Principal Software Development Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$160,936
Columbus
Ohio
$155,448
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How much does a Principal Software Development Engineer make?
As of Jun 11, 2026, the average annual pay for a Principal Software Development Engineer in the United States is $160,936 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $77.37 an hour. This is the equivalent of $3,094/week or $13,411/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $231,000 and as low as $60,500, the majority of Principal Software Development Engineer salaries currently range between $135,000 (25th percentile) to $181,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $205,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Principal Software Development Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 46000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Principal Software Development Engineer in your area makes on average $155,448 per year, or $5,488 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $160,936. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Principal Software Development Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Principal Software Development Engineer 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 Development Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Principal Software Development Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Principal Software Development Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Hawaii County, HI, , with Lebanon, NH, and Pennington County, SD, close behind in the second and third positions. Pennington County, SD, beats the national average by $57,815 (35.9%), and Hawaii County, HI, furthers that trend with another $65,403 (40.6%) above the $160,936 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 Development Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 16% between Hawaii County, HI, and Lindon, UT, , 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 Development Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Hawaii County, HI | $226,339 | $108.82 |
Lebanon, NH | $220,637 | $106.08 |
Pennington County, SD | $218,751 | $105.17 |
Springfield, VA | $213,131 | $102.47 |
New London, CT | $202,207 | $97.21 |
Chesterbrook, PA | $202,035 | $97.13 |
Cupertino, CA | $198,554 | $95.46 |
Berkeley, CA | $197,057 | $94.74 |
Sitka, AK | $193,877 | $93.21 |
Lindon, UT | $191,173 | $91.91 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Principal Software Development Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Principal Software Development Engineer job category, we found that Principal Software Developer jobs have average salaries similar than Principal Software Development Engineer jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Principal Software Developer | $141,171 | $67.87 |
Aws Software Development Engineer | $133,999 | $64.42 |
Agile Software Developer | $111,845 | $53.77 |
Junior Ruby Developer | $88,976 | $42.78 |
Vhdl Programmer | $82,234 | $39.54 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
