Principal Software Engineer
Principal Software 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 Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$160,936
Columbus
Ohio
$155,448
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How much does a Principal Software Engineer make?
As of Jul 27, 2026, the average annual pay for a Principal Software 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 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 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 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 Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Principal Software 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 Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Principal Software Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Principal Software 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 Engineer 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 Hawaii County, HI, and Nome, AK, , 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 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 |
Fountain Valley, CA | $215,958 | $103.83 |
Springfield, VA | $213,131 | $102.47 |
Bar Harbor, ME | $209,640 | $100.79 |
Harrison, NJ | $207,513 | $99.77 |
New London, CT | $202,207 | $97.21 |
Haverhill, MA | $200,715 | $96.50 |
Nome, AK | $199,641 | $95.98 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Principal Software Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Principal Software Engineer job category, we found that Erlang jobs have average salaries similar than Principal Software Engineer jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Erlang | $152,782 | $73.45 |
Senior Lead Software Engineer | $147,310 | $70.82 |
Sr Software Developer | $128,400 | $61.73 |
Web Software Engineer | $122,736 | $59.01 |
Microsoft Software Engineering | $103,126 | $49.58 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
