Software Design Engineer Salary
$37.5K - $48K
2% of jobs
$48K - $58.5K
2% of jobs
$58.5K - $69K
8% of jobs
$69K - $79.5K
11% of jobs
$81.7K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$79.5K - $90K
13% of jobs
$90K - $100.5K
14% of jobs
The median wage is $100.8K / yr.
$100.5K - $111K
14% of jobs
$111K - $121.5K
8% of jobs
$124.7K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$121.5K - $132K
12% of jobs
$132K - $142.5K
11% of jobs
$142.5K - $153K
6% of jobs
$37.5K
$101.5K
$153K
$105,435
/year
$50.69
/hour
Software Design Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$105,435
Columbus
Ohio
$101,840
Do you get a good deal as a Software Design Engineer?
Take The Breakroom Quiz to find out if your job offers fair pay and conditions. The 3-minute quiz lets you compare your pay, hours, benefits, and more.
Take The Breakroom Quiz
How much does a Software Design Engineer make?
As of Jun 10, 2026, the average annual pay for a Software Design Engineer in the United States is $105,435 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $50.69 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,027/week or $8,786/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $153,000 and as low as $37,500, the majority of Software Design Engineer salaries currently range between $81,500 (25th percentile) to $128,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $143,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Software Design Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 47000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Software Design Engineer in your area makes on average $101,840 per year, or $3,595 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $105,435. Ohio ranks number 43 out of 50 states nationwide for Software Design Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Software Design Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Software Design Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Software Design Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Software Design Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Woburn, MA, , with Raynham, MA, and Milford, CT, close behind in the second and third positions. Milford, CT, beats the national average by $61,461 (58.3%), and Woburn, MA, furthers that trend with another $63,109 (59.9%) above the $105,435 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Software Design Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 8% between Woburn, MA, and Virginia Beach, VA, , 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 Software Design Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Woburn, MA | $168,544 | $81.03 |
Raynham, MA | $167,350 | $80.46 |
Milford, CT | $166,896 | $80.24 |
Arvada, CO | $164,981 | $79.32 |
Springfield, MA | $163,607 | $78.66 |
Waukesha, WI | $163,074 | $78.40 |
South Jordan, UT | $156,286 | $75.14 |
Burleigh County, ND | $155,471 | $74.75 |
North Chicago, IL | $155,296 | $74.66 |
Virginia Beach, VA | $154,909 | $74.48 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Software Design Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Software Design Engineer category.
For example Senior Cad Engineer jobs pay as much as $21,122 (20.0%) more than the average Software Design Engineer salary of $105,435. If you're qualified, finding work as a Senior Cad Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Software Design Engineer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Senior Cad Engineer | $126,557 | $60.84 |
Senior Design Engineer | $121,466 | $58.40 |
Communication Engineering | $110,693 | $53.22 |
Critical Facility Engineer | $88,534 | $42.56 |
Building Design Engineer | $67,285 | $32.35 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
