Software Test Engineer

Software Test Engineer Salary

$22K

$106K

$152.5K

$107,014

/year

$51.45

/hour

Software Test Engineer Salary Comparison by Location

Nationwide

United States

$107,014

Columbus

Ohio

$103,365

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    How much does a Software Test Engineer make?

    As of Jul 7, 2026, the average annual pay for a Software Test Engineer in the United States is $107,014 a year.

    Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $51.45 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,057/week or $8,917/month.

    While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $152,500 and as low as $22,000, the majority of Software Test Engineer salaries currently range between $87,500 (25th percentile) to $122,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $139,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Software Test Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 34500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.

    A Software Test Engineer in your area makes on average $103,365 per year, or $3,649 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $107,014. Ohio ranks number 31 out of 50 states nationwide for Software Test Engineer salaries.

    To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Software Test 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 Test Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.

    What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Software Test Engineer Jobs

    We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Software Test Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Cupertino, CA, , with Berkeley, CA, and Sitka, AK, close behind in the second and third positions. Sitka, AK, beats the national average by $21,903 (20.5%), and Cupertino, CA, furthers that trend with another $25,014 (23.4%) above the $107,014 average.

    With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Software Test Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.

    Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 4% between Cupertino, CA, and Sunnyvale, CA, , 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 Test Engineer role.

    City

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Cupertino, CA

    $132,028

    $63.48

    Berkeley, CA

    $131,032

    $63.00

    Sitka, AK

    $128,917

    $61.98

    South San Francisco, CA

    $128,596

    $61.83

    Mountain View, CA

    $127,348

    $61.23

    Los Altos, CA

    $126,737

    $60.93

    Menlo Park, CA

    $126,111

    $60.63

    San Francisco, CA

    $126,081

    $60.62

    Santa Clara, CA

    $125,681

    $60.42

    Sunnyvale, CA

    $125,597

    $60.38

    What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Software Test Engineer Jobs in the U.S.

    We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Software Test Engineer category.

    For example Software Engineer In Germany jobs pay as much as $40,510 (37.9%) more than the average Software Test Engineer salary of $107,014. If you're qualified, finding work as a Software Engineer In Germany may help you make more money than that of the average Software Test Engineer position.

    Job Title

    Annual Salary

    Hourly Wage

    Software Engineer In Germany

    $147,524

    $70.92

    Sdet Amazon

    $142,834

    $68.67

    Lead Sdet

    $110,351

    $53.05

    Freelance Sdet

    $107,212

    $51.54

    Automation Test Lead

    $105,126

    $50.54

    About Our Data

    ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.

    Infographic detailing Software Test Engineer salary across the United States as of July 2026. Displays a bar chart with salary percentiles, a national average salary of $107,014 per year or $51.45 an hour, and a color-coded map showing state-by-state salary variations.