SOC 15-1252

Software Engineer Salary in Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD (2026)

Data updated · Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025, HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Tax Tables: 2026 Fed + PA + Municipal
COL Index: 119.89 (+19.9% vs US)
Net Compensation Yield 65.5% Realized
$87,079 / net annual direct deposit
Gross Adjusted $133,040 $63.96/hr
Effective Tax Drag 28.55% Combined Jurisdictions
Marginal Top Bracket 24% Federal Statutory
Total Withheld -$37,979 $1,460.72/check
Category 1 of 6

Wage Benchmarking & After-Tax Paycheck Engine

Dynamic statutory tax calculations based on IRS Publication 15-T and state statutory schedules.

$
2,080 annual statutory base hours $63.96 / hour
0 hrs/wk (+$0/yr)
0 hrs (Standard) 10 hrs OT 20 hrs OT 25 hrs Max
6% (-$7,982/yr)
0% Tax Shield: ~$1,916/yr 15% (IRS limit: $24,500)
Itemized Statutory Withholdings Ledger
Federal Income Tax (IRS)
Progressive 10%–37%
-$18,748
Social Security (FICA OASDI)
Statutory 6.20% (Cap $184,500)
-$8,248
Medicare Hospital Insurance
Statutory 1.45%
-$1,929
Pennsylvania Individual Income Tax
State Marginal Bracket
-$4,084
Philadelphia wage tax
3.74%
-$4,969
Net Take-Home Annual Realized
$87,079 ($3,349.19 / check)
Category 2 of 6

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Software Engineer Wage Distribution

Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Percentiles & Career Ladders

Your Salary: $133,040
MIDDLE 50% (IQR RANGE) 10th $83.0k 25th $104k Median: $133,040 50th (Median) $133k 75th $165k 90th $190k You: $133,040
10th (Entry) $82,960 $39.88/hr
25th (Junior) $103,920 $49.96/hr
50th (Median) $133,040 $63.96/hr
75th (Senior) $165,140 $79.39/hr
90th (Lead/Master) $190,180 $91.43/hr
Career Progression & Licensing Milestones for Software Engineer in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
1
Junior Software Engineer (L3)CS degree or equivalent bootcamp/portfolio, foundational data structures
$86,587$41.63/hr · 0-2 Years
2
Mid-Level Software Engineer (L4)Independent feature delivery, system design, CI/CD and DB optimization
$125,233$60.21/hr · 2-5 Years
3
Senior Software Engineer (L5)Architectural leadership, cross-team design reviews, mentorship
$168,281$80.90/hr · 5-8 Years
4
Staff / Principal Engineer (L6)Company-wide tech strategy, distributed system fault tolerance, high scale
$223,070$107.25/hr · 8+ Years
Scaled to the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD medianView National Software Engineer Salary Data
Category 3 of 6

HUD Fair Market Rent & EPI Living Wage Affordability Index

Evaluating housing affordability vs. net take-home pay in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD under the HUD 30% housing cost guideline.

Rent-to-Take-Home Ratio (HUD 30% Standard)
21% of Net Income
✓ Passes 30% Housing Affordability Standard
HUD Fair Market Rent (1-Bedroom) $1,558/month Requires minimum annual gross of $62,320
HUD Fair Market Rent (2-Bedroom) $1,860/month Requires minimum annual gross of $74,400
Hourly Living Wage Benchmark (EPI model)
1 Adult Earner: $26.51/hr
Per adult, 2 working adults + 1 child: $24.25/hr
Category 4 of 6

Hourly Wage to Annual & Overtime Matrix

Translating base hourly pay and 1.5× overtime into net take-home pay based on 2,080 annual work hours in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD.

Swipe horizontally to inspect full pay schedule
Schedule Total Hours/Wk Gross Annual Est. Taxes Net Take-Home Bi-Weekly Check
Standard (40 hrs)40 hrs$133,040-$37,979$87,079$3,349.19
+5h Overtime/Wk45 hrs$157,985-$47,212$101,294$3,895.91
+10h Overtime/Wk50 hrs$182,930-$56,446$115,509$4,442.64
+15h Overtime/Wk55 hrs$207,875-$64,301$131,102$5,042.38
+20h Overtime/Wk60 hrs$232,820-$72,290$146,561$5,636.96
Category 5 of 6

Interstate MSA Relocation & State Tax Migration Comparator

Calculate required compensation, cost-of-living differences, and annual state/local tax savings between two metropolitan areas.

Equivalent Salary in Austin, TX $83,505 Cost of Living Ratio: 69.6%
Annual State & Local Tax Delta +$8,331/yr Tax savings in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Annual Rent Difference (1BR) -$17,676/yr Based on HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Discretionary Cash Flow Impact

Combining state tax savings and annual rent variance when relocating from San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA to Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.

+$26,007/year
Category 6 of 6 · Executive Economic Briefing
2026 Fiscal Intelligence

Software Engineer in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: Compensation & Purchasing Power Briefing (2026)

Estimates compiled from BLS OEWS wages, IRS 2026 withholding rules, HUD Fair Market Rents, and Pennsylvania tax codes.

Market Baseline
$133,040/yr
$63.96/hr · SOC 15-1252
Statutory Tax Drag
28.55% Effective
-$37,979 in Total Taxes
HUD 1BR Shelter Ratio
21% Net Pay
✓ Passes 30% HUD Rule
Monthly Discretionary
+$5,699/mo
Post-$1,558/mo 1BR Rent

Key Economic & Compensation Takeaways

Statutory Withholding Architecture

Frequently Asked Questions

Verified Government Data Sources & Statutory Attribution

Wages sourced from US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS OEWS). Rents calibrated to HUD Fair Market Rents. Tax schedules calibrated to IRS IRC Title 26, IRS Pub 15-T, and state statutory revenue codes.

BLS OEWS May 2025 HUD FY2027 FMR IRS 15-T
Metro Pay Comparison SOC 15-1252
2026 Statutory Thresholds
  • Federal Standard Deduction (Single) $16,100
  • FICA OASDI Wage Base Cap $184,500
  • Pre-Tax 401(k) Elective Deferral $24,500
  • HSA Individual Annual Limit $4,400

Software Engineer in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: Market Snapshot

Software Engineer roles in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD report a median annual wage of $133,040, 2.2% below the national median of $135,980. The 10th to 90th percentile band runs from $82,960 to $190,180, and HUD’s $1,558 monthly one-bedroom fair market rent equals 14.1% of that median gross pay. The single-adult living wage benchmark for the area is $26.51 per hour.

Highest-paying metropolitan areas for Software Engineer

Metropolitan areaMedian annual wageVs this market
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$213,110+60.2%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$186,640+40.3%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$167,280+25.7%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$166,830+25.4%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$166,090+24.8%
Boulder, CO$164,560+23.7%
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$163,270+22.7%
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$162,650+22.3%
Manchester-Nashua, NH$162,090+21.8%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$160,920+21.0%

Top-paying occupations benchmarked in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

OccupationMedian annual wageMedian hourly
Chief Executives$292,770$140.75/hr
Computer and Information Systems Managers$173,470$83.40/hr
Natural Sciences Managers$172,900$83.12/hr
Architectural and Engineering Managers$171,140$82.28/hr
Financial Manager$166,920$80.25/hr
Marketing Managers$166,310$79.96/hr
Data Engineer$163,590$78.65/hr
Sales Managers$156,500$75.24/hr
Purchasing Managers$155,500$74.76/hr
Human Resources Managers$154,490$74.27/hr

Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS May 2025, 377 metropolitan areas publishing this occupation; HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents; EPI Family Budget Calculator. Taxes use 2026 federal and state rules. Data last updated .

Regional Labor Market & Career Mobility Network

Explore adjacent occupations and neighboring metropolitan wage benchmarks for peer compensation analysis.

Software Engineer Salary in Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD (2026) Overview

Software Engineer median pay in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD is $133,040 a year ($63.96/hr). See take-home pay after 2026 taxes, BLS wage. Official 2026 economic data for Software Engineer in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
What is the median salary for a Software Engineer in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD?

The median annual wage is $133,040 ($63.96 per hour). The middle 80% of earners make between $82,960 and $190,180. Source: BLS OEWS (May 2025).

What is the take-home pay for a Software Engineer in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD after taxes?

On the median wage of $133,040, a single filer with no pre-tax deductions takes home about $93,145 a year ($7,762 a month) after $39,895 in federal, FICA, state and local taxes, an effective rate of 29.99%, using 2026 tax rules.