Staff software engineer salary in 2026

Where the number comes from

Each figure comes from the Labor Condition Applications employers file with the US Department of Labor for a worker on an H-1B, H-1B1 or E-3 visa. A filing names the job title, the worksite and the salary the company commits to pay. We count certified, full-time filings with a yearly salary, decided from July 2025 to June 2026, and use the middle of the range where a range is filed. These are the same filings and title rules as the Zelcast Pay Index, where the method is set out in full.

The figures count the exact title Staff Software Engineer. Staff Engineer on its own, and titles with a team name, are left out so that every filing carries the same title.

The numbers

• All staff software engineers. Median $215,640, middle half $177,028 to $244,724, across 1,762 filings, from 454 employers.
• San Francisco. Median $254,071, middle half $229,121 to $266,224, across 147 filings.
• New York City. Median $241,063, middle half $218,148 to $252,000, across 83 filings.
• Seattle. Median $240,000, middle half $224,750 to $252,750, across 48 filings.
• California. Median $227,900, middle half $215,042 to $258,400, across 900 filings.
• Washington. Median $236,300, middle half $212,202 to $252,826, across 120 filings.
• Texas. Median $185,000, middle half $168,870 to $203,775, across 159 filings.
• Arkansas. Median $151,612, middle half $145,451 to $162,394, across 114 filings.

Walmart files the most

Walmart filed 290 of the 1,762 filings, about 16%: 153 in California and 109 in Arkansas, where its headquarters are and where the median for the title was $151,612. The other large filers were LinkedIn (80, median $262,166), PayPal (74, median $211,115), Intuit (64, median $238,422), Google (61, median $276,000), ServiceNow (56, median $207,691) and Uber (52, median $248,000).

What staff pays over senior

Comparing employers with themselves takes out the mix of companies. Among the 41 employers that filed at least five senior and five staff software engineer applications, the staff median was a median 17% above the senior median, and higher at 39 of the 41. Staff engineer vs senior engineer covers what changes in the job.

What companies advertise

Separately, we collected the salary ranges on job postings open on October 20, 2026, from about 1,700 company job boards on Greenhouse, Ashby and Lever, found from Zelcast’s lists of companies, and from YC’s company jobs pages. Across the 178 companies posting staff software engineer roles with a range, the median company put the middle of its range at $235,000, from 516 postings. Postings show what companies were asking for on that day, at a different set of employers from the filings, so the two figures are reported apart.

What the data can and can’t tell you

These are base salaries only, so they leave out equity, bonuses and benefits. They cover workers on these visas, who are a large share of engineers at many US tech companies but not all of them. A filing states what an employer commits to pay for a role when it files, and it does not record a hire. Pay can change after it.

How to use it

If you’re hiring a staff engineer away from a large company in San Francisco, the base you compete with is near $254,071 before equity. If you’re weighing an offer, compare with your city, and ask what scope the title carries, because the same title covers very different jobs at a retailer, a public software company and a startup.