Tech & IT Salaries in USA 2025

Why a Tech Salary Pillar?

This pillar provides a big-picture overview of tech and IT salaries in the USA for 2025, then links to detailed pages for specific roles. Whether you're a software engineer, data scientist, cybersecurity professional, or IT support specialist, you'll find benchmarks and context here.

Tech remains one of the highest-paying sectors in 2025, driven by persistent demand in AI, data, cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity. While the 2022–2023 layoff cycle made headlines, compensation for skilled tech workers has remained strong—companies continue competing for talent in high-demand specializations.

The figures in this guide are drawn from salary surveys, industry reports, and compensation databases. Treat them as approximate bands rather than guarantees—your actual pay depends on role, experience, location, company, and negotiation.

Tech & IT Pay Snapshot: 2025

Tech and IT compensation spans an enormous range—from entry-level support roles in the $50,000s to senior engineers and architects earning $300,000+ at top companies. Here's a high-level snapshot:

These figures reflect base salary in many cases—total compensation at larger tech companies often includes substantial bonuses and equity that can add 20–50%+ to base pay. Salary surveys show tech compensation continuing to grow in the high single digits annually, outpacing many other industries.

Use our salary calculator to convert hourly rates or compare different compensation structures.

Core Tech Roles: Salary Bands

Tech encompasses dozens of specializations. Here are the major job families with typical US salary ranges for mid-career professionals:

These ranges represent mid-career professionals (typically 4–8 years of experience). Entry-level roles pay 30–50% less; senior/staff/principal levels pay 30–100%+ more, especially at large tech companies with significant equity compensation.

Experience Level: Junior vs. Mid vs. Senior

Experience is the primary driver of tech compensation. The spread between entry-level and senior roles can exceed 100%—sometimes 200%+ when equity is included.

Entry-Level / Junior (0–2 years)

New graduates and career changers typically start in the $55,000–$90,000 range for engineering roles, depending on location and company tier. Entry-level IT support and help desk roles often start lower ($45,000–$60,000). At top tech companies (FAANG-tier), new grad software engineers can earn $100,000–$150,000+ in total compensation.

Mid-Level (3–7 years)

This is where most tech professionals spend the bulk of their careers. Mid-level engineers typically earn $100,000–$160,000 in total compensation. At this stage, specialization starts to differentiate pay—ML engineers, security specialists, and cloud architects often earn toward the higher end.

Senior / Staff / Principal (8+ years)

Senior individual contributors and technical leaders earn $150,000–$300,000+, with staff and principal engineers at top companies earning $300,000–$500,000+ in total compensation. These roles require deep expertise, technical leadership, and often the ability to drive projects that impact the entire organization.

Management Track

Engineering managers, directors, and VPs of engineering earn comparable or higher pay than senior ICs. Manager salaries typically start around $160,000–$200,000 and scale to $300,000–$500,000+ for directors and VPs at major companies.

Location and Remote Work Effects

Geography significantly impacts tech compensation—but remote work is changing the equation.

Tech Hub Premium

San Francisco/Bay Area, Seattle, New York, and Boston consistently offer the highest tech salaries—often 20–40% above national averages. A mid-level software engineer earning $130,000 nationally might command $160,000–$180,000 in the Bay Area. However, cost of living in these metros often exceeds the salary premium.

Remote Work Reality

Tech has embraced remote work more than most industries. Developer surveys show 60–70% of tech workers work remotely or hybrid. This creates opportunities: some companies pay near-uniform rates regardless of location (allowing workers in lower-cost areas to capture tech-hub salaries), while others use location-based pay bands (reducing pay for those outside major metros).

Optimizing Location Decisions

When evaluating opportunities, consider: base salary adjusted for cost of living, whether the company uses location-based pay bands, remote work flexibility and timezone requirements, and state income tax implications. A $140,000 remote salary in Austin or Denver may provide better quality of life than $180,000 in San Francisco.

Skills and Specializations That Command Premium Pay

Not all tech skills pay equally. Certain specializations consistently appear at the top of compensation surveys:

AI/ML and Data Science

Machine learning engineers and AI specialists command some of the highest salaries in tech—often $150,000–$250,000+ at mid-career, with top talent at AI-focused companies earning $300,000–$500,000+. Data scientists with ML expertise also earn premium rates.

Cloud Computing

AWS, Azure, and GCP expertise remains highly valuable. Cloud architects and senior cloud engineers commonly earn $140,000–$200,000+. Certifications (AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Administrator) correlate with higher pay, especially for mid-career professionals.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity continues growing in importance and compensation. Security engineers, architects, and specialists earn $110,000–$180,000+ at mid-career, with CISOs reaching $200,000–$400,000+. Certifications like CISSP and specialized skills in areas like penetration testing command premiums.

DevOps/SRE and Platform Engineering

DevOps engineers and SREs bridge development and operations, commanding $115,000–$180,000+ at mid-career. Expertise in Kubernetes, infrastructure-as-code, and reliability engineering is particularly valuable.

Full-Stack and Backend Engineering

Strong software engineering fundamentals in high-demand languages (Python, Go, Rust, TypeScript) and frameworks continue to pay well, especially combined with system design skills for distributed systems.

Total Compensation: Base, Bonus, and Equity

Tech compensation often includes multiple components beyond base salary. Understanding total compensation is essential for accurate comparisons.

Base Salary

The fixed annual amount—typically 60–80% of total compensation at larger tech companies, but often 90–100% at smaller companies and non-tech employers.

Annual Bonus

Many tech companies offer annual bonuses of 10–20% of base salary, tied to individual and company performance. Some roles (sales engineering, certain leadership positions) have higher bonus targets.

Equity/Stock

At public tech companies, RSUs (Restricted Stock Units) often represent 20–40% of total compensation for engineers. At startups, stock options carry higher risk but potentially higher reward. Equity typically vests over 4 years with a 1-year cliff.

Sign-On Bonuses

For competitive hires, sign-on bonuses of $10,000–$100,000+ are common, especially to offset unvested equity from previous employers.

Reading Compensation Offers

When comparing offers, calculate total compensation (base + expected bonus + annualized equity value). A $150,000 base with $50,000 in annual equity is $200,000 total—different from a $175,000 base with no equity. For negotiation strategies, see our salary negotiation guide.

How Tech Salaries Compare to Other Industries

Tech consistently ranks among the highest-paying sectors, but how does it compare?

Tech vs. National Average

The average US salary is approximately $60,000–$65,000. Tech workers earn roughly 30–50% above this at entry level and 100–200%+ above at senior levels. Even IT support roles typically exceed national medians.

Tech vs. Other High-Paying Fields

Medicine, law, and finance also offer six-figure careers, but often require more extensive (and expensive) education. A software engineer can reach $150,000+ with a bachelor's degree in 5–7 years; a physician takes 11+ years of training. For six-figure paths across industries, see jobs that pay $100K.

Tech Without a Degree

Unlike most high-paying fields, tech offers significant opportunities without traditional degrees. Self-taught developers, bootcamp graduates, and those with certifications can reach six figures based on demonstrated skills. For non-degree paths, see high paying jobs without a degree.

Using This Pillar: Next Steps

This page serves as a hub for tech salary information. Here's how to use it:

Step 1: Identify Your Role

Find your current or target role in the overview sections above. Note the typical salary range for your experience level.

Step 2: Dive Into Details

Click through to specific job salary pages for more detailed breakdowns:

Software Engineer Salary — Data Scientist Salary — Cybersecurity Salary — DevOps/SRE Salary — ML Engineer Salary — Product Manager Salary

Step 3: Prepare for Negotiations

Use the salary negotiation guide when evaluating offers or requesting raises. Tech workers who negotiate typically earn 5–15% more than those who accept initial offers.

Step 4: Explore Career Transitions

If you're considering entering tech, explore our guides to high paying jobs without a degree for non-traditional paths into the industry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average tech salary in the US in 2025?

The average IT/tech salary across all roles is approximately $85,000–$95,000. However, this spans from entry-level support (~$50,000) to senior engineers ($200,000+). For specific roles, mid-career software engineers average $120,000–$150,000, and data scientists average $130,000–$160,000.

Which tech jobs pay the most?

The highest-paying tech roles include: ML/AI engineers ($150,000–$300,000+), cloud architects ($140,000–$220,000+), security architects ($150,000–$250,000+), and engineering managers/directors ($180,000–$350,000+). At FAANG-tier companies, senior individual contributors can earn $400,000–$700,000+ in total compensation.

Do you need a degree to get a high-paying tech job?

Not necessarily. While many tech workers have degrees, the industry increasingly values demonstrated skills over credentials. Self-taught developers, bootcamp graduates, and certification holders can reach six figures. Portfolios, GitHub contributions, and interview performance often matter more than diplomas.

How fast are tech salaries rising?

Tech salaries have grown in the high single digits (6–10%) annually over the past several years, outpacing most other industries. AI/ML and security roles have seen even faster growth. While 2022–2023 layoffs created uncertainty, compensation for skilled workers has remained strong.

How much more do senior engineers earn than juniors?

The gap is substantial. Junior engineers typically earn $70,000–$100,000, while senior engineers earn $150,000–$200,000+—often 80–150% more. At top companies, staff and principal engineers can earn $300,000–$500,000+, representing 200–400% increases from entry-level.