Computer Programmer Salaries vs. Software Developer Pay

BLS OEWS maintains separate categories for computer programmers and software developers — and the wage difference between them is significant and illuminating.

What BLS Defines as Each

In BLS classification, software developers design and create software applications and systems. Computer programmers write and test code based on designs created by others — essentially the coding execution role without the design/architecture responsibility. In practice, many tech workers blur this distinction, but BLS assigns based on primary duties.

The Wage Gap

Software developers consistently earn more than computer programmers in BLS data — a gap that reflects the higher-value nature of design and architecture work versus implementation. The shift toward calling all coding workers "software engineers" or "software developers" in industry job titles has also pushed more workers into the higher-classified category.

Employment Trends

Computer programmer employment has been declining as a BLS category while software developer employment has grown — partly reflecting the reclassification of the same workers as job titles have shifted, and partly reflecting offshoring of more routine coding work.

Browse Tech Wages

Compare wages for both occupations and related roles in the Computer and Mathematical Occupations group.