Median salary
$215,000
per year · annualized USD
Typical range
$185k – $260k
25th–75th percentile
Disclosing pay
79.1%
2,214 of 2,800 roles
Live roles
2,800
open right now
Salary trend
median · annualized USDSalary distribution
annualized USD · disclosed rolesHighest-paying jobs
Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning (Audio)
Software Engineer, ML Networking
Staff Software Engineer, Claude Code
Staff+ Software Engineer, Developer Productivity
Staff Software Engineer, Code RL
Staff Software Engineer, Environments Infrastructure
Software Engineer, Inference - Multi Modal
Hardware / Software CoDesign Engineer - 3P
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 156 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 128 |
Databricks
|
$222,325 | 73 |
|
Anthropic
|
$402,500 | 70 |
Nuro
|
$242,540 | 48 |
Crusoe
|
$225,431 | 38 |
Harvey
|
$263,000 | 29 |
Brex
|
$216,000 | 26 |
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How much do Software Engineer roles in California pay?
The median salary for Software Engineer roles in California is $215,000 per year. Most pay falls between $185,000 (25th percentile) and $260,000 (75th percentile), with the broader 10th–90th percentile band running from $156,500 to $315,000.
These figures are computed live from 2,800 active Software Engineer roles in California on JobsRadar, of which 2,214 (79.1%) publish a salary range. Pay is normalized to annualized USD so roles can be compared on equal terms; the highest-paying roles listed above show their original posted currency. Numbers refresh every few hours as new roles are posted and older ones close.
Employers currently hiring well-paid Software Engineer roles in California include Syntiant, Anthropic and OpenAI.
Salary transparency varies by employer and region, so the disclosing share above reflects only roles that publish pay — not every open position. Use it as a directional benchmark rather than an exact offer.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the average Software Engineer salary in California?
- The median is $215,000 per year, with most pay between $185,000 and $260,000 (25th–75th percentile), based on 2,214 live listings that disclose pay on JobsRadar.
- What is the Software Engineer salary range in California?
- Pay ranges from about $156,500 to $315,000 per year (10th–90th percentile) around a median of $215,000. Figures are annualized USD from live listings, refreshed every few hours.