A software developer in the US earns a median salary of about $11,300 a month, and costs an employer about $14,500 a month once insurance, retirement contributions, payroll taxes and bonuses are added. Recruiting, equipment, software and office space come on top of that. This guide sets out the same two figures for every role we place, from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, explains how they are worked out, and shows what is left out.
US cost by role, per month
| Role | US occupation (BLS) | US median salary | US employer cost (estimate) | sourceBOLD senior, from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software developer | Software developers | $11,300 | $14,500 | $5,000 |
| Data or BI analyst | Operations research analysts * | $7,400 | $9,500 | $3,500 |
| Data or analytics engineer | Database administrators * | $8,700 | $11,100 | $5,250 |
| Data scientist | Data scientists | $10,000 | $12,800 | $5,500 |
| ML engineer | Data scientists * | $10,000 | $12,800 | $6,000 |
| QA automation engineer | Software quality assurance analysts and testers | $8,700 | $11,100 | $4,000 |
| DevOps or cloud engineer | Network and computer systems administrators * | $8,300 | $10,500 | $5,500 |
| UX/UI or product designer | Web and digital interface designers | $8,700 | $11,100 | $3,750 |
The salary column is the national median annual wage from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for May 2025, divided by twelve. Half of the people in the occupation earn more and half earn less, so it is neither an entry-level nor a senior figure. The employer-cost column adds what BLS measures employers spending on top of that salary, as explained below.
Our column shows the typical starting price for a senior person in each role, because a median US salary is not a junior figure. Each engagement's fee is set in its SOW, and what it costs shows both levels for every role.
How the employer cost is worked out
Salary is only part of what an employer spends. The BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation survey measures the rest. For private-industry workers in professional and related occupations, in June 2026, employers spent $73.69 for every hour worked:
| Part of the cost | Per hour worked |
|---|---|
| Wages and salaries | $50.98 |
| Paid leave (vacation, holidays, sick leave) | $6.78 |
| Insurance (health, life, disability) | $5.47 |
| Legally required (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, workers' compensation) | $4.81 |
| Supplemental pay (bonuses, overtime, shift pay) | $2.90 |
| Retirement and savings | $2.75 |
| Total compensation | $73.69 |
A salary figure already includes the pay for days taken as leave, so it matches wages plus paid leave: $57.76 of every $73.69. The employer cost is therefore the salary divided by that share, roughly the salary plus another 28 percent. For a developer at the median, $135,980 a year becomes about $173,500, or $14,500 a month.
What the figure leaves out
The employer cost above is an estimate. It applies the average that BLS measures across professional workers, so a particular employer may spend more or less on benefits. It also counts only compensation, and leaves out costs most teams carry as well:
- Recruiting: job ads, search-firm or agency fees, and the hours your team spends interviewing.
- Equipment and software: a laptop, licenses and the tools the role uses.
- Office space, if you have one.
- Onboarding and management time.
- Turnover: the cost of filling the seat again when someone leaves.
We have left these out because they vary too much from company to company to give one honest figure. Add your own.
Where BLS has no exact occupation
BLS publishes figures for software developers, data scientists, software QA analysts and testers, and web and digital interface designers, which match four of our roles. It has no occupation for data analysts, data engineers, ML engineers or DevOps engineers. For those we used the closest occupation BLS does publish, marked with an asterisk in the table:
- Data or BI analyst: operations research analysts.
- Data or analytics engineer: database administrators.
- ML engineer: data scientists.
- DevOps or cloud engineer: network and computer systems administrators.
In each case we chose an occupation we expect to pay no more than the role itself, so these rows are more likely to understate the US cost than to overstate it.
Why this is not a like-for-like comparison
The figures compare a US employee's cost with our typical starting price for a contractor. They are not the same thing, and it is worth being clear about how:
- The person you engage through us is an independent contractor, not your employee, so the fee carries no payroll taxes, benefits or paid leave.
- There is no recruiting, placement or setup fee, and no annual commitment.
- They bring their own computer, software and workspace. You give them access to your systems.
- The work is set out in an SOW, and each engagement's fee is set there.
- They work from across the Americas, in or near US business hours, rather than in your office. Latin America time zones for US teams shows how much of the day you share.
Whether a contractor is the right fit for a role is a question about the work, not only the price. Nearshore vs offshore vs onshore covers the wider trade-off, and how we vet candidates covers who you would meet.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a software developer in the US?
At the national median, about $11,300 a month in salary and about $14,500 a month once insurance, retirement contributions, payroll taxes and bonuses are added (BLS, May 2025 and June 2026). Recruiting, equipment and office costs come on top.
How much more than salary does an employee cost?
For private-industry professional workers, BLS figures put total compensation at about 1.28 times the salary, once paid leave is counted inside the salary. Costs outside compensation, such as recruiting and equipment, add more.
Where do these figures come from?
From two BLS surveys: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) for the median salaries, and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (June 2026) for what employers spend on top. Both are published at bls.gov.
Are these figures for a senior developer?
No. They are medians across everyone in the occupation, at every level. A senior person typically earns more than the median, so for a senior role the US figures are likely to understate the cost.
Where to go from here
sourceBOLD engages mid-level and senior software developers, data analysts and engineers, data scientists, ML engineers, QA automation engineers, DevOps and cloud engineers and product designers across the Americas, month to month, as their contractor of record. What it costs shows typical starting prices for every role, and who we place describes what each role does.