What’s the Engineer Salary in Silicon Valley?

Third decade in a row, Silicon Valley remains the Mecca of the tech industry that allures the best software developers either to work in IBM, PayPal, Apple, Facebook, Google, Oracle, and Logitec or to try their luck developing cutting-edge products for innovative startups like Uniphore, Weee!, and Slintel.

The legend says that the mere residence in Silicon Valley quadruples chances of success but this privilege comes at a high price.

The average engineer salary in Silicon Valley ranges between $85,948 and $174,459, the office rental, taxes, shares, and non-financial benefits add up to the already sky-high price of doing business.

In this article, we’ll explore whether the hustle’s worth the price and learn where to hire top specialists for a reasonable salary outside Silicon Valley.

What Is the Average Engineer Salary in Silicon Valley?

The average engineer salary in Silicon Valley ranges between $88,000 and $152,000 (PayScale). 

The average engineer salary in Silicon Valley by years of experience:

Less than 1 year — $109,622

1-2 years — $112,626

6-9 years — $128,821

More than 10 years — $147,585

Average Salary for People in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States (PayScale)

The Average Salary for People in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States (PayScale)

According to SalaryExpert, an entry-level software engineer salary in Silicon Valley starts with $87,896 and can be as high as $155,990 for a senior specialist.

Image title: The Average Software Engineer Salary in Silicon Valley (SalaryExpert)

The Average Software Engineer Salary in Silicon Valley (SalaryExpert)

To compare, the average engineer salary in the US is $110,638 (SalaryExpert) with a junior engineer earning around $77,437 and a senior engineer getting around $137,429 per year. The average engineer rate in Silicon Valley is around $60 per hour.