Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2004

15-1021 Computer Programmers

Convert project specifications and statements of problems and procedures to detailed logical flow charts for coding into computer language. Develop and write computer programs to store, locate, and retrieve specific documents, data, and information. May program web sites.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
412,090 1.4 % $31.69 $65,910 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $17.53 $22.88 $30.24 $39.08 $47.89
Annual Wage (2) $36,470 $47,580 $62,890 $81,280 $99,610

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Computer systems design and related services 110,410 $33.74 $70,180
Management of companies and enterprises 21,940 $30.07 $62,550
Software publishers 18,270 $35.24 $73,300
Insurance carriers 17,290 $30.94 $64,350
Data processing and related services 16,530 $31.77 $66,080

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Computer and peripheral equipment mfg. 3,640 $41.58 $86,500
Magnetic media manufacturing and reproducing 1,300 $38.61 $80,310
Employment services 12,090 $38.05 $79,150
Support activities for mining 90 $37.52 $78,050
Satellite telecommunications 50 $37.08 $77,120

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
New Jersey 24,390 $34.08 $70,900 0.628%
Virginia 20,050 $31.28 $65,050 0.581%
District of Columbia 3,300 $32.59 $67,800 0.547%
Utah 5,080 $27.78 $57,770 0.479%
Washington 11,990 $37.33 $77,660 0.464%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Washington 11,990 $37.33 $77,660 0.464%
California 42,190 $36.13 $75,140 0.290%
Massachusetts 11,070 $35.57 $73,980 0.354%
Connecticut 6,790 $35.39 $73,610 0.416%
Georgia 10,800 $35.35 $73,530 0.284%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Olympia, WA PMSA 1,060 $28.17 $58,590 1.220%
Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ PMSA 6,310 $36.08 $75,040 1.016%
Trenton, NJ PMSA 1,900 $29.92 $62,230 0.870%
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 1,690 $38.66 $80,400 0.847%
Bloomington, IN MSA 530 $22.30 $46,390 0.844%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Huntsville, AL MSA 1,320 $44.14 $91,800 0.720%
San Francisco, CA PMSA 5,070 $41.88 $87,120 0.532%
Lowell, MA-NH PMSA 470 $40.85 $84,970 0.387%
New London-Norwich, CT-RI MSA (7) $40.63 $84,520 (7)
San Jose, CA PMSA 5,500 $40.56 $84,370 0.648%

About May 2004 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) Estimates not released.

All Computer and Mathematical Occupations

May 2004 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2004 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: June 02, 2005