FOCUS STATE
California
Median wage$174,410
Average annual temperature≈ 60°F
U.S. TECHNOLOGY PAY / MAY 2025
IT salaries by state
Compare IT wages, take-home pay, savings, and climate across all 50 states and Washington, DC.
Using California by default.
Updating the interactive explorer…
U.S. median wage
$135,980Per year · nationwide midpointHighest state median
$174,410CaliforniaCalifornia median
$174,41028.3% above U.S. medianPAY & CLIMATE
Compare your two states
COMPARISON STATE
Washington
Median wage$166,540
Average annual temperature≈ 50°F
Washington has a lower median wage than California and is about 10°F cooler on average.
Long-term station averages · 1991–2020 · Local climate varies within a state. DC is represented by a single station. Temperature data & methodology
THE PAY LANDSCAPE
Where this profession pays most
Select a state to see its wage distribution.
STATE BY STATE
Compare every location
| Rank | State | Median wage | 25th–75th percentile | vs. U.S. median | Avg. annual temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $174,410 | $136,990 – $216,670 | +28.3% | ≈ 60°F | |
| 2 | $166,540 | $132,290 – $211,860 | +22.5% | ≈ 50°F | |
| 3 | $166,180 | $127,160 – $205,540 | +22.2% | ≈ 48°F | |
| 4 | $165,210 | $131,370 – $190,280 | +21.5% | ≈ 49°F | |
| 5 | $142,720 | $111,750 – $170,600 | +5.0% | ≈ 51°F | |
| 6 | $139,720 | $107,240 – $167,880 | +2.8% | ≈ 45°F | |
| 7 | $138,680 | $109,120 – $178,000 | +2.0% | ≈ 56°F | |
| 8 | $138,390 | $122,470 – $173,000 | +1.8% | ≈ 46°F | |
| 9 | $136,880 | $117,120 – $169,580 | +0.7% | ≈ 59°F | |
| 10 | $136,460 | $106,600 – $171,090 | +0.4% | ≈ 56°F | |
| 11 | $135,940 | $107,020 – $170,130 | -0.0% | ≈ 54°F | |
| 12 | $134,710 | $104,530 – $164,750 | -0.9% | ≈ 59°F | |
| 13 | $134,120 | $105,750 – $166,440 | -1.4% | ≈ 50°F | |
| 14 | $133,020 | $113,600 – $164,640 | -2.2% | ≈ 56°F | |
| 15 | $132,150 | $103,350 – $162,530 | -2.8% | ≈ 66°F | |
| 16 | $132,110 | $101,540 – $166,420 | -2.8% | ≈ 52°F | |
| 17 | $131,590 | $93,740 – $160,570 | -3.2% | ≈ 46°F | |
| 18 | $131,010 | $103,410 – $162,240 | -3.7% | ≈ 63°F | |
| 19 | $130,980 | $101,970 – $164,800 | -3.7% | ≈ 73°F | |
| 20 | $130,590 | $101,640 – $154,040 | -4.0% | ≈ 51°F | |
| 21 | $130,050 | $101,670 – $156,750 | -4.4% | ≈ 42°F | |
| 22 | $129,690 | $102,310 – $159,680 | -4.6% | ≈ 62°F | |
| 23 | $129,450 | $95,750 – $167,750 | -4.8% | ≈ 63°F | |
| 24 | $128,810 | $100,680 – $167,820 | -5.3% | ≈ 52°F | |
| 25 | $128,810 | $100,530 – $160,570 | -5.3% | ≈ 49°F | |
| 26 | $126,550 | $98,590 – $158,390 | -6.9% | ≈ 50°F | |
| 27 | $126,120 | $97,540 – $155,010 | -7.3% | ≈ 55°F | |
| 28 | $125,570 | $97,300 – $140,100 | -7.7% | ≈ 46°F | |
| 29 | $125,280 | $102,820 – $166,610 | -7.9% | ≈ 44°F | |
| 30 | $124,520 | $95,690 – $158,390 | -8.4% | ≈ 54°F | |
| 31 | $124,040 | $82,830 – $170,970 | -8.8% | ≈ 72°F | |
| 32 | $123,120 | $99,200 – $163,150 | -9.5% | ≈ 43°F | |
| 33 | $122,660 | $97,740 – $138,590 | -9.8% | ≈ 45°F | |
| 34 | $122,540 | $86,990 – $154,290 | -9.9% | ≈ 63°F | |
| 35 | $122,430 | $90,750 – $138,890 | -10.0% | ≈ 58°F | |
| 36 | $121,990 | $94,800 – $169,180 | -10.3% | ≈ 43°F | |
| 37 | $121,000 | $82,700 – $142,610 | -11.0% | ≈ 52°F | |
| 38 | $118,100 | $94,360 – $138,940 | -13.1% | ≈ 60°F | |
| 39 | $115,170 | $100,560 – $153,090 | -15.3% | ≈ 43°F | |
| 40 | $114,890 | $95,600 – $137,090 | -15.5% | ≈ 48°F | |
| 41 | $114,090 | $96,200 – $135,490 | -16.1% | ≈ 52°F | |
| 42 | $113,420 | $86,460 – $136,510 | -16.6% | ≈ 55°F | |
| 43 | $110,900 | $91,000 – $135,600 | -18.4% | ≈ 50°F | |
| 44 | $109,010 | $91,960 – $136,090 | -19.8% | ≈ 56°F | |
| 45 | $105,920 | $83,650 – $135,630 | -22.1% | ≈ 52°F | |
| 46 | $105,600 | $78,870 – $126,510 | -22.3% | ≈ 41°F | |
| 47 | $104,490 | $81,480 – $127,740 | -23.2% | ≈ 61°F | |
| 48 | $102,800 | $82,930 – $122,740 | -24.4% | ≈ 67°F | |
| 49 | $96,310 | $79,810 – $121,190 | -29.2% | ≈ 46°F | |
| 50 | $95,330 | $70,030 – $127,570 | -29.9% | ≈ 64°F | |
| — | Not available | Not available – Not available | Not available | ≈ 34°F |
EXPLORE AN IT CAREER
IT salary guides by profession
State-by-state wage tables, national medians, and pay distributions from the May 2025 BLS release.
Understand the numbers
Temperatures are approximate annual means from NOAA 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, aggregated by PlainClimate. These are station-based averages, not area-weighted state temperatures or current weather. The source rounds to whole °F; °C values are converted from those rounded figures. DC uses one station. Location coordinates are matched against Census state boundaries in your browser and are not sent to a geocoding service.
Official wage estimates. May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved through O*NET OnLine. This is a fixed snapshot, collected October 5, 2026.
Median means the midpoint. Half of workers earn less and half earn more. Figures cover wage and salary workers across industries; they do not represent total compensation or take-home pay. Self-employed workers are excluded.
Compare with context. Wages are not adjusted for local living costs, taxes, experience, or specialty. Unavailable values are shown as “Not available.” A + marks a published lower bound. Rankings exclude unavailable or bounded medians.