Things are looking up for Washington, D.C.’s tech workers. According to Hired.com, tech employees (software engineers, designers, product managers and data analytics personnel) in D.C. saw a 6 percent salary raise in 2017 compared to the year before. D.C. is now tied with Seattle as the city with the second fastest-growing tech salaries — placing them only behind Austin.
After a $12,000 dive from $121,000 to $109,000 between 2015 and 2016, D.C.’s new tech salary average is $116,000.
But, Washington, D.C. has a long way to go if it wants to beat San Francisco in paying tech workers the most. The average tech employee in the Bay Area earns $142,000 per year. When adjusted for the cost of living in San Francisco, D.C. tech workers make an average of $148,000, which is more than New York’s $136,000 average, but less than Boston’s $150,000 average.
When relocation is an option, many tech workers are choosing Seattle as their new home. Hired.com’s survey named Seattle, Austin, and Denver as the top three cities that tech employees are willing to relocate.
Project managers are the highest paid tech workers nationwide, with JavaScript and Java being the most in-demand skill sets. Designers saw the largest increase in salaries at 8 percent; however, they make an average of $8,000 less than other tech employees.
Nationally, the transportation industry pays tech workers the most, offering candidates an average of $145,000 a year. Contrastingly, financial services and healthcare companies pay tech workers the least, averaging salaries at $111,000 and $115,000, respectively.
Diversity is a widespread issue for tech workers. According to a 2017 Atlassian State of Diversity Report, blacks and Latinos make up only 5 percent of the tech workforce. As the tech industry struggles with diversity, they also fail to compensate their minority workers.
Hired.com revealed that black tech workers are paid $6,000 less than their white counterparts with an average salary of $130,000. Latino and Asian tech workers earn $131,000 and $133,000 on average.
Younger workers are also taking hits on their salaries. Job candidates ages 20 to 34 ask for significantly lower salaries than what companies offer. After 35, this pattern flips and candidates are offered less than what they request. Tech salaries typically plateau after 45, peaking at $151,000.
The Bureau of Labor expects the number of tech employees to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026, which would make tech the fastest growing industry. The industry is projected to add more than 550,000 new jobs throughout the country.
