The Top 4 Best-Paying Cities for Software Engineers in Massachusetts
New York City and its Silicon Alley is not the only game in town for tech on the U.S. East Coast. Massachusetts is home to some of the largest technology companies, and many of them are willing to pay top dollar for programming talent.
These are the top four best-paying cities for software engineers in Massachusetts, according to the professional social network Blind and its community of more than 5 million verified professionals. Blind considered the salary and the total compensation pay-package, including the annual base salary and any stock-based compensation and cash bonuses a company might offer employees.
1. Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Average total compensation: $208,279
- Median total compensation: $185,000
- Average salary: $134,114
- Median base salary: $130,000
Cambridge is the 22nd best-paying city in the United States, according to Blind, and the top in Massachusetts.
Some of the biggest technology companies headquartered in the home of the power-house universities Harvard and MIT include Akamai Technologies and HubSpot, the latter one of the state’s top employers. The tech giants Amazon, Dell, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle and many biotechnology companies also have offices in the brainy city.
2. Boston, Massachusetts
- Average total compensation: $173,659
- Median total compensation: $155,000
- Average salary: $133,189
- Median base salary: $130,000
The capital of Massachusetts and New England is home to Amazon, Dell, General Electric, Microsoft, Siemens and Wayfair. Despite the high-flyers, you may be surprised to find out that Boston only ranks No. 34 in the United States.
3. Waltham, Massachusetts
- Average total compensation: $152,859
- Median total compensation: $146,500
- Average salary: $133,354
- Median base salary: $133,000
While less than 14 square miles, you can find the medical and pharmaceutical powerhouses AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and PerkinElmer in the city of Waltham. Other contributors to the city’s high-earning potential are Raytheon and Texas Instruments.
4. Natick, Massachusetts
- Average total compensation: $137,279
- Median total compensation: $132,000
- Average salary: $122,911
- Median base salary: $120,000
The Middlesex County town is no slouch: Natick is home to the headquarters of Cognex and MathWorks.
Methodology
Blind analyzed the salaries and total compensation of software engineers in the United States on its platform. Cities were ranked by the average total compensation, including annual base salary and, if applicable, stock-based compensation and cash bonuses. The list includes only the Massachusetts cities in the top 80 best-paying cities for software engineers in the United States. All data is self-reported by verified professionals on the professional social network Blind.