Web development is a lucrative career, and a person may want to know the answer to, “What is a typical starting salary for a web developer?” This is good knowledge to have because it allows a person to assess whether or not a job offer they get is a fair one for the location and their experience. Knowing about the typical starting salary for a web developer could also help a person create a budget for their finances upon graduation with a degree in web development or computer science.
Average Beginner Pay for Web Developers
The average beginner salary for a web developer is $59,181. According to Pay Scale, a web developer may also earn merit pay or commissions. Their data shows that the average beginner bonus is $2,002 per year, and the average commission is $1,939 per year. A web developer who works at a publicly-traded company might also be eligible for profit sharing or stock options. For those who get these benefits, the average yearly amount received by a starting web developer is $1,981.
Best-paying Cities for Web Developers
Certain locations have a much higher than average rate of pay for web developers, including those who are just starting in this occupation. The five highest-paying cities for web developers are San Francisco, San Rafael, Seattle, San Jose and Washington, District of Columbia. According to U.S. News and World Report, all five of those cities have average annual wages exceeding $93,000 for web developers.
Highest-paying States for Web Developers
The five highest-paying states for web developers are California, District of Columbia, Washington, Virginia and New York. When considering the salary of a web developer, it is also important to take a look at the place’s cost of living. Some states have a higher cost of living than others. For example, California has a higher than average cost of living. It is also a good idea to examine the cost of living in a metropolitan area. For example, the cost of living in New York City is higher than the cost of living in Buffalo, New York.
Typical Starting Salary By Job Title in Web Development
Within web development, there are different types of jobs. A beginner is likely to have a job such as a web designer, web software developer or web application developer. The average annual starting pay for a beginner web designer is $64,280. According to Salary.com, web software developers earn an average of $60,353 per year to start, and web application developers should expect a starting salary of approximately $61,198. After a few years of working at a beginner level of one of these jobs, a person could apply for or get promoted to a level two, three or four within that occupation. As a person advances through that job lineup, they can expect to attain a higher salary.
Pay for Web Developers By Industry of Employment
The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects information on the pay of web developers based on the industry of their employment. The publishing industry has the highest pay for web developers, with a median annual wage of $75,360. The other top-paying industries of employment for web developers are computer systems design, with a median annual salary of $68,670; management, scientific, and technical consulting services, with a median annual salary of $66,250; and advertising, public relations, and related services, with a median annual salary of $66,020. However, these salary numbers are not just for beginners in the occupation of web development. The median pay is the number at which half of the earners have a lower salary and half of the earners have a higher salary. The median annual wage for all web developers, including beginners, was $69,430 as of May 2018.
Web developers should have plenty of job opportunities, and the faster than average rate of growth should also mean that the salary offers will be competitive. A person who has knowledge of multiple programming languages and who has a specialization in an in-demand aspect of web development should be able to negotiate a good starting salary and excellent benefits from their employer. Knowing what the typical starting salary for a web developer can be is essential for making a sound decision about a job offer and creating a budget for oneself.
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