What Software Developers earn in Tarrant County, TX
According to the latest federal wage data for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area, the median pay for Software Developers in Tarrant County, TX is $133,290 a year, or $64.08 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare (and no state income tax), the paycheck shrinks to $102,037 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Tarrant County, TX.
The mean wage is $138,810, which is 4.1% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 67,030 people working in this occupation across the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Tarrant County, TX has roughly 2,167,390 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Software Developers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $85,920 a year ($41.31 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $179,400 or more ($86.25 an hour). That is a gap of $93,480 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $105,660 at the 25th percentile and $164,100 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.1 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $64.08 an hour or $133,290 a year at the median for Tarrant County, TX. Before any deductions, that is $11,108 a month, $5,127 every two weeks and $2,563 each week. After taxes the same job pays $49.06 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Tarrant County, TX compares
Compared with the Texas average
A worker in this occupation in Tarrant County, TX earns $1,624 more than the Texas average of $131,666, a premium of 1.2%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,624 before tax and roughly $1,243 after tax. Within Texas, the highest median we track for this job is $134,120 in Travis County, TX.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Software Developers is $146,295 across the contiguous United States. At $133,290, Tarrant County, TX pays $13,005 less, which is 8.9% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Tarrant County, TX
Among the 627 occupations with published wages in Tarrant County, TX, Software Developers ranks number 44 by median pay, ahead of about 93% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $173,810 a year, which is $40,520 more than the median for Software Developers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Software Developers earning the Tarrant County, TX median of $133,290, they add up to $31,253. The result is $102,037 of take-home pay a year ($8,503 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $23 goes to taxes and $77 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 23.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $117,540. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $21,057, an effective 15.8% of gross pay, well below the 24% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $8,264 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,933. FICA totals $10,197, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Texas
Texas does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Software Developers in Tarrant County, TX is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $6,665 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $555 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Tarrant County, TX
IRS Statistics of Income data for Tarrant County, TX show an average adjusted gross income of $94,073 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.8% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 11.2%, compared with the 15.8% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Tarrant County, TX
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Tarrant County, TX: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $102,037 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Tarrant County, TX, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,481 a month ($17,772 a year), and at $1,745 for two bedrooms. For Software Developers, a one-bedroom absorbs 17.4% of take-home pay and 13.3% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 2.6% of gross pay for Software Developers in Tarrant County, TX. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Texas residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,578 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $719, for $2,297 in total. Gasoline in Texas averages $2.88 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,334.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $24,839 a year in Tarrant County, TX. Subtract that from $102,037 of take-home pay and $77,197 remains, which is $6,433 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 57.9% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Software Developers afford to live in Tarrant County, TX?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $133,290 that ceiling is $3,332 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,481 is $1,851 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $28.48 an hour; the median for Software Developers is $64.08, which is 125% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $49.06 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 7.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,745 a month means $873 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,302 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $84,499.
How fast you can save
At $6,433 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 2 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 4 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Software Developers pay in Tarrant County, TX
How much do Software Developers make per hour in Tarrant County, TX?
The median is $64.08 per hour, based on $133,290 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $41.31 at the 10th percentile to $86.25 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Software Developers take home after taxes in Tarrant County, TX?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $133,290 becomes $102,037 a year. That is $8,503 a month, $3,924 every two weeks or $1,962 a week.
How much tax do Software Developers pay in Tarrant County, TX?
Total taxes are $31,253 a year, an effective rate of 23.4%: $21,057 federal income tax, $10,197 FICA and no Texas income tax.
Do Software Developers earn more in Tarrant County, TX than elsewhere in Texas?
Yes. The local median of $133,290 is +1.2% versus the Texas average of $131,666, a difference of $1,624 a year.
Can Software Developers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Tarrant County, TX?
A one-bedroom costs $1,481 a month against take-home pay of $8,503, which is 17.4% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,332 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Software Developers in Tarrant County, TX?
About $6,433 a month ($77,197 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $24,839 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Tarrant County, TX at the 30% guideline?
$28.48 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $17,772 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Software Developers is $64.08.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Texas rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.