What Software Developers earn in Travis County, TX
The median pay for Software Developers in Travis County, TX is $134,120 per year, which works out to $64.48 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metropolitan area, the labor market that Travis County, TX belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $143,630, which is 7.1% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 31,960 people working in this occupation across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Travis County, TX has roughly 1,330,015 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $96,110 a year ($46.21 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $209,890 or more ($100.91 an hour). That is a gap of $113,780 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $104,000 at the 25th percentile and $168,730 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.2 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Software Developers in Travis County, TX is $64.48. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $134,120, and the same salary is $11,177 a month before taxes or about $5,158 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $49.33 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Travis County, TX compares
Compared with the Texas average
Travis County, TX pays above the state benchmark. The Texas employment-weighted average for Software Developers is $131,666; the local median of $134,120 beats it by $2,454, or 1.9%. Within Texas, Travis County, TX already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Software Developers is $146,295 across the contiguous United States. At $134,120, Travis County, TX pays $12,175 less, which is 8.3% 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 Travis County, TX
Among the 528 occupations with published wages in Travis County, TX, Software Developers ranks number 28 by median pay, ahead of about 95% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $117,850 a year, which is $16,270 less than the median for Software Developers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $134,120 does not arrive in full. We model a single filer with wage income only, the standard deduction and tax-year 2025 rules, and we keep the three tax layers apart: federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare) and state income tax. Together they take $31,516 a year, which leaves $102,604, or $8,550 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $23 goes to taxes and $77 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 23.5%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $118,370. 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 $21,256, 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 $8,315 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,945. FICA totals $10,260, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Texas
There is no state income tax on wages in Texas, which means Software Developers in Travis County, TX keep the full $102,604 left after federal and payroll taxes. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $6,706 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $559 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Travis County, TX
IRS Statistics of Income data for Travis County, TX show an average adjusted gross income of $150,791 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 19.2% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 12.9%, 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 Travis County, TX
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Travis County, TX: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $102,604 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Travis County, TX is $1,530 a month, or $18,360 a year. A two-bedroom costs $1,817 a month. For Software Developers, a one-bedroom absorbs 17.9% of take-home pay and 13.7% 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 Travis 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
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $25,427 a year, 25% of take-home pay. That leaves $77,177 a year, or $6,431 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 57.5% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Software Developers afford to live in Travis 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 $134,120 that ceiling is $3,353 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,530 is $1,823 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $29.42 an hour; the median for Software Developers is $64.48, which is 119% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $49.33 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 7.2 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,817 a month means $909 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,458 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $84,635.
How fast you can save
At $6,431 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 Travis County, TX
What is the hourly wage for Software Developers in Travis County, TX?
The median is $64.48 per hour, based on $134,120 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $46.21 at the 10th percentile to $100.91 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Software Developers in Travis County, TX?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $134,120 becomes $102,604 a year. That is $8,550 a month, $3,946 every two weeks or $1,973 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Software Developers in Travis County, TX?
Total taxes are $31,516 a year, an effective rate of 23.5%: $21,256 federal income tax, $10,260 FICA and no Texas income tax.
Is pay for Software Developers in Travis County, TX above the Texas average?
Yes. The local median of $134,120 is +1.9% versus the Texas average of $131,666, a difference of $2,454 a year.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Software Developers salary in Travis County, TX?
A one-bedroom costs $1,530 a month against take-home pay of $8,550, which is 17.9% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,353 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Software Developers in Travis County, TX?
About $6,431 a month ($77,177 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $25,427 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Travis County, TX at the 30% guideline?
$29.42 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $18,360 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Software Developers is $64.48.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, 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.