Salary Outlook. The Labor Department reports that software developers made a median salary of $92,660 in 2013. The highest-paid 10 percent in the profession earned $143,540 in 2013, while the lowest-paid earned $55,770. software developer’s average salary, $96,260, is higher than most other occupations on our technology jobs list. For instance, a software developer made thousands more than computer systems analysts, who made an average salary of $85,320 in 2013, and computer programmers, who made about $80,930.