Tech Salaries & Take-Homein the US, 2026
Verified salary benchmarks and contractor day rates, plus free take-home calculators for 83 technology roles across the US.
83roles12cities$157Kmedian salary$102/hourmedian day rate
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What brings you to the US?
I'm job-hunting
Compare US salaries and see exactly what an offer keeps after tax.
I'm contracting
Day rates and take-home modelling for US contractors.
I'm hiring
Budget the true cost of a hire and see where US demand is shifting.
I need a calculation
Work out take-home pay, a contractor equivalent, or the cost of an offer in US.
Most searched
Most searched roles in the US
Browse all 83 rolesThe roles people in the US look up most often when researching pay, benchmarked against live 2026 market data.
Software Engineer
$182K
per yearMedian salary
$155K – $210K
DevOps Engineer
$154K
per yearMedian salary
$114K – $188K
Engineering Manager
$180K
per yearMedian salary
$148K – $216K
AI / ML Engineer
$167K
per yearMedian salary
$125K – $216K
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
$200K
per yearMedian salary
$155K – $280K
Cloud Architect (AWS / Azure / GCP)
$174K
per yearMedian salary
$133K – $210K
Local benchmarks
Tech salaries by city in the US
View all salary benchmarksExplore local salary benchmarks for the locations candidates and hiring teams research most often.
Momentum to watch
Fastest pay growth in the US
Salaries don't move evenly across the board. These roles have seen the sharpest year-on-year rises.
Know your number
Take-Home & Tax Calculators for the US
A salary is only as good as what lands in your account. These free tools show exactly what you keep after tax, whether you're salaried, contracting, or hiring in the US.
US Paycheck Calculator
Hourly or Salary · Federal Tax · FICA · Real State Tax, All 50 States + DC
$30/hr, 40 hrs/week → ~$2,012 net per biweekly paycheck (no state selected)
NewUS Salary Calculator
Federal Tax · FICA · Real State Tax, All 50 States + DC
$120K gross → ~$93K take-home (federal + FICA, no state selected)
NewUS Bonus Tax Calculator
22%/37% IRS Withholding · FICA · True Marginal Rate
$120K salary + $20K bonus → $14,070 net at withholding (22% federal + FICA, no state)
NewUS Contractor Rate Calculator
W-2 Agency vs 1099 Sole Proprietor · Federal + FICA + State
$85/hr, W-2 agency, 1,920 hrs → $123K take-home (75% retention, no state tax)
NewUS 401(k) Calculator
Contribution · Employer Match · Tax Savings · Growth Projection
$80K salary, 6% contribution, 50% match up to 6% → $7,200/yr total, $680K projected in 30 yrs
NewUS Employer Cost Calculator
FICA Employer Match · FUTA · Configurable SUTA
$100K salary → ~$108K true cost of employment (1.08×)
Beyond the payslip
Contracting and market data for the US
Deeper signals behind the headline salary numbers: day rates for contractors, and where demand is shifting.
Contractor day rates
Benchmarks for contractors in the US, with IR35 and tax take-home tools.
Market intelligence
Fastest-growing jobs, in-demand skills, and top-paying skills across the US.
Popular contractor rate benchmarks
Torn between two roles?
Compare tech role salaries side by side
Median pay, ranges, and growth for two roles at once. Useful for a lateral move or a specialism switch.
Compare any two rolesFresh off the data desk
Pay Insights for the US
All US insightsWhat the numbers actually mean for your career or your hiring plan, written by people who spend their day inside this data.
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