Everyone knows Seattle tech workers make good money. Even so, when it comes to earnings, it’s remarkable how far they’ve pulled ahead.
New census data shows in 2023, Seattle residents who worked in computer and mathematical jobs had median earnings of about $157,200, up by about $14,000 from the 2022 estimate. This marks the first time median earnings for Seattle workers in any occupational category passed the $150,000 mark.
The overall median earnings for employed Seattle residents ages 16 and older last year was just slightly more than half the median for tech workers, at about $81,100. Unlike the median for tech workers, the overall median didn’t increase much from 2022, when it was estimated at $78,300 — that small $2,800 bump was within the margin of error.
The computer-and-mathematical-occupation category is primarily made up of tech jobs. In Seattle, most workers in this category are software developers, but some other occupations included are computer programmer, computer scientist, systems analyst, web developer, network administrator, computer hardware engineer and computer support specialist.
In Seattle, the median for men who work in these jobs was $165,100 and for women it was $131,100.
The median is the midway point, meaning half the workers earned more and half earned less. The census data includes full- and part-time workers.
Earnings, as defined by the Census Bureau, includes all wage or salary income, including tips, commissions and cash bonuses, before taxes and other deductions.
The median earnings for tech workers was significantly higher than for any other group of Seattle workers in 2023.
The group with the second-highest compensation among Seattle workers is perhaps more surprising: Law-enforcement workers, who had median earnings of $124,600.
Last year was the first time the median workers in this category ranked second, and it happened because of an increase of more than $20,000 from 2022, when the median was $103,800. With that increase in compensation, law-enforcement workers leapfrogged legal professionals and managers among workers who reside in Seattle.
In an effort to combat staffing shortages, the Seattle City Council allowed the Seattle Police Department to offer incentives, which in 2022 were up to $30,000 in bonuses for lateral hires and up to $7,500 for new recruits.
While the median earnings for law-enforcement workers was $32,000 lower than that of tech workers last year, the gap could shrink. In May, the Seattle City Council approved a new contract with the Seattle police union that includes significant increases in compensation, and which will make Seattle officers the highest paid in the state.
Management occupations ranked third for median earnings among Seattle residents last year, at about $121,000, a slightly higher estimate than the median for legal occupations, which was $116,100. Engineering and architecture occupations, which are lumped together in a single category, rounded out the top 5, with a median of $111,000.
For most occupations categories, men in Seattle had higher median earnings than women. There were some exceptions, such as health technologists and technicians, health care support workers, social service workers and transportation workers.
While median earnings for Seattle tech workers increased last year, the number of city residents working in these occupations did not, which is a change from previous years. That likely reflects layoffs and a slowdown in hiring at Amazon.
About 66,700 Seattle residents had computer and mathematical jobs in 2023, which is a little lower than the estimate for 2022, which was 68,700, although that change is not statistically significant.
