What Software Developers earn in DeKalb County, GA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $132,960: the median annual pay for Software Developers in DeKalb County, GA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $63.92 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $135,870, which is 2.2% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 36,300 people working in this occupation across the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. DeKalb County, GA has roughly 765,351 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 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $83,400 a year ($40.10 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $178,330 or more ($85.74 an hour). That is a gap of $94,930 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $104,640 at the 25th percentile and $164,200 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
Converted to an hourly wage, the median for Software Developers in DeKalb County, GA is $63.92. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $132,960, and the same salary is $11,080 a month before taxes or about $5,114 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $45.93 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in DeKalb County, GA compares
Compared with the Georgia average
DeKalb County, GA pays above the state benchmark. The Georgia employment-weighted average for Software Developers is $130,533; the local median of $132,960 beats it by $2,427, or 1.9%. Within Georgia, DeKalb County, GA 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 $132,960, DeKalb County, GA pays $13,335 less, which is 9.1% 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 DeKalb County, GA
Among the 585 occupations with published wages in DeKalb County, GA, Software Developers ranks number 37 by median pay, ahead of about 94% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $177,970 a year, which is $45,010 more than the median for Software Developers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $132,960 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 $37,427 a year, which leaves $95,533, or $7,961 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $28 goes to taxes and $72 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 28.1%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $117,210. 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 $20,977, 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 $8,244 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,928. FICA totals $10,171, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Georgia
Georgia income tax on this salary is $6,278 a year, or 4.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 30% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $523 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for DeKalb County, GA
IRS Statistics of Income data for DeKalb County, GA show an average adjusted gross income of $96,793 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.0% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 12.6%, 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 DeKalb County, GA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in DeKalb County, GA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $95,533 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in DeKalb County, GA is $1,619 a month, or $19,428 a year. A two-bedroom costs $1,762 a month. For Software Developers, a one-bedroom absorbs 20.3% of take-home pay and 14.6% 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 DeKalb County, GA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Georgia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,488 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $720, for $2,207 in total. Gasoline in Georgia averages $2.95 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,366.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $26,437 a year, 28% of take-home pay. That leaves $69,096 a year, or $5,758 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 52.0% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Software Developers afford to live in DeKalb County, GA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $132,960 that ceiling is $3,324 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,619 is $1,705 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $31.13 an hour; the median for Software Developers is $63.92, which is 105% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $45.93 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 8.1 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,762 a month means $881 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,856 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $77,952.
How fast you can save
At $5,758 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 DeKalb County, GA
What is the hourly wage for Software Developers in DeKalb County, GA?
The median is $63.92 per hour, based on $132,960 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $40.10 at the 10th percentile to $85.74 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Software Developers in DeKalb County, GA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $132,960 becomes $95,533 a year. That is $7,961 a month, $3,674 every two weeks or $1,837 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Software Developers in DeKalb County, GA?
Total taxes are $37,427 a year, an effective rate of 28.1%: $20,977 federal income tax, $10,171 FICA and $6,278 Georgia income tax.
Is pay for Software Developers in DeKalb County, GA above the Georgia average?
Yes. The local median of $132,960 is +1.9% versus the Georgia average of $130,533, a difference of $2,427 a year.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Software Developers salary in DeKalb County, GA?
A one-bedroom costs $1,619 a month against take-home pay of $7,961, which is 20.3% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,324 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Software Developers in DeKalb County, GA?
About $5,758 a month ($69,096 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $26,437 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in DeKalb County, GA at the 30% guideline?
$31.13 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,428 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Software Developers is $63.92.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 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 Georgia 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.