What Software Developers earn in Chatham County, NC
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $135,620: the median annual pay for Software Developers in Chatham County, NC. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $65.20 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $148,390, which is 9.4% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 9,790 people working in this occupation across the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Chatham County, NC has roughly 80,151 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 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $100,670 a year ($48.40 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $209,410 or more ($100.68 an hour). That is a gap of $108,740 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $128,290 at the 25th percentile and $168,720 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 Chatham County, NC is $65.20. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks adds up to $135,620, and the same salary is $11,302 a month before taxes or about $5,216 per biweekly pay period. After taxes the same job pays $47.31 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Software Developers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Software Developers this way: "Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Analyze user needs and develop software solutions, applying principles and techniques of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis. Update software or enhance existing software capabilities. May work with computer hardware engineers to integrate hardware and software systems, and develop specifications and performance requirements. May maintain databases within an application area, working individually or coordinating database development as part of a team."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Analyze information to determine, recommend, and plan installation of a new system or modification of an existing system"; "Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints"; "Confer with data processing or project managers to obtain information on limitations or capabilities for data processing projects"; "Confer with systems analysts, engineers, programmers and others to design systems and to obtain information on project limitations and capabilities, performance requirements and interfaces".
Job outlook for Software Developers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 1,717,800 jobs in 2025 to 1,892,600 in 2035, a change of +10.2%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 95,300 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 5.5% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $135,980 for this occupation; the Chatham County, NC median of $135,620 is 0.3% below it.
How pay in Chatham County, NC compares
Compared with the North Carolina average
Chatham County, NC pays above the state benchmark. The North Carolina employment-weighted average for Software Developers is $132,926; the local median of $135,620 beats it by $2,694, or 2.0%. Within North Carolina, the highest median we track for this job is $135,920 in Mecklenburg County, NC.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Software Developers is $146,295 across the contiguous United States. At $135,620, Chatham County, NC pays $10,675 less, which is 7.3% 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 Chatham County, NC
Among the 399 occupations with published wages in Chatham County, NC, Software Developers ranks number 25 by median pay, ahead of about 94% of them.
From gross pay to take-home pay
A salary of $135,620 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 $37,213 a year, which leaves $98,407, or $8,201 a month.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $27 goes to taxes and $73 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 27.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $119,870. 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 $21,616, an effective 15.9% 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 $8,408 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,966. FICA totals $10,375, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in North Carolina
North Carolina income tax on this salary is $5,222 a year, or 3.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 24% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $435 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 Chatham County, NC
IRS Statistics of Income data for Chatham County, NC show an average adjusted gross income of $124,760 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.5% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 11.3%, compared with the 15.9% 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 Chatham County, NC
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Chatham County, NC: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $98,407 of take-home pay.
Rent
The HUD Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Chatham County, NC is $1,554 a month, or $18,648 a year. A two-bedroom costs $1,745 a month. For Software Developers, a one-bedroom absorbs 18.9% of take-home pay and 13.8% 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 2.5% of gross pay for Software Developers in Chatham County, NC. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using North Carolina residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,493 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $645, for $2,138 in total. Gasoline in North Carolina averages $3.18 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,472.
What is left over
Add the four basics together and living costs come to $25,694 a year, 26% of take-home pay. That leaves $72,714 a year, or $6,059 a month, for savings, transportation beyond fuel, health care, debt and everything else. That margin equals 53.6% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Chatham County, NC
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Chatham County, NC: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Chatham County, NC, set beside the North Carolina and national medians.
Property taxes in Chatham County, NC
Homeowners in Chatham County, NC pay a median of $2,847 a year in real estate taxes, 50% above the North Carolina median of $1,896 and 9% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $446,200, the median tax bill is 0.64% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Software Developers median of $135,620, a tax bill of that size would equal 2.1% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Chatham County, NC
Renters in Chatham County, NC pay a median gross rent of $1,180 a month in the Census survey, 4% below the North Carolina median of $1,228. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,554 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $446,200, 54% above the North Carolina median of $288,900. Median household income is $94,317, 30% above the North Carolina median of $72,388, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 19.8% of that income.
Commuting in Chatham County, NC
Workers in Chatham County, NC who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.4 minutes each way, 13% above the North Carolina average of 25.1. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.7 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 22.5% of workers in Chatham County, NC work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Software Developers afford to live in Chatham County, NC?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $135,620 that ceiling is $3,390 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,554 is $1,836 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $29.88 an hour; the median for Software Developers is $65.20, which is 118% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $47.31 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 7.6 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,745 a month means $873 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,178 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $80,892.
How fast you can save
At $6,059 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 Chatham County, NC
What is the hourly wage for Software Developers in Chatham County, NC?
The median is $65.20 per hour, based on $135,620 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $48.40 at the 10th percentile to $100.68 at the 90th percentile.
What is the take-home pay for Software Developers in Chatham County, NC?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $135,620 becomes $98,407 a year. That is $8,201 a month, $3,785 every two weeks or $1,892 a week.
What percentage of pay goes to taxes for Software Developers in Chatham County, NC?
Total taxes are $37,213 a year, an effective rate of 27.4%: $21,616 federal income tax, $10,375 FICA and $5,222 North Carolina income tax.
Is pay for Software Developers in Chatham County, NC above the North Carolina average?
Yes. The local median of $135,620 is +2.0% versus the North Carolina average of $132,926, a difference of $2,694 a year.
Is a one-bedroom rent affordable on the median Software Developers salary in Chatham County, NC?
A one-bedroom costs $1,554 a month against take-home pay of $8,201, which is 18.9% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,390 a month.
How much is left after rent, food and energy for Software Developers in Chatham County, NC?
About $6,059 a month ($72,714 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $25,694 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Chatham County, NC at the 30% guideline?
$29.88 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $18,648 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Software Developers is $65.20.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 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 North Carolina 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.