Software Engineer Salary: Boston vs San Diego
Annual median salary comparison (2024). All figures include local currency, USD equivalent, and PPP-adjusted purchasing power.
🇺🇸 Boston
United States
$155K USD
$155K USD
$155K PPP
Higher Purchasing Power
VS
USD Difference
+5%
Boston vs San Diego
🇺🇸 San Diego
United States
$148K USD
$148K USD
$148K PPP
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Boston | San Diego | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Currency Salary | $155K USD | $148K USD | — |
| USD Equivalent | $155K | $148K | +5% |
| PPP-Adjusted SalaryWINNER | $155K 🏆 | $148K | +5% |
| 25th Percentile | $124K USD | $118K USD | — |
| Median | $155K USD | $148K USD | — |
| 75th Percentile | $194K USD | $185K USD | — |
| Annual Mean | $167K USD | $160K USD | — |
What Does This Mean?
Boston offers a Software Engineer salary of $155K USD, while San Diego offers $148K USD — a difference of +5% in raw terms.
After adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Boston's salary is worth $155K in US purchasing power terms, versus $148K for San Diego. This means Boston offers better real purchasing power for this role.
PPP adjustment accounts for differences in local prices — for example, housing costs 3x more in San Francisco than in Warsaw, so a San Francisco salary needs to be much higher to provide an equivalent standard of living.