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Computer Programmers pay in Boulder, CO and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Computer Programmers is $155,030 per year in Boulder, CO. It is $154,920 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Boulder, CO is 0.1% above San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 15-1251 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists Not published wage and salary jobs in Boulder, CO and 980 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings