Start with the answer
Software Developers pay in Auburn-Opelika, AL and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Software Developers is $120,310 per year in Auburn-Opelika, AL. It is $213,110 per year in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. Auburn-Opelika, AL is 43.5% below San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 15-1252 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 290 wage and salary jobs in Auburn-Opelika, AL and 87,350 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