Technology · 45 Cities Ranked

Highest Paying Cities for Software Quality Assurance Analyst (2025)

The median Software Quality Assurance Analyst salary is $218,420 in San Jose, CA, the highest-paying city for this role. After adjusting for cost of living, Rochester, NY offers the best purchasing power at $219,957 adjusted.

The 45 cities below are ranked by median wage for Software Quality Assurance Analyst, drawn from BLS OEWS. Top-of-list cities typically combine high local labor demand with above-baseline cost-of-living, so the gross-wage ranking partly reflects COL adjustment. Reading the ranking carefully: gross median wage is the headline number, but the cost-adjusted figure (which divides by the city's cost-of-living index) tells a different story for high-COL cities. The ranking sorts on gross wage; the per-city pages surface the adjusted figure.

For workers evaluating Software Quality Assurance Analyst relocation, the top of the ranking is the obvious starting point — but the bottom of the list (low gross wage, low COL) is often where cost-adjusted real income is highest. The role-specific pages link to per-city detail.

$140,192

National Median

$218,420

Highest City

$79,580

Lowest City

Cities Ranked

Ranked by Median Salary

Rank	City	Median	Range (10th-90th)	COL Index	COL-Adjusted	Jobs
1	San Jose, CA	$218,420	$133,270, $310,190	195.8	$111,553	2,210
2	Seattle, WA	$211,270	$103,480, $286,400	149.4	$141,412	1,620
3	Portland, OR	$206,220	$131,020, $351,690	130.1	$158,509	660
4	Rochester, NY	$204,340	$135,520, $214,550	92.9	$219,957	50
5	Albany, NY	$181,990	$122,250, $280,710	100.7	$180,725	200
6	San Francisco, CA	$171,440	$96,440, $281,020	179.6	$95,457	1,670
7	New York, NY	$170,890	$94,550, $314,130	187.2	$91,287	2,100
8	Boston, MA	$170,510	$77,160, $249,910	152.1	$112,104	1,620
9	Atlanta, GA	$166,800	$85,990, $249,130	99.2	$168,145	110
10	Albuquerque, NM	$165,690	$108,510, $285,530	94	$176,266	220
11	Phoenix, AZ	$164,460	$62,870, $409,390	100.7	$163,317	160
12	Richmond, VA	$162,910	$103,860, $216,170	102.1	$159,559	160
13	Washington, DC	$161,090	$103,440, $223,800	152.8	$105,425	3,420
14	Baltimore, MD	$156,750	$101,400, $197,050	114.2	$137,259	1,070
15	Los Angeles, CA	$155,960	$81,450, $227,300	166	$93,952	940
16	Cincinnati, OH	$155,910	$44,530, $159,360	91.2	$170,954	50
17	St. Louis, MO	$142,660	$79,000, $246,240	90	$158,511	100
18	Sacramento, CA	$139,210	$83,450, $256,140	124.7	$111,636	140
19	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$137,330	$91,620, $176,760	122.4	$112,198	150
20	Jacksonville, FL	$136,990	$67,840, $200,420	95.1	$144,048	60
21	Detroit, MI	$136,720	$106,330, $180,770	95.1	$143,764	150
22	Minneapolis, MN	$135,880	$83,920, $174,740	106.2	$127,947	30
23	Chicago, IL	$135,630	$49,190, $243,360	107.3	$126,403	490
24	Houston, TX	$134,050	$69,840, $199,830	96.5	$138,912	380
25	Denver, CO	$133,970	$88,110, $219,990	112.8	$118,768	160
26	Miami, FL	$132,680	$69,540, $215,580	123.1	$107,782	110
27	Hartford, CT	$131,650	$131,650, $131,650	112.6	$116,918	0
28	Pittsburgh, PA	$130,300	$90,030, $179,090	92.3	$141,170	50
29	Raleigh, NC	$128,370	$128,370, $182,000	99.8	$128,627	280
30	Austin, TX	$127,360	$80,250, $213,760	103	$123,650	300
31	Philadelphia, PA	$125,320	$79,160, $175,420	118.4	$105,845	350
32	Providence, RI	$123,390	$91,230, $174,630	119.4	$103,342	510
33	San Diego, CA	$121,530	$82,220, $195,190	160.2	$75,861	1,680
34	Bakersfield, CA	$116,650	$87,760, $159,700	100.6	$115,954	490
35	Orlando, FL	$116,470	$79,160, $186,200	103.1	$112,968	250
36	Nashville, TN	$111,090	$86,050, $134,500	100.3	$110,758	0
37	Tampa, FL	$109,660	$68,000, $178,490	99.6	$110,100	120
38	New Orleans, LA	$108,990	$75,570, $136,990	95.9	$113,650	80
39	Colorado Springs, CO	$107,090	$77,330, $149,050	104.5	$102,478	130
40	Kansas City, MO	$104,670	$78,410, $172,210	95.4	$109,717	120
41	Charlotte, NC	$102,630	$80,080, $172,430	96.7	$106,132	110
42	San Antonio, TX	$94,220	$63,550, $170,850	91.5	$102,973	0
43	Oklahoma City, OK	$93,100	$71,930, $135,890	86.5	$107,630	560
44	Indianapolis, IN	$86,800	$68,840, $137,460	90.1	$96,337	120
45	Tucson, AZ	$79,580	$59,680, $130,830	95.4	$83,417	60

Ranked by Purchasing Power (COL-Adjusted)

Cost-of-living adjusted salaries show where your Software Quality Assurance Analyst paycheck goes furthest. A lower COL index means your dollars stretch further.

Rank	City	COL-Adjusted	Raw Median	COL Index
1	Rochester, NY	$219,957	$204,340	92.9
2	Albany, NY	$180,725	$181,990	100.7
3	Albuquerque, NM	$176,266	$165,690	94
4	Cincinnati, OH	$170,954	$155,910	91.2
5	Atlanta, GA	$168,145	$166,800	99.2
6	Phoenix, AZ	$163,317	$164,460	100.7
7	Richmond, VA	$159,559	$162,910	102.1
8	St. Louis, MO	$158,511	$142,660	90
9	Portland, OR	$158,509	$206,220	130.1
10	Jacksonville, FL	$144,048	$136,990	95.1
11	Detroit, MI	$143,764	$136,720	95.1
12	Seattle, WA	$141,412	$211,270	149.4
13	Pittsburgh, PA	$141,170	$130,300	92.3
14	Houston, TX	$138,912	$134,050	96.5
15	Baltimore, MD	$137,259	$156,750	114.2
16	Raleigh, NC	$128,627	$128,370	99.8
17	Minneapolis, MN	$127,947	$135,880	106.2
18	Chicago, IL	$126,403	$135,630	107.3
19	Austin, TX	$123,650	$127,360	103
20	Denver, CO	$118,768	$133,970	112.8
21	Hartford, CT	$116,918	$131,650	112.6
22	Bakersfield, CA	$115,954	$116,650	100.6
23	New Orleans, LA	$113,650	$108,990	95.9
24	Orlando, FL	$112,968	$116,470	103.1
25	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	$112,198	$137,330	122.4
26	Boston, MA	$112,104	$170,510	152.1
27	Sacramento, CA	$111,636	$139,210	124.7
28	San Jose, CA	$111,553	$218,420	195.8
29	Nashville, TN	$110,758	$111,090	100.3
30	Tampa, FL	$110,100	$109,660	99.6
31	Kansas City, MO	$109,717	$104,670	95.4
32	Miami, FL	$107,782	$132,680	123.1
33	Oklahoma City, OK	$107,630	$93,100	86.5
34	Charlotte, NC	$106,132	$102,630	96.7
35	Philadelphia, PA	$105,845	$125,320	118.4
36	Washington, DC	$105,425	$161,090	152.8
37	Providence, RI	$103,342	$123,390	119.4
38	San Antonio, TX	$102,973	$94,220	91.5
39	Colorado Springs, CO	$102,478	$107,090	104.5
40	Indianapolis, IN	$96,337	$86,800	90.1
41	San Francisco, CA	$95,457	$171,440	179.6
42	Los Angeles, CA	$93,952	$155,960	166
43	New York, NY	$91,287	$170,890	187.2
44	Tucson, AZ	$83,417	$79,580	95.4
45	San Diego, CA	$75,861	$121,530	160.2

Frequently Asked Questions

San Jose, CA pays the highest median Software Quality Assurance Analyst salary at $218,420. However, after cost-of-living adjustment, Rochester, NY offers the most purchasing power at $219,957 adjusted.

The national median Software Quality Assurance Analyst salary is $140,192 based on BLS data. Salaries range from $79,580 to $218,420 depending on city.

Not necessarily. A city with higher nominal pay may have a higher cost of living that offsets the salary difference. Compare the "COL-Adjusted" column in both tables above, cities with lower costs of living often offer better real purchasing power.