Why is the BEA RPP for Alaska different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Alaska's overall index of 103.3 reflects rents 96.7, services 113.3, and goods 103.7.

How wide is the wage spread in Alaska?

P10 to P90 spans $92,980 to $196,500. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

What are the limits of these Software Engineer salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Alaska?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Alaska.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Does the BLS software engineer wage include FAANG total comp in Alaska?

No — BLS OES captures W-2 base wages only. RSU vesting, sign-on bonuses, performance bonuses, and equity refreshes are not included. For senior tech-cluster roles in Alaska, total comp can run 30-70% above the BLS-reported median once equity is added back. The Levels.fyi-style breakdowns on the parent occupation page show the gap.

How does remote work affect software engineer pay in Alaska?

Remote-first companies typically anchor pay to one of three reference markets (Bay Area, NYC, or a national average) regardless of where the engineer lives. Alaska-resident engineers working remotely for high-CoL companies can earn well above the in-state BLS median; the BEA RPP-adjusted real wage advantage is meaningful. Conversely, location-adjusted remote bands compress the spread.

Alaska Software Engineer Salary: BLS $120K Median, Real $116K (2026)

TL;DR

$119,600 is the BLS median wage for Software Engineers in Alaska; $115,783 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Wage envelope: $92,980 (P10) to $196,500 (P90), with quartiles at $95,930 and $167,140.
State ranks #28 nationally on nominal wage, #40 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Alaska

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$92,980	$90,012
P25 (lower quartile)	$95,930	$92,868
P50 (median)	$119,600	$115,783
P75 (upper quartile)	$167,140	$161,805
P90 (top tier)	$196,500	$190,228
Mean	$132,940	$128,697
Employment	430 Software Engineers in Alaska

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Alaska index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	103.3
Goods	103.7
Services	113.3
Rents	96.7

Alaska's overall RPP (103.3) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Alaska (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Software Engineer)	$119,600	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$17,559	14.7% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no state income tax
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,149	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$92,892	77.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$89,927	÷ (103.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Alaska state-tax burden means for Software Engineer take-home

Alaska levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $5,980 a year for a Software Engineer at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After cost of living, real take-home is $89,927 — lower than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP exceeds 100.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $133,080 for Software Engineers with mean pay of $144,570 and total employment of 1,654,440. Alaska sits at #28 on nominal pay and #40 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Alaska falls 12 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the BEA RPP for Alaska different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Alaska's overall index of 103.3 reflects rents 96.7, services 113.3, and goods 103.7.
How wide is the wage spread in Alaska?: P10 to P90 spans $92,980 to $196,500. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
What are the limits of these Software Engineer salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Alaska?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Alaska.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Does the BLS software engineer wage include FAANG total comp in Alaska?: No — BLS OES captures W-2 base wages only. RSU vesting, sign-on bonuses, performance bonuses, and equity refreshes are not included. For senior tech-cluster roles in Alaska, total comp can run 30-70% above the BLS-reported median once equity is added back. The Levels.fyi-style breakdowns on the parent occupation page show the gap.
How does remote work affect software engineer pay in Alaska?: Remote-first companies typically anchor pay to one of three reference markets (Bay Area, NYC, or a national average) regardless of where the engineer lives. Alaska-resident engineers working remotely for high-CoL companies can earn well above the in-state BLS median; the BEA RPP-adjusted real wage advantage is meaningful. Conversely, location-adjusted remote bands compress the spread.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-1252, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Alaska Software Engineer pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.