How much does a Software Engineer make in Hawaii?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $119,880 for Software Engineers in Hawaii as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $80,710 and the 75th-percentile is $167,110.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Software Engineer salary in Hawaii?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 109.7 for Hawaii), the real-wage equivalent is $109,277 — what the $119,880 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $73,571 to $152,329.

Where does Hawaii rank for Software Engineer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Hawaii ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

How wide is the wage spread in Hawaii?

P10 to P90 spans $53,840 to $194,220. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Hawaii?

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 Hawaii.

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 Hawaii?

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 Hawaii, 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.

Hawaii Software Engineer Salary: BLS $120K Median, Real $109K (2026)

TL;DR

Median Software Engineer salary in Hawaii: $119,880 nominal, $109,277 real (BEA RPP basis).
Nominal: #27/51 · Real: #49/51 — ranking shifts by 22 positions after RPP.
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
Wage envelope: $53,840 (P10) to $194,220 (P90), with quartiles at $80,710 and $167,110.

Wage breakdown — Hawaii

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$53,840	$49,078
P25 (lower quartile)	$80,710	$73,571
P50 (median)	$119,880	$109,277
P75 (upper quartile)	$167,110	$152,329
P90 (top tier)	$194,220	$177,042
Mean	$124,960	$113,908
Employment	1,940 Software Engineers in Hawaii

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Hawaii index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	109.7
Goods	110.3
Services	191.7
Rents	128.7

Hawaii is a high-cost state — RPP 109.7 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (128.7) and services (191.7).

After-tax take-home — Hawaii (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)	$119,880	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$17,621	14.7% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$8,962	1.4–11% (12 brackets)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,171	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$84,126	70.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$76,686	÷ (109.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Hawaii carries one of the heavier state-tax loads in the country at this income tier (7.5% effective on the BLS median). Combined with federal and FICA, gross-to-take-home spread is 29.8%, leaving $84,126 pre-RPP and $76,686 after the 109.7 cost-of-living index — a $43,194 gap from the headline gross.

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. Hawaii sits at #27 on nominal pay and #49 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Hawaii falls 22 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Software Engineer make in Hawaii?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $119,880 for Software Engineers in Hawaii as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $80,710 and the 75th-percentile is $167,110.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Software Engineer salary in Hawaii?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 109.7 for Hawaii), the real-wage equivalent is $109,277 — what the $119,880 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $73,571 to $152,329.
Where does Hawaii rank for Software Engineer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Hawaii ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
How wide is the wage spread in Hawaii?: P10 to P90 spans $53,840 to $194,220. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Hawaii?: 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 Hawaii.
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 Hawaii?: 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 Hawaii, 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.

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 Hawaii 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.