Software engineers in Denver and Boulder have it pretty good compared to San Francisco.
On average, Front Range software engineers earn $116,000 a year, according to a report from online job matchmaker .
But should those engineers move to San Francisco, they would need $180,000 a year to maintain a Front Range lifestyle — much more than the Bay Area’s average salary of $132,000.
Denverites are very well off in comparison to other cities, said Mehul Patel, CEO of , which vets job candidates to speed up employer hiring time.
“Denver is one of the places we see where great talent wants to move. The low cost of living and cost to run a business is a draw,” Patel said. “You get this great ecosystem of great companies and talent that wants to be here.”
And salaries are expected to rise here because everyone needs tech workers — not just tech companies, said John Challenger, CEO of outplacement agency Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
“The shortages in tech are causing compensation to increase. Companies have no choice. Companies don’t work when their IT fails,” Challenger said.
Denver’s unemployment rate hit 3.1 percent in October while the San Francisco area’s rate was at 4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And while housing prices are rising rapidly in Denver, the median prices are far below those of the Bay Area. Renters in Denver also spend about 35 percent of their income on housing, while San Franciscans commit 46 percent, according to a study by Zillow.
But it also pays more to live in San Francisco first and then get recruited to Denver. Software engineers who live in Denver received an average salary offer of $113,000. Those lured here from San Francisco were offered $123,000.
“That’s reflective of people being drawn from other markets and are being paid more,” Patel said. But, he added, “the spread is getting quite narrow.”
The only region better off than Denver are software engineers in Austin, Tex., where the average salary is $108,000. That same worker would need to make $195,000 if she or he moved to San Francisco.
Hired, which launched in Denver a few months ago, used data from 80,000 actual interview requests and job offers between its clients and job candidates. About 75 percent of software engineers hired by Denver-area firms were already in Denver, according to Hired.
Software engineer salaries for the Denver area range between $100,000 and $150,000.
Tamara Chuang: tchuang@denverpost.com or visit dpo.st/tamara
