Houston cashes in with some of the highest salaries in Texas for this in-demand tech job

top in tech

Houston is a top-paying city in Texas for software engineers. Photo by Laurence Dutton/Getty Images

It really pays to be a software engineer in Houston, new data shows.

According to figures collected by the professional social network Blind, Houston appears at No. 2 on this list of the best-paying Texas cities for software engineers. Here, the average annual salary is $111,625, and the average annual compensation is $137,987.

“Long before Austin became a magnet for jobs, there was Houston. Long a hub for the aerospace, defense, and energy industries, the aptly named Space City has been a go-to place for a job in tech,” Blind says.

Among the Houston tech employers mentioned by Blind are Aspen Technology, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, and SAP.

Software engineers, also known as software developers, create and test apps, computer software, and related technology. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics identifies software developer as one of the most in-demand jobs for 2020 to 2030. The bureau projects the need for an additional 409,500 software developers in the U.S. during that period.

“In nearly every industry, we’re facing a global talent shortage,” says KMS Technology, an Atlanta-based provider of software development, testing, and consulting services. “When it comes to software development, however, the shortage is perhaps the most severe. Companies are struggling to find qualified software engineers to fill jobs, and it’s happening in record numbers.”

Therefore, software engineers continue to be among the highest-paid workers in the country.

Elsewhere it Texas, and not surprisingly given its reputation as a tech hub, Austin ranks as the best-paying city in Texas for software engineers, per Blind. There, the annual base salary for a software engineer is $128,524, and the average annual compensation package (including salary, stock options, bonuses, and other goodies) is $171,981.

“It may be no surprise that Austin is No. 1, as the state capital is home to some of the largest tech giants,” Blind says.

Blind rattles off several tech companies with a big presence there: Apple, Amazon, Dell, Facebook, Google, PayPal, Tesla, and TikTok.

The typical pay for a software engineer in Austin stands in stark contrast to the typical pay for all workers here. Estimates vary widely, but PayScale puts the average local salary at $74,000 a year.

Meanwhile, Dallas ranks third on the Blind list. In Big D, the average annual salary is $113,517, and the average annual compensation is $132,788.

Prominent tech employers in Dallas include FireEye, Match, Palo Alto Networks, and Texas Instruments, according to Blind.

The Dallas suburb of Plano comes in at No. 4. The average annual salary for a software engineer in Plano is $107,251, while the average annual compensation is $121,127.

“North Texas is experiencing strong job growth, and Plano has benefited from the boom,” Blind says.

High-profile tech employers in Plano include IBM, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Red Hat, and Splunk, according to Blind.

Rounding out the top five in Texas is San Antonio. There, the average annual salary for a software engineer is $94,626, and the average annual compensation is $105,254.

San Antonio tech employers highlighted by Blind include Fiserv, iHeartMedia, Oracle, Rackspace, and ServiceNow.

------

This article originally ran on CultureMap.

From Your Site Articles
Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

5 must-read innovation headlines: Pharma giant considers Houston hub + more

Trending news

Editor's note: With May coming to a close, it's time to look back at the biggest innovation headlines for the second half of the month. Major moves were made in May, with NuScale Power entering the market, Persona AI inking a deal with Under Armour, and a pharma giant considering Houston for its next manufacturing hub. Here are the most-read InnovationMap stories published May 15-29, 2026:

1. Pharma giant considers Houston for $1 billion manufacturing campus

Another pharmaceutical giant is considering Houston’s Generation Park for a manufacturing hub. According to a recent filing with the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation (JETI) program, Bristol Myers Squibb Co. is considering the northeast Houston management district for a new $1 billion multi-modal pharmaceutical manufacturing campus.

2. Modular nuclear reactor co. NuScale Power moves into Houston market

The nuclear energy renaissance continues in Texas with an announcement by NuScale Power. The Oregon-based provider of proprietary and innovative advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology announced in April it would be opening office space in Houston’s CityCentre.

3. Persona AI teams with Under Armour to protect next-gen robots

Houston-based Persona AI has cemented a partnership with sportswear manufacturer Under Armour to provide materials to protect future robots operating in dangerous conditions. Through the partnership, Persona AI and Under Armour will launch a research initiative to explore whether advanced performance textiles can improve the durability and resilience of humanoid robots operating in harsh industrial environments.

4. Houston quantum energy chip startup emerges from stealth with $12M round

Houston-based Casimir has emerged from stealth with a $12 million seed round to commercialize its quantum energy chip. The round was led by Austin-based Scout Ventures. Lavrock Ventures, Cottonwood Technology, Capital Factory, American Deep Tech, and Tim Draper of Draper Associates also participated in the round. The oversubscribed round exceeded the company’s original $8 million target.

5. Global summit spotlights Houston's growing role in brain health, innovation

The Center for Houston’s Future and UTMB are bringing the Texas Brain Economy Summit back to Houston this summer to continue to position the region as a global leader in brain health. The summit, held June 9-10 at the Texas Medical Center's Helix Park, will bring together more than 500 executives, researchers, policymakers and innovators from around the world to discuss the global brain economy.

Houston startup raises $6M to scale home-based healthcare platform

fresh funding

As healthcare systems race to expand care beyond hospitals and into the home, investors are placing bigger bets on the infrastructure needed to make that shift possible.

This month, Rosarium Health announced it has raised $6 million in seed funding led by Kalos Ventures, with participation from ResilienceVC, Rock Health Capital, Symphonic Capital, Black Tech Nations Ventures and others.

The investment will help the Houston-based startup continue to build its platform, which features a national network of 800-plus clinicians and 3,000-plus contractors to coordinate home accessibility upgrades and modifications for seniors and people living with disabilities.

For founder and CEO Cameron Carter, the company’s mission grew out of firsthand caregiving experiences.

“From my own personal caregiving experiences, I realized that the benefits exist on paper, but not in reality,” Carter said in a news release. “Families are being left to figure out the paperwork and installations all on their own, which shouldn’t be how this works.”

While Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans have expanded coverage for home-based services and accessibility modifications, the logistics behind delivering those services often remain fragmented.

Rosarium’s platform coordinates the entire process, from clinical assessments and referrals to contractor management, documentation, reimbursement and installation.

“A clinician can document that a home isn’t safe and a plan can approve a benefit, but there’s no one that’s responsible for making sure the work actually gets done,” Carter says. “We built the missing piece.”

The company was founded in 2021 as Rose Health and was a 2023 participant in the Texas Medical Center’s Accelerator for HealthTech program. It has scaled quickly, building a network of more than 800 clinicians and 3,000 contractors across 34 states.

Rosarium is currently in-network for 1.2 million Medicare and Medicaid lives, with projected coverage expected to reach nearly 4 million by the end of the year, according to the release.

“We’re excited to back Cameron because he and the team at Rosarium are building the infrastructure healthcare needs right now to make the home a safe and comfortable place of care,” Kate Ballinger, investor at Kalos Ventures, added in the release.

As part of the recent investment, Ballinger will join Rosarium’s board of directors.

With eyes on the future, Rosarium plans to grow its partnerships with Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans, including CalViva and Community Health Plan of Imperial Valley, strengthening its presence in California while expanding access to underserved communities.

Additionally, Carter predicts that home-based healthcare will be part of a broader transformation happening across the industry.

“There’s a growing recognition that health outcomes are shaped by what happens in the home,” he said in the release. “The future of healthcare isn’t just treating people after something goes wrong. It’s creating environments that help prevent those problems in the first place.”

Houston business mogul Tilman Fertitta acquires Caesars in $17.6B deal

Money Moves

Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta may currently be serving as America’s ambassador to Italy, but his company is as busy as ever. Fresh off its move to revive the Houston Comets WNBA franchise, his company, Fertitta Entertainment, has announced a $17.6 billion deal to acquire Caesars Entertainment, Inc.

Speculation about the deal has been circulating since at least March, according to various media reports. The deal combines Fertitta’s well-known Golden Nugget casino brand with all of the properties in the Caesars’ portfolio, including Las Vegas hotels Caesars Palace, Harrah's, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, Horseshoe, The LINQ Hotel, Flamingo, and The Cromwell.

Overall, the combined company will include 60 domestic casino resorts and gaming facilities; online gaming including sports betting, iCasino, and Caesar’s online poker platform; retail sports betting at over 200 third-party locations through the William Hill brand; and over 550 Fertitta Entertainment outlets, including more than 450 Landry's full-service restaurants across America. The companies will combine their loyalty programs, Caesars Rewards, Golden Nugget's 24 Karat Select Club, and Landry's Select Club.

The terms will see Caesars’ shareholders receive $31 per share. Fertitta Entertainment will also acquire approximately $11.9 billion of Caesars' outstanding debt.

The transaction will be financed through a combination of equity contributed by Fertitta Entertainment, assumed Caesars' debt, and new committed debt financing arranged by a group consisting of 10 banks. It is subject to approval by Caesars’ shareholders and government regulators.

Fertitta Entertainment is the Houston-based company behind a diverse array of hospitality businesses, including The Golden Nugget, The Post Oak Hotel, River Oaks District, the Kemah Boardwalk, and Houston’s Downtown Aquarium.

It also operates a number of prominent restaurant brands, including Mastro's Restaurants, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, Morton's The Steakhouse, The Palm, McCormick & Schmick's, Landry's Seafood House, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, and Saltgrass Steak House.

---

This article first appeared on CultureMap.com.

View All Listings