What a web developer costs in the US
The wage BLS measured across 70,190 jobs, what an employer pays on top of it, the pay in every state, and which of the job's core tasks already show up in AI use.
Medians for the whole US. Your own cost depends on where you hire, the benefits you offer and the hours worked.
- Median wage
- $92,650
- Hourly wage
- $44.54
- Loaded per hour
- $55.47
- Middle half earns
- $64,230 to $126,230
- Jobs in the US
- 70,190
Wage × 1.2455 for benefits and payroll taxes, from BLS.
A web developer in the US is paid a median $92,650 a year, $44.54 an hour, across 70,190 jobs. With benefits, a small employer pays about $115,400. Of its 10 core tasks, 8 showed up in Claude.ai conversations in May 2026, and in 6 of those Claude mostly did the task rather than assisting.
The work, task by task
The 10 core tasks O*NET lists for web developers, most important first, and how each showed up in Claude.ai conversations in May 2026. The bar splits those conversations between Claude doing the task and Claude helping a person do it.
- 01Write supporting code for Web applications or Web sites.Claude.ai: 57% did the task, 43% helped · API: 86% did the task
- 02Design, build, or maintain Web sites, using authoring or scripting languages, content creation tools, management tools, and digital media.Claude.ai: 53% did the task, 47% helped · API: 81% did the task
- 03Back up files from Web sites to local directories for instant recovery in case of problems.
- 04Select programming languages, design tools, or applications.Claude.ai: 45% did the task, 55% helped · API: 90% did the task
- 05Evaluate code to ensure that it is valid, is properly structured, meets industry standards, and is compatible with browsers, devices, or operating systems.Claude.ai: 69% did the task, 31% helped · API: 92% did the task
- 06Develop databases that support Web applications and Web sites.Claude.ai: 74% did the task, 26% helped
- 07Perform Web site tests according to planned schedules, or after any Web site or product revision.Claude.ai: 100% did the task, 0% helped · API: 98% did the task
- 08Perform or direct Web site updates.Claude.ai: 77% did the task, 23% helped · API: 83% did the task
- 09Maintain understanding of current Web technologies or programming practices through continuing education, reading, or participation in professional conferences, workshops, or groups.
- 10Analyze user needs to determine technical requirements.Claude.ai: 44% did the task, 56% helped · API: 98% did the task
8 of 10 tasks appear in the Claude.ai sample of the Anthropic Economic Index for May 2026. A task without a row had too few conversations for Anthropic to publish, which is not the same as none. Shares are of all sampled Claude.ai conversations, so small figures are normal: 0.64% of every conversation that month was about this occupation.
Pay by state
The median annual wage in each state and DC, and the same wage fully loaded. Washington pays the most, $130,440; Arkansas the least, $50,550. BLS publishes no figure where its sample is too small, which leaves 7 gaps here.
| State | Median wage | Fully loaded | Middle half | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Not published | · | · | 930 |
| Alaska | Not published | · | · | · |
| Arizona | $76,230 | $94,940 | $59,180 to $105,010 | 1,010 |
| Arkansas | $50,550 | $62,960 | $45,190 to $67,290 | 400 |
| California | $119,570 | $148,920 | $80,620 to $159,040 | 7,320 |
| Colorado | $85,950 | $107,050 | $63,520 to $106,320 | 1,680 |
| Connecticut | $85,930 | $107,030 | $64,460 to $106,950 | 750 |
| Delaware | $76,020 | $94,680 | $69,800 to $89,290 | · |
| District of Columbia | $114,690 | $142,850 | $91,840 to $137,650 | 430 |
| Florida | Not published | · | · | · |
| Georgia | $90,340 | $112,520 | $64,560 to $107,060 | 1,500 |
| Hawaii | Not published | · | · | 310 |
| Idaho | $79,290 | $98,760 | $61,240 to $97,010 | 220 |
| Illinois | $84,820 | $105,640 | $71,990 to $117,100 | 4,310 |
| Indiana | $80,870 | $100,720 | $62,310 to $100,140 | 860 |
| Iowa | $64,210 | $79,970 | $57,720 to $89,920 | 420 |
| Kansas | $73,590 | $91,660 | $59,600 to $96,980 | 500 |
| Kentucky | $82,630 | $102,920 | $66,320 to $103,870 | 270 |
| Louisiana | $85,330 | $106,280 | $66,340 to $89,350 | 490 |
| Maine | Not published | · | · | 170 |
| Maryland | $112,690 | $140,360 | $84,550 to $129,840 | 1,960 |
| Massachusetts | $98,470 | $122,640 | $80,520 to $135,110 | 1,940 |
| Michigan | $98,470 | $122,640 | $62,830 to $117,880 | 1,580 |
| Minnesota | $101,020 | $125,820 | $72,510 to $128,470 | 1,200 |
| Mississippi | Not published | · | · | 190 |
| Missouri | $103,750 | $129,220 | $83,120 to $125,610 | 1,160 |
| Montana | $62,060 | $77,300 | $62,060 to $68,650 | 550 |
| Nebraska | $80,350 | $100,080 | $56,170 to $100,690 | 230 |
| Nevada | $83,220 | $103,650 | $55,060 to $121,240 | 340 |
| New Hampshire | $78,260 | $97,470 | $61,480 to $110,190 | 470 |
| New Jersey | $95,180 | $118,550 | $55,580 to $124,560 | 2,250 |
| New Mexico | $68,120 | $84,840 | $54,930 to $86,880 | 130 |
| New York | $98,580 | $122,780 | $56,320 to $132,820 | 3,990 |
| North Carolina | $96,610 | $120,330 | $72,890 to $122,540 | 2,030 |
| North Dakota | $72,190 | $89,910 | $60,580 to $82,750 | · |
| Ohio | Not published | · | · | 1,690 |
| Oklahoma | $78,580 | $97,870 | $54,070 to $96,130 | 410 |
| Oregon | $64,460 | $80,280 | $50,690 to $93,280 | 1,140 |
| Pennsylvania | $86,380 | $107,590 | $61,520 to $104,700 | 1,670 |
| Rhode Island | $98,140 | $122,230 | $93,290 to $104,530 | · |
| South Carolina | $78,190 | $97,390 | $61,760 to $102,100 | 710 |
| South Dakota | $51,100 | $63,650 | $47,540 to $59,280 | 390 |
| Tennessee | $74,760 | $93,110 | $57,710 to $104,270 | 1,620 |
| Texas | $85,800 | $106,860 | $61,960 to $118,980 | 4,910 |
| Utah | $100,170 | $124,760 | $66,010 to $131,220 | 1,280 |
| Vermont | $84,550 | $105,310 | $79,120 to $110,130 | 70 |
| Virginia | $128,380 | $159,900 | $99,990 to $161,190 | 4,590 |
| Washington | $130,440 | $162,460 | $98,830 to $131,030 | 4,430 |
| West Virginia | $78,240 | $97,450 | $63,060 to $79,280 | 400 |
| Wisconsin | $90,630 | $112,880 | $66,510 to $119,860 | 1,180 |
| Wyoming | $68,410 | $85,200 | $59,400 to $69,990 | 50 |
The same benefits ratio applies in every state, because BLS does not publish benefit costs by business size for each state. The middle half is the 25th to 75th percentile wage.
Where the numbers come from
Every figure is copied from a public file. The only arithmetic is the loaded cost: the wage times 1.2455.
- Wages
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 15-1254 (Web Developers). Annual figures are the hourly wage times 2,080 hours, as BLS computes them, so they already include pay for paid leave.
- Fully loaded
- BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (2026 Q2), private businesses with 1 to 49 workers: $37.64 an hour in total compensation over $27.88 in wages plus $2.34 in paid leave gives 1.2455. Paid leave sits in the denominator because the annual wage already pays it.
- Tasks
- O*NET 31.0 core tasks for 15-1254.00, the ten most important by their importance rating. A few occupations list fewer core tasks.
- AI use
- Anthropic Economic Index, release of June 2026, conversations from May 2026. "Did the task" is Anthropic's automation share, where the user directs Claude to do the work; "helped" is augmentation, where the user works with Claude to learn, check or iterate.
- Not measured
- What a particular business pays, and whether an AI system can do a task well. The AI figures count conversations about a task, not jobs replaced.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. AI use data from the Anthropic Economic Index by Anthropic, under CC BY. Wage and benefit data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What would an AI system cost for this work?
Put $115,400 beside the running cost of a system doing the tasks above, with the build counted in year one.
BLS wages May 2025 · O*NET 31.0 · Anthropic Economic Index