Best States for Computer Programmers in 2026

Across the 2026 data, LaborCove’s top 10 states for computer programmers combine different mixes of pay levels, employment counts, and Geography Scores, even though all share the same projected growth rate. The national median annual salary for programmers is $100,390, and several of the top states sit above that benchmark, while others are closer to it. The rankings also show that the state with the highest median salary is not the top‑ranked geography overall, and that the state with the largest employment count is not the one with the highest salary. This highlights that the LaborCove Geography Score captures more than a single metric and that different states trade off salary, employment, and other factors within the scoring framework. Because the same negative growth rate is supplied for every top‑ranked state, the variation in Geography Scores and rankings must reflect differences in the other measured dimensions rather than growth alone. LaborCove users can use this state‑level comparison as a complement to more detailed occupation and metro analyses when thinking about where to focus their search.

In 2026, the national median annual salary for computer programmers is $100,390, with 92,230 employed nationwide. Within the top 10 states, several have median salaries higher than this national figure, while others are slightly below it. California, ranked #1 by LaborCove, has a median salary of $116,760 and an employment count of 11,340. Both values are higher than the national benchmarks supplied for individual states in this dataset, with California also identified as the largest employment market among the available geographies. New York, ranked #2, has a median salary of $103,980 and 7,020 employed computer programmers, which is also above the national salary benchmark and represents a smaller employment count than California’s. Texas, ranked #4, has a median salary of $99,330, which is slightly below the national median, while its employment count of 7,620 is larger than that of New York. These relationships illustrate how the top‑ranked states differ in the balance between compensation and employment counts when compared with each other and with the national reference point.

The 2026 data show that the states with the highest median salaries are not necessarily those with the highest LaborCove Geography Scores or ranks. Connecticut has the highest median annual salary among the listed top 10 states at $133,820 but ranks #8 with a Geography Score of 54.36. Massachusetts and Washington also have high salaries at $128,390 and $125,620, respectively, yet they rank #3 and #5. By contrast, California ranks #1 with a Geography Score of 78.96 and a median salary of $116,760, which is lower than Connecticut’s $133,820 and also lower than the salaries in Massachusetts and Washington. New York, ranked #2, has a median salary of $103,980, which is closer to the national median and lower than the salaries in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii, and California. These patterns indicate that the LaborCove Geography Score is not a simple salary ranking. States with very high pay such as Connecticut can have lower Geography Scores than states with somewhat lower salaries, and states like New York can sit near the top of the rankings without having the highest salaries in the group.

Within the top 10 states, employment counts for computer programmers range from hundreds to more than ten thousand. California, at rank #1, has 11,340 employed programmers, which is specifically identified as the largest employment market among the available geographies. Texas, ranked #4, has 7,620 employed programmers, and New York, ranked #2, has 7,020. Moving down the list, New Jersey and Virginia have employment counts of 3,930 and 3,070, respectively, while Washington and Maryland are close together at 2,540 and 2,490. Massachusetts and Connecticut have smaller employment counts of 1,930 and 1,650. Hawaii, at rank #10, has the smallest employment count in the top 10 at 450. This stands in contrast to California’s 11,340 and highlights the wide spread in employment counts among the states that still qualify for top‑10 Geography Scores in 2026.

All of the top 10 states for computer programmers in 2026 share the same projected growth rate of -6.0%. This means that within this group, the growth metric does not distinguish one state from another: California, New York, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Hawaii all carry the same -6.0% figure. Because of this uniformity, differences in rank and Geography Score among these states must come from other dimensions in the scoring model rather than differences in projected growth. For example, California’s Geography Score of 78.96 and Connecticut’s score of 54.36 occur alongside the same -6.0% growth rate. The identical growth values across all top‑ranked states reinforce that the Geography Score is a composite measure rather than a reflection of projected growth alone, at least within this 10‑state subset of the rankings.

LaborCove Geography Scores for computer programmers in 2026 spread meaningfully across the top 10 states. California leads with a score of 78.96, while New York at #2 has a score of 60.93. Massachusetts, ranked #3, has a Geography Score of 58.51, followed closely by Texas at 57.80 and Washington at 57.28. Further down the ranking, Maryland’s score is 56.37, Virginia’s is 55.70, and Connecticut’s is 54.36. New Jersey, ranked #9, has a Geography Score of 51.85, and Hawaii at #10 has the lowest score in the top 10 at 47.61. These scores show a steady decline from #1 through #10, but they also show that states with relatively close scores can still differ substantially on salary or employment counts. For example, Washington and Maryland have similar Geography Scores (57.28 and 56.37) and similar employment counts (2,540 and 2,490), while their salaries and rankings are not identical.

LaborCove builds state rankings for computer programmers using authoritative labor‑market data and its internal LaborCove Geography scoring methodology. For 2026, each state’s median annual salary, employment count, and projected growth rate for occupation 15-1251 are combined into a single Geography Score, which is then used to produce a ranked list of states. The Geography Score is a composite measure produced by LaborCove; the detailed weight of each input metric is not disclosed in this dataset. The presence of the same growth rate across all top‑ranked states in this article means that score and rank differences among them are associated with differences in other measured variables and with the broader scoring framework. These rankings should be considered alongside your own priorities. Salary, employment counts, and projected growth are only some of the factors people consider when evaluating locations, and the Geography Score is a tool to compare states rather than a prediction of personal outcomes or job‑search success.