Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue has a large, specialized technology workforce, and software quality assurance analysts and testers are a notable part of it. In May 2023, the metro area employed 9,180 software quality assurance analysts and testers, with a location quotient of 3.30 and an annual mean wage of $126,350. The surrounding labor market also includes 75,960 software developers, whose location quotient was 3.35 and annual mean wage was $164,130. Together, these figures place software testing in the context of a region with unusually strong technology concentration.
Table of contents
- Seattle’s technology labor-market scale
- Software testing employment and pay
- Related technical occupations
- How concentrated is Seattle’s market?
- Regional projections and wage distribution
- National testing employment and outlook
Seattle’s technology labor-market scale
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Seattle metro OEWS May 2023 data counted 171,820 workers in computer and mathematical occupations across Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue. The group had a 2.42 location quotient, meaning its share of local employment was substantially higher than the corresponding national share. Its annual mean wage was $144,530.
That broad occupational group includes the jobs most closely connected with software delivery, infrastructure, data, security, and testing. The scale matters for software testers because testing work is part of a dense technology ecosystem rather than an isolated occupation. In the same May 2023 release, the metro area had:
- 75,960 software developers, with an annual mean wage of $164,130.
- 16,180 computer systems analysts, with an annual mean wage of $138,410.
- 14,140 computer user support specialists, with an annual mean wage of $78,700.
- 12,130 computer occupations, all other, with an annual mean wage of $137,130.
- 9,180 software quality assurance analysts and testers, with an annual mean wage of $126,350.
These counts are occupation estimates for May 2023, not a headcount of every person who performs testing tasks. They also do not show how many workers are assigned to manual testing, automated testing, performance testing, security testing, or test leadership. They do, however, show the size of the occupation category used by BLS and its position within Seattle’s wider technical workforce.
Software testing employment and pay
The May 2023 BLS Seattle metro OEWS estimate of 9,180 software quality assurance analysts and testers gives a direct measure of the local occupation. The annual mean wage was $126,350. Its location quotient was 3.30, one of the strongest concentration measures among the listed computer occupations.
The PSRC Occupational Profile May 2022 used a broader combined category: software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers. For the Seattle MSA, that profile reported an average annual wage of $143,789 and projected regional employment of 110,577 in 2024. Because this category combines developers with quality assurance analysts and testers, its totals should not be treated as a direct replacement for the BLS tester-only count.
The same PSRC profile reported hourly wages of $54.66 at the 25th percentile and $78.65 at the 75th percentile for the combined occupation group. Those figures describe a wage distribution, while the BLS May 2023 figure of $126,350 is an annual mean for software quality assurance analysts and testers specifically. The different category definitions, measurement periods, and statistics explain why the values should be compared carefully rather than combined arithmetically.
| Measure | Value | Geography and period | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software quality assurance analysts and testers employed | 9,180 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, May 2023 | BLS Seattle metro OEWS May 2023 |
| Software quality assurance analysts and testers location quotient | 3.30 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, May 2023 | BLS Seattle metro OEWS May 2023 |
| Software quality assurance analysts and testers annual mean wage | $126,350 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, May 2023 | BLS Seattle metro OEWS May 2023 |
| Combined group average annual wage | $143,789 | Seattle MSA, May 2022 profile | PSRC Occupational Profile May 2022 |
| Combined group projected regional employment | 110,577 | Seattle region, 2024 projection | PSRC Occupational Profile May 2022 |
Related technical occupations
Testing operates alongside systems analysis, programming, security, databases, networks, and data work. In Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue in May 2023, computer programmers numbered 2,940 and had an annual mean wage of $167,190. Their location quotient was 1.79. Computer systems analysts numbered 16,180, had a location quotient of 2.37, and earned an annual mean wage of $138,410.
Security-related work was also comparatively concentrated. Information security analysts numbered 3,910, had a location quotient of 1.63, and had an annual mean wage of $154,600. Data scientists numbered 4,810, had a location quotient of 1.82, and had an annual mean wage of $151,320.
Infrastructure and data-platform occupations added further technical depth:
- Computer network architects: 3,300 workers, a 1.38 location quotient, and a $167,420 annual mean wage.
- Network and computer systems administrators: 4,790 workers, a 1.08 location quotient, and a $117,380 annual mean wage.
- Computer network support specialists: 2,760 workers, a 1.27 location quotient, and a $100,650 annual mean wage.
- Database administrators: 1,390 workers, a 1.33 location quotient, and a $124,370 annual mean wage.
- Database architects: 2,560 workers, a 3.12 location quotient, and a $159,020 annual mean wage.
The BLS Seattle metro OEWS May 2023 data also counted 2,410 computer and information research scientists. Their location quotient was 5.01 and their annual mean wage was $211,410. That location quotient was higher than the 3.30 recorded for software quality assurance analysts and testers, although the research-scientist occupation was much smaller by employment count.
How concentrated is Seattle’s market?
Location quotient helps distinguish a large occupation from a locally specialized one. Seattle’s software testing location quotient of 3.30 indicates a stronger local concentration than the national benchmark used in the BLS measure. Other related occupations show a range of specialization:
- Web and digital interface designers: 6,400 workers and a 4.21 location quotient.
- Web developers: 3,920 workers and a 3.36 location quotient.
- Software developers: 75,960 workers and a 3.35 location quotient.
- Database architects: 2,560 workers and a 3.12 location quotient.
- Computer and information research scientists: 2,410 workers and a 5.01 location quotient.
- Computer user support specialists: 14,140 workers and a 1.50 location quotient.
The wage pattern is not identical to the concentration pattern. Web and digital interface designers had an annual mean wage of $128,650, web developers had $125,040, and database architects had $159,020. Computer and information research scientists had the highest listed annual mean wage at $211,410. Software quality assurance analysts and testers had a $126,350 annual mean wage, placing the occupation below several specialized engineering and research categories while remaining above the $100,650 mean for computer network support specialists.
Regional projections and wage distribution
The PSRC Occupational Profile May 2022 projected 110,577 regional jobs in 2024 for software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers. It also reported a statewide projected five-year average annual growth rate of 3.82% for that combined category. This is a projection, not a count of realized jobs, and it applies to Washington statewide growth for the combined occupation group rather than to Seattle testers alone.
The PSRC wage percentiles provide another view of the combined category. The 25th-percentile hourly wage was $54.66, while the 75th-percentile hourly wage was $78.65. The spread between these reported percentiles describes the position of workers within the profile’s wage distribution; it does not establish a Seattle-specific tester salary range or imply that every tester earns between those values.
The regional profile and the BLS metro estimate answer different questions. The PSRC figures combine software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers and include a 2024 projection. The BLS figures isolate software quality assurance analysts and testers and report observed May 2023 employment, concentration, and mean wages. Keeping those distinctions visible is important when using Seattle software testing statistics for career research, workforce planning, or training decisions.
National testing employment and outlook
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook for Software Developers, Quality Assurance Analysts, and Testers reported that software quality assurance analysts and testers held about 201,700 jobs in 2024 nationwide. The same source reported a median annual wage of $102,610 in May 2024.
BLS projected overall employment for software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers to grow 15% from 2024 to 2034. It projected an average of 129,200 openings per year for the combined group over that period. These are national projections and should not be read as a Seattle-specific forecast.
Within the combined national outlook, BLS projected 16% employment growth for software developers from 2024 to 2034 and 10% growth for software quality assurance analysts and testers. The separate rates show that the combined 15% figure summarizes occupations with different projected growth paths.
BLS also reported that software developers held about 1.7 million jobs in 2024. That national developer population is much larger than the 201,700 nationwide jobs reported for software quality assurance analysts and testers, but the two figures represent different occupations within the same broader outlook page. The national data supplies context for demand; the Seattle metro OEWS data supplies the local employment, concentration, and wage measures.
For Seattle readers, the clearest local signal is the combination of 9,180 software quality assurance analysts and testers, a 3.30 location quotient, and a $126,350 annual mean wage in May 2023. The regional profile adds a 110,577-job 2024 projection for the broader developer, quality assurance, and tester group, a 3.82% statewide projected five-year average annual growth rate, and reported hourly wage percentiles of $54.66 and $78.65. The BLS national outlook adds about 201,700 tester jobs in 2024, a $102,610 median wage, 10% projected tester growth, and 129,200 annual openings across the combined occupation group for 2024–34.