Nevada·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1252

Best Software Developer programs in Nevada, ranked by enrollment

Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs.

4 schools in Nevada run programs that feed this job, graduating 696 people a year. The job pays a median of $128,810 in Nevada across about 4,520 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledDeveloperSoftware EngineerSoftware ArchitectSoftware DeveloperBeta TesterGame EngineerGame DeveloperServer Engineer
Graduates / yr
696
in Nevada
Median pay · Nevada
$128,810
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
4,520
people employed
Schools
4
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
41%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Nevada that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

8 programs in Nevada that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Nevada (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Nevada page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 11.0701In Nevada
590
84.8%
3$70,374$23,250
2
CIP 11.0201In Nevada
41
5.9%
1$46,719$20,729
3
CIP 11.0202In Nevada
21
3.0%
1$46,719$20,729
4
CIP 14.0901In Nevada
20
2.9%
1$78,333$24,098
5
CIP 11.0103In Nevada
13
1.9%
1$57,986$24,286
6
CIP 11.0902In Nevada
7
1.0%
1$43,901$22,822
7
CIP 30.0801In Nevada
3
0.4%
1$89,651$23,175
8
CIP 30.4801In Nevada
1
0.1%
1

Top 4 schools in Nevada

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 4 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Nevada - Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV Public · 2 feeder programs
242Computer Science$64,85451%96%
2University of Nevada - Reno
Reno, NV Public · 2 feeder programs
222Computer Science61%74%
3College of Southern Nevada
Las Vegas, NV Public · 3 feeder programs
195Computer Science19%
4Truckee Meadows Community College
Reno, NV Public · 3 feeder programs
37Computer Programming, Specific Applications32%

All 4 schools in Nevada

Every school in Nevada with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Nevada that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of Nevada - Las VegasLas VegasPublic2422
University of Nevada - RenoRenoPublic2222
College of Southern NevadaLas VegasPublic1953
Truckee Meadows Community CollegeRenoPublic373

What software developers earn in Nevada

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Nevada
$128,810
Mean annual
$137,350
Jobs in state
4,520
What the range looks like
10th pct$73,990Median$128,81090th pct$194,470
Versus the national median
-5.3%

U.S. median $135,980. Nevada pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.27×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Nevada

Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV
$129,940median
2,900 jobs
Carson City, NV
$130,500median
90 jobs
Reno, NV
$125,710median
1,200 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+15.8%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
115,200
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
267,700
1,693,800 → 1,961,400
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Software Developers page.

How to become a Software Developer

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive LearningActive ListeningWritingSpeaking

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Nevada

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 20 majors mapped to Software Developers20 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0102Artificial Intelligence
  • 11.0103Information Technology
  • 11.0104Informatics
  • 11.0201Computer Programming/Programmer, General
  • 11.0202Computer Programming, Specific Applications
  • 11.0203Computer Programming, Vendor/Product Certification
  • 11.0204Computer Game Programming
  • 11.0205Computer Programming, Specific Platforms
  • 11.0401Information Science/Studies
  • 11.0701Computer Science
  • 11.0804Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation
  • 11.0902Cloud Computing
  • 14.0901Computer Engineering, General
  • 14.0903Computer Software Engineering
  • 15.1204Computer Software Technology/Technician
  • 30.0801Mathematics and Computer Science
  • 30.1601Accounting and Computer Science
  • 30.3901Economics and Computer Science
  • 30.4801Linguistics and Computer Science
  • 30.7001Data Science, General

Common questions

Answers for people weighing software developers programs in Nevada.

What degree do you need to become a Software Developer?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 590 degrees in Nevada in 2024-25, 84.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Software Developer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer Programming, Computer Engineering, Computer and Information Sciences, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 696 people a year in Nevada.

How much do software developers earn in Nevada?+

The median is $128,810 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.3% below the U.S. median of $135,980. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for software developers growing?+

BLS projects a +15.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 115,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Nevada?+

4 institutions in Nevada reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do software developers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Developer, Software Engineer, Software Architect, Software Developer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1252.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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