Power BI Developer Salary

Power BI, owned by Microsoft, is a business analytics tool that converts disparate data sources into cohesive, visually rich, and interactive insights. Software services, apps, and connectors form the integral components of Power BI.

A multi-purpose tool, Power BI accommodates diverse roles within a team. For example, a data analyst may use Power BI Desktop to crunch numbers and create reports. A marketing specialist, on the other hand, could use the Power BI Mobile app to track the performance of marketing campaigns and delve into the specifics of customer conversions. For developers, Power BI APIs offer the capability to incorporate custom dashboards and reports into applications.

Dive further into the job skills, salary, and career outlook of a Power BI developer in this article.

What is a Power BI developer?

A Power BI developer aids organizations in presenting intricate business data through captivating visualizations across applications, portals, websites, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams. Providing business intelligence services, Power BI developers run the development of BI software, using raw data to create reports for business decision-making.

Typical work duties of a Power BI developer include:

• Designing and testing custom visuals using Microsoft’s open-source SDK

• Automating application lifecycle management with REST APIs

• Collaborating with fellow developers, business analysts, and product teams to curate or refine data

• Translating business objectives into technical tasks, such as filtering outliers and normalizing data, using data to create algorithms that make predictions for the company

Did you know? As of February 2024, Power BI Desktop is supported on Windows 8 and newer versions and is no longer compatible with Windows 7. 

How much does a Power BI developer make?

The average annual income for a Power BI developer ranges from $85,394 to $109,348, according to multiple job listing sites. The following table lists the base pay provided by Payscale, Salary.com, Zippia, and Glassdoor [1, 2, 3, 4].

Factors that affect Power BI developer salary

As with most professions, your salary will vary depending on various factors. Explore how your education, experience, skills, industry, location, and company can determine your yearly Power BI developer salary. 

Education

Your education level can impact your salary as a Power BI developer. According to Zippia, a bachelor’s degree for a business intelligence (BI) developer allows for an average salary of $91,124, while a master’s degree yields an average of $97,865 annually [5]. Opting for a doctorate degree can offer you an even higher income of $104,598 on average [5].

The predominant academic qualification among BI developers is a bachelor's degree, with 66 percent obtaining this credential [5]. Following closely is a master's degree, accounting for 29 percent of BI developers [5]. Popular fields of study for BI developers include computer science, information technology, and computer engineering.

Experience

The more experience you accumulate as a Power BI developer, the greater the likelihood of unlocking higher pay scales. The following list details the base pay range you can anticipate based on your number of years of experience, according to Glassdoor [4].

• 0–1 year: $65,000–$99,000

• 1–3 years: $72,000–$108,000

• 4–6 years: $78,000–$116,000

• 7–9 years: $80,000–$119,000

• 10–14 years: $83,000–$125,000

• 15 or more years: $89,000–$137,000

Skills

Apart from business intelligence, Power BI developers with skills in structured query language (SQL); extract, transform, and load (ETL); and Tableau software tend to receive above-average pay, according to Payscale [1]:

• Business intelligence: $88,119

• SQL: $86,249

• ETL: $88,428

• Tableau software: $87,835

Industry

The industry you opt to work in also shapes your annual income as a Power BI developer. Below is a compilation of Glassdoor's average base salaries highlighting the top-paying industries for Power BI developers [4]:

• Telecommunications: $116,961

• Financial services: $115,593

• Health care: $100,828

• Real estate: $100,607

Location 

Salaries often reflect the cost of living in your specific location, and cities or regions with higher living costs may offer you a higher salary as a Power BI developer to compensate for increased expenses.

Highest-paying cities for BI developers

Here are some top-paying cities for BI developers in the United States, according to data aggregated by Indeed [6]:

• New York, NY: $113,655 

• Dallas, TX: $104,468 

• Chicago, IL: $103,074 

• Austin, TX: $99,999

• Charlotte, NC: $97,936 

• Louisville, KY: $94,472 

• Seattle, WA: $90,303

•  Minneapolis, MN: $89,794

• Jacksonville, FL: $83,824

Company 

Firms heavily reliant on data analytics and business intelligence might offer lucrative salaries to attract and retain skilled professionals. Nevertheless, evaluating other benefits, such as growth opportunities and the overall work environment, is wise before accepting a job offer.

Highest-paying companies for Power BI developers 

According to Glassdoor, the following list underscores top-paying companies for Power BI developers in the United States. Please note that these salaries include average base pay as well as average additional pay, such as cash bonuses, profit sharing, and commission [4]:

• Microsoft: $157,205

• AT&T: $117,158

• Colaberry: $106,440

• Conversantit: $105,294

• NeutronIT Solutions: $101,039

• Infosytech Solutions: $97,946

• Kairos Technologies: $95,892

• CCS Global Tech: $95,615

• eTech Global IT: $94,358

Certification

Acquiring relevant certifications typically enhances your skill set and validates your expertise in data handling. This, in turn, usually makes you a valuable asset to employers, potentially leading to higher income. Here are two notable certifications you can pursue and their average salaries:

• Certified Business Intelligence Professional (CBIP): $122,000 [7]

• Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP): $104,000 [8]

Job outlook 

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates a 25 percent growth in job opportunities for software developers from 2022 to 2032 [9]. This projection translates to an average of 153,900 new job openings annually throughout the forecasted period [9]. Overall, the job outlook for Power BI and other software developers is promising.

Get started with Coursera. 

Amp up your Power BI developer skills with Microsoft’s Data Analysis and Visualization with Power BI course, which is part of the Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate available on Coursera. Intended for beginners, this course teaches you how to ascertain different types of visualizations in Power BI, add visualizations to reports and dashboards, apply formatting choices to visuals, and more. It requires approximately 29 hours to complete.

You may opt to supplement the aforementioned introductory course with Getting Started with Power BI Desktop Guided Project, also available on Coursera. This concise two-hour project can empower you to craft interactive reports and dashboards without downloading or installing.