Salesforce Developer Salary: Your 2025 Guide

With its comprehensive suite of customer relationship management (CRM) tools, Salesforce enables businesses to unify customer data on a centralized platform. Customer data from each interaction throughout a customer journey is captured and consolidated through Salesforce Customer 360. Teams often use the integrated viewpoint to collaborate and provide personalized experiences, enhancing customer trust.

A Salesforce developer specializes in writing code and working with the software for the Salesforce CRM platform. Explore a Salesforce developer's salary and the factors influencing it, such as education, location, experience, and more.

What is a Salesforce developer?  

A Salesforce developer utilizes web languages and software programs to build and enhance functionality within the Salesforce platform. Some of the main duties associated with this position include:

• Developing user interface (UI) through HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

• Coordinating site redesigns and customized experiences specific to Salesforce integration

• Customizing the Salesforce platform to a company’s needs

• Offering guidance to programmers and designers pertaining to Salesforce’s back-end web functionality

• Assessing and modifying websites and applications as necessary

Did you know? Salesforce Government Cloud is a dedicated cloud platform provided by Salesforce that caters specifically to the requirements of federal, state, and local entities, including US government contractors and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) [1].

How much does a Salesforce developer make?

The average annual income for a Salesforce developer ranges from roughly $96,000 to $105,000, according to multiple job listing sites. Examine the average annual Salesforce developer salaries [2, 3, 4, 5]: 

*All salary data current as of January 2025

What factors impact a Salesforce developer salary?

Explore the key determinants that can factor into a Salesforce developer’s salary—including education, skill set, certifications, years of experience, and location—that may impact your salary and job prospects.

Education

According to Zippia, Salesforce developers with a bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $96,722. Those with a master's degree have the potential to earn an average of $104,041 per year, while individuals with a doctorate can expect an average annual income of approximately $111,363 [6]. According to Zippia, the following is a breakdown of education level among Salesforce developers:

• Bachelor's degree: 80 percent

• Master's degree: 18 percent

Zippia also cites that 42 percent of Salesforce developers choose computer science as their major. Information technology (11 percent) and computer engineering (10 percent) are among other preferred major options for Salesforce developers.

Skills

Knowledge of Salesforce, Apex, Visualforce, and JavaScript are among the skills in demand by Salesforce developers. Having experience in these programs may impact your salary, according to Payscale [5]:

• Salesforce: $97,957

• Apex: $98,618

• Visualforce: $106,352

• JavaScript: $90,441

Certification

Certifications provide tangible proof of your professional skills and knowledge in specific software or technology. Discover certifications that you may want to consider to enhance your skills as a Salesforce developer:

• Salesforce Certified Administrator: $86,000 [7]

• Salesforce Platform Developer (I or II): $108,000 [8]

• ISC2 Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP): $114,000 [9]

Experience      

Your average annual earnings may increase as you continue to build your experience. Glassdoor’s data approximates average base compensation across various experience levels [3].

• 0–1 years of experience: $84,558

• 1–3 years: $99,073

• 4–6 years: $109,792

• 7–9 years: $114,853

• 10–14 years: $122,728

• 15 or more years: $135,807

*All annual base salary data is sourced from Glassdoor as of January 2025 and does not include additional pay, such as commission and benefits.

Location

By examining the variation in wages across different cities in comparison to the national average, you may come to understand compensation patterns and make informed decisions about your career path.

Explore the top-paying cities for Salesforce developers in the US based on data compiled by Indeed [10]:

• Los Angeles, CA: $139,500

• Dallas, TX: $114,071

• Austin, TX: $83,417

• Washington, DC: $126,447

• New York, NY: $84,578

• San Francisco, CA: $71,137

• Chicago, IL: $118,503

• Denver, CO: $110,132

• Atlanta, GA: $80,651

Related job titles

Working as a Salesforce developer is only one of several options for working in this area. If you want to pursue a career with Salesforce, consider three related jobs with similar responsibilities:

1. Salesforce administrator 

Average annual US base salary (Glassdoor): $100,687 [11]

Requirements: You must pass the Salesforce Certified Administrator exam.

As a Salesforce administrator, you design, set up, and streamline technology solutions for customizing Salesforce. Other duties may include assisting application users, overseeing data management, upholding security protocols, and providing actionable analytics. 

2. Salesforce consultant

Average annual US base salary (Glassdoor): $126,574 [12]

Requirements: To become a Salesforce consultant, you should earn credentials such as the Salesforce Business Analyst Certification or Data Cloud Consultant Certification.

As a Salesforce consultant, you will analyze any discrepancies between business requirements and specifications. Your role would also involve configuring workflow rules to automate sales processes and ensure organizations maximize their Salesforce use.

3. Salesforce project manager 

Average annual US base salary (Glassdoor): $108,417 [13]

Requirements: As with other Salesforce roles, earning certifications to gain Salesforce expertise will enable you to work toward a project manager position.

As a Salesforce project manager, your responsibilities may include developing and managing a comprehensive project schedule and work plan. Additionally, you may provide regular project updates to stakeholders, informing them about strategy, adjustments, and progress made throughout the project.

Job outlook 

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) forecasts a 17 percent increase in employment opportunities for software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers between 2023 and 2033, a rate much faster than average. Experts project an average of 140,100 job openings per year in the forecast period [14]. 

Salesforce itself is growing and should continue to be a valuable platform. The company reports remarkable growth in its employee count. It grew from 29,000 employees in 2017 to more than 72,000 in 2024 [15, 16].

Build your Salesforce developer salary and skills on Coursera  

Salesforce developers use programming skills to enhance Salesforce CRM software for an organization. To maximize your earning potential in this role, equip yourself with in-demand skills such as Apex and JavaScript and further your education.

On Coursera, you can explore the finer nuances of Salesforce’s customer relationship management (CRM) suite with the Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate. Another option is IBM’s Full Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate to get a headstart in software development. This beginner-friendly course on Coursera can introduce you to programming basics, software development tools, and methodologies, including Agile.