US Tech Salary Adjustment Guide 2025: What to Consider Between July and December

Tech companies across the US will need to make critical decisions about salary adjustments in an increasingly competitive market. This guide brings together key regional trends and comparative data by role and seniority level to help you make informed decisions.

Talking about tech salaries isn't just about isolated numbers. It's about real purchasing power, cost of living impact by city, and strategic decisions that define talent retention, attraction, or flight. This guide pulls together updated 2024 data and 2025 projections to help you build a competitive compensation strategy in the US.

TL;DR

• Recommended adjustments: 3-5% for CX and Marketing, 5-8% for Product and 5-10% for Development.

• Apply COLA adjustments by region; West Coast and NYC require larger bumps.

• Review salary bands by role and seniority every six months.

• Factor in premiums for technical skills (AI, AWS) and bilingual capabilities (+10-15% for senior roles).

• Companies that don't adjust could face key talent loss and higher replacement costs in Q4.

• Adjust by region and role, not across the board.

• Use SF benchmarks only for senior technical roles.

• Include bonuses or equity for AI, AWS, and architecture skills.

• Communicate adjustment criteria clearly.

Below, we've put together a visual breakdown of current annual ranges by region, role, and seniority, plus recommended adjustment percentages for 2025.

Overview of Current Monthly Salary Table and Expected Adjustment

East Coast: Between Financial Pressure and Constant Demand

Key Cities: New York, Boston

High cost of living, consolidation of financial and tech hubs, and pressure to match global benchmarks make the East Coast a particularly demanding landscape. Salary expectations don't stray far from West Coast levels, and bilingual profiles with technical skills are especially in demand.

Current Monthly Salary Table and Expected Adjustments (East Coast)

West Coast: The Benchmark That Never Sleeps

Key Cities: San Francisco, Seattle

If there's one thing that defines the West Coast, it's that it never stops pulling the average upward. While not every company uses San Francisco as a strict benchmark, many end up aligning their salary bands to retain talent at the most critical levels. Technical and senior roles demand aggressive adjustments.

Current Monthly Salary Table and Expected Adjustments (West Coast)

Central US: The Silent Opportunity

Key Cities: Chicago, Austin

The center of the country is gaining ground as a strategic option for companies that prioritize quality talent without taking on the extreme costs of the coasts. Austin and Chicago offer an attractive balance between operational costs, growing tech hubs, and still-competitive salaries.

Current Monthly Salary Table and Expected Adjustments (Central US)

Red Alert: Risks of Not Adjusting

• Talent flight: Especially in senior profiles with technical skills like AI, AWS, or architecture. Companies that don't apply competitive adjustments face resignation spikes in Q4, right when other companies start their hiring for the next fiscal year. In markets like SF or NYC, not adjusting 5-10% can mean losing your best talent to a FAANG.

• Internal demotivation: Without COLA-aligned increases, engagement drops. This translates to lower productivity, increased passivity, and more silent job searching. According to WTW and Robert Half studies, lack of adjustment reduces internal competitiveness perception by up to 30%.

• External competitiveness loss: Companies that don't update their salary bands quickly fall behind others that do apply cost-of-living and critical skills adjustments. This is especially visible in Product and Development, where a 10-15% differential can mark the difference between being an employer of choice... or plan B.

• Replacement costs: Replacing mid or senior technical talent can cost between 1.5x and 2x their annual salary, considering onboarding, productivity loss, and vacancy time. The cost of not adjusting becomes much more expensive than proactive adjustment.

  
  

Final Recommendations

Don't wait to lose talent before making decisions. Competition doesn't just come from neighboring offices, but from anywhere in the world with a good internet connection. Adjusting salaries according to reality is essential. And doing it before the benchmark passes you by is even more critical.

FAQ

Why isn't a standard 3% increase enough for everyone? Because technical roles like Product and Development face higher market pressure and require larger adjustments to stay competitive.

What happens if I don't adjust now? You could lose key talent right before Q4, when new opportunity searches activate and salary comparisons heat up.

Are SF benchmarks mandatory? No, but they're a useful reference for critical roles. Should be adapted to each region's COL.

How do I handle adjustments with Finance? Present realistic scenarios with inflation data, competition analysis, and replacement costs. Evaluate financial risks of not adjusting.

Sources and References

This guide draws from multiple industry sources and compensation data providers to ensure accuracy and relevance for 2025 planning:

Compensation Data Sources

• Radford Global Technology Survey - https://radford.aon.com/en-us/products/surveys/technology-compensation-survey

• Mercer Total Remuneration Survey - https://shop.mercer.com/trs.html

• Glassdoor Economic Research - https://www.glassdoor.com/research/

• Levels.fyi 2024 Pay Report - https://www.levels.fyi/2024/

• PayScale 2024-2025 Salary Budget Survey - https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/salary-budget-survey-sbs/

Market Research and Studies

• Willis Towers Watson (WTW) 2024 Employee Pay Trends - https://www.wtwco.com/en-us/insights/2024/01/2024-employee-pay-trends

• Robert Half 2025 Salary Guide - https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/salary-guide

• Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024 - https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2024/work

• WorldatWork 2024-2025 Salary Budget Survey - https://worldatwork.org/resources/research/salary-budget-survey

Industry Reports

• CompTIA State of the Tech Workforce 2024 - https://www.comptia.org/en-us/resources/research/state-of-the-tech-workforce-2024/

• Dice 2025 Tech Salary Report - https://www.dice.com/technologists/ebooks/tech-salary-report/

• Glassdoor Worklife Trends 2025 - https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/worklife-trends-2025/

Cost of Living and Regional Data

• Bureau of Labor Statistics - https://www.bls.gov

• MIT Living Wage Calculator - https://livingwage.mit.edu/

• Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/

Additional Resources

For the most current salary data and market trends, we recommend regularly consulting:

• Levels.fyi Live Compensation Data - https://www.levels.fyi/charts.html

• Glassdoor Job Market Report - https://www.glassdoor.com/research/job-market-report-united-states

• CompTIA IT Salary Calculator - https://www.comptia.org/content/it-salary-calculator

Note: All salary ranges and percentages reflect market data compiled through Q2 2024, with projections based on economic forecasting models and industry trend analysis. Individual company circumstances may warrant different approaches to compensation adjustment.