Los Angeles County / Public Works Department / Principal Application Developer

Job-title file

Principal Application Developer

Lead staff and operations — set priorities, allocate resources, and oversee program delivery.

5 employees hold this title in Public Works Department. Median total compensation for the role is $250,729, above the department median of $147,401.

Employees: 5
Total payroll: $1.2M
Role median: $250,729
Agency median: $147,401
Comparison: Above

Compared with the local labor market

Principal Application Developer pay vs. the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area

Across all employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, the median wage for Software Developers — about 55,540 people — is $160,920. Public Works Department pays a median base salary of $155,481 for this role, 3% below that figure — about the 46th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Public Works Department sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$98,270

$127,530

$160,920

$191,540

$223,150

Public Works Department median · $155,481

The bar is the range of annual wages for Software Developers across every employer in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Public Works Department’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Software Developers — about 1,687,890 people — is $135,980. Public Works Department’s median base salary is 14% above that national figure, about the 64th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$82,460

$105,210

$135,980

$171,980

$214,670

Public Works Department median · $155,481

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA range relative to the national one.

Median total compensation for this role at Public Works Department is $250,729, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare departments

This role across Los Angeles County

Principal Application Developer is held in 28 Los Angeles County departments. In Public Works Department, the median of $250,729 ranks #17 of 28.

Highest-paying departments for this role

Olive View-Ucla Medical Center

$282,274 · 1

Assessor

$271,253 · 5

District Attorney

$269,491 · 4

Parks & Recreation Department

$265,378 · 1

Mental Health

$265,017 · 2

Children & Family Services

$263,238 · 19

Public Defender

$262,981 · 1

Board of Supervisors

$259,244 · 2

Sheriff

$258,979 · 10

Public Social Services Department

$256,837 · 8

Treasurer & Tax Collector

$255,503 · 1

Human Resources Department

$255,086 · 1

Median total compensation for the Principal Application Developer role in other Los Angeles Countydepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Record list