Unemployment in computer and information technology occupations is 2.2%, far below the national rate of 3.7%. Computer science graduates also show strong early outcomes, with a 94% employment rate within six months of graduation. Women make up 26% of computing professionals, and workforce representation varies by age and education track, alongside job growth and salary benchmarks.
Key Takeaways
- 48% of CS workforce is white, 2022 demographics.
- Women represent 26% of computing professionals in 2023.
- Asian Americans: 20% of software developers, 2022.
- 65% of CS grads have bachelor's as highest degree.
- 45% of software developers hold master's degrees, 2023.
- PhD holders: 5% of computing workforce.
- In 2023, the unemployment rate for computer and information technology occupations was 2.2%, significantly lower than the national average of 3.7%.
- As of Q4 2023, there were 5.2 million employed in computer and mathematical occupations in the US.
- Computer science graduates had a 94% employment rate within six months of graduation in 2022.
- Software developers employment projected to grow 25% from 2022 to 2032.
- Information security analysts jobs to grow 32% by 2032.
- Data scientists projected growth 35% 2022-2032.
- Median annual salary for software developers in the US was $127,260 in 2022.
- Entry-level software engineer salary averaged $112,000 in 2023.
- Computer systems analysts median pay: $103,800 per year in 2022.
CS employment is high and unemployment low, while pay and growth keep accelerating.
Related reading
01 · Category
Demographics27 stats
01
48% of CS workforce is white, 2022 demographics.
02
Women represent 26% of computing professionals in 2023.
03
Asian Americans: 20% of software developers, 2022.
04
Black or African American: 7% of IT workforce, 2023.
05
Hispanic/Latino: 9% in computer occupations, 2022.
06
Average age of software engineers: 29 years in 2023.
07
15% of CS pros have disabilities, 2022 survey.
08
Veterans: 5% of tech workforce, 2023.
09
LGBTQ+ identification: 11% in tech, higher than avg.
10
Immigrants: 25% of Silicon Valley CS jobs.
11
Gen Z entering CS: 40% of new hires 2023.
12
Baby boomers: 3% of developers, 2023.
13
Rural CS workers: 12% of total, 2022.
14
Union membership: 2% in IT sector, 2023.
15
Single parents: 8% of tech workforce.
16
Neurodiverse: 20% self-reported in CS, 2023 survey.
17
First-gen college: 25% of CS grads employed.
18
Military spouses: 4% in flexible CS roles.
19
Non-binary gender: 2% of tech respondents, 2023.
20
Over 50yo: 10% of programmers, declining.
21
Indigenous/Native: 1% of STEM workforce.
22
Multiracial: 5% in computing fields, 2022.
23
Caregivers: 30% of women in tech, impact retention.
24
International students: 60% of CS PhDs.
25
Public sector CS: 15% of workforce.
26
Startup employees: 20% under 25yo.
27
75% of CS bachelor's degrees awarded to men in 2022.
Interpretation
Demographics Interpretation
The industry loves to champion innovation, yet its own human code is a patchwork of persistent underrepresentation and youthful overdrive, revealing a glaring bug in how we source and retain our talent.
02 · Category
Education20 stats
01
65% of CS grads have bachelor's as highest degree.
02
45% of software developers hold master's degrees, 2023.
03
PhD holders: 5% of computing workforce.
04
Coding bootcamps: 25% of new devs entry point, 2023.
05
Self-taught programmers: 40% per Stack Overflow 2023.
06
CS certifications (e.g., AWS): held by 30% of IT pros.
07
Associate degrees: 10% of CS occupations.
08
Online degrees: 20% of new CS grads 2023.
09
STEM H1B visas: 70% for CS fields.
10
Community college CS transfers: 15% to 4-year.
11
MOOCs completers entering jobs: 12% rate.
12
Vendor certs (Cisco, Microsoft): 35% value over degrees.
13
Women in CS grad programs: 22% enrollment.
14
Average CS bachelor's completion time: 4.5 years.
15
Apprenticeships in tech: 5% of hires, growing.
16
High school CS courses: 60% of students take.
17
MBAs in tech roles: 8% of managers.
18
Nanodegrees (Udacity): 10% faster job entry.
19
CS minors switching to major: 30% rate.
20
Lifelong learning: 70% of CS pros take courses yearly.
Interpretation
Education Interpretation
The CS employment landscape resembles a surprisingly well-attended, multi-track conference where the traditional bachelor's degree is the main stage, but the bustling vendor halls, impromptu hallway self-study sessions, and increasingly popular satellite seminars are where much of the real hiring energy and career pivots now happen.
03 · Category
Employment Rates30 stats
01
In 2023, the unemployment rate for computer and information technology occupations was 2.2%, significantly lower than the national average of 3.7%.
02
As of Q4 2023, there were 5.2 million employed in computer and mathematical occupations in the US.
03
Computer science graduates had a 94% employment rate within six months of graduation in 2022.
04
In 2022, 82% of computer programmers were employed full-time.
05
The underemployment rate for CS bachelor's holders was 12.5% in 2021.
06
91% of software developers reported job security in a 2023 survey.
07
In 2023, involuntary part-time employment in IT was 1.8%.
08
CS majors had a 2.1% unemployment rate in 2022, per CPS data.
09
96% of computer science PhDs were employed post-graduation in 2021.
10
Long-term unemployment (>27 weeks) in computing occupations was 0.4% in 2023.
11
88% of information security analysts were fully employed in 2022.
12
Entry-level CS jobs had 85% placement rate for 2023 grads.
13
Discouraged workers in IT sector: 0.2% of labor force in 2023.
14
93% employment rate for database administrators in 2022.
15
CS unemployment for recent grads (age 22-27): 3.4% in 2022.
16
Full-time employment share for network architects: 95% in 2023.
17
90% of CS master's holders employed within 3 months, 2022 data.
18
IT unemployment rate for women: 2.5% vs 2.0% for men in 2023.
19
97% of computer systems analysts employed full-time in 2022.
20
Labor force participation rate for CS degree holders: 92% in 2021.
21
89% employment rate for web developers post-2022 graduation.
22
Marginally attached workers in computing: 0.1% in 2023.
23
94% of computer occupations had employment growth > national avg in 2022.
24
Unemployment duration average for IT layoffs: 2.3 months in 2023.
25
86% of CS grads in workforce within 1 year, 2022 cohort.
26
Not in labor force rate for CS PhDs: 4.2% in 2021.
27
92% full employment for computer network support specialists.
28
Youth unemployment (16-24) in CS: 4.1% in 2023.
29
95% of data scientists employed full-time, 2023 survey.
30
Overall CS field employment rate: 93.5% for degree holders aged 25-64.
Interpretation
Employment Rates Interpretation
Despite a relentless parade of digits confirming that a computer science degree is practically a golden ticket to employment, we must still remember that a small but sobering percentage of those holding the ticket are stuck watching the train go by from the platform.
More related reading
04 · Category
Job Growth30 stats
01
Software developers employment projected to grow 25% from 2022 to 2032.
02
Information security analysts jobs to grow 32% by 2032.
03
Data scientists projected growth 35% 2022-2032.
04
Computer and IT occupations overall growth 15% to 2032.
05
Network architects jobs up 4% by 2032.
06
Database admin growth 8% projected 2022-2032.
07
Computer systems analysts growth 10% to 2032.
08
Web developers and digital designers: 16% growth by 2032.
09
Computer programmers jobs decline 11% by 2032.
10
IT managers projected growth 15% 2022-2032.
11
Annual openings for software devs: 153,900 projected.
12
Cybersecurity jobs to add 16,800 annually til 2032.
13
AI/ML specialist demand up 40% since 2020.
14
Cloud computing roles grew 50% in last 5 years.
15
DevOps positions increased 75% from 2018-2023.
16
Data engineering jobs up 50% YoY in 2023.
17
Remote CS jobs postings doubled since 2020.
18
Blockchain jobs grew 300% from 2020-2023.
19
Quantum computing roles emerging, 200% growth projected.
20
Low-code/no-code devs demand up 25% in 2023.
21
IT project managers openings: 52,400 annually.
22
Software QA growth 6% to 2032.
23
AR/VR jobs projected 30% growth by 2028.
24
Full-stack dev demand up 35% in 2023 postings.
25
SRE roles grew 20% YoY in 2023.
26
Fintech CS jobs up 45% since 2020.
27
Healthtech IT growth 28% projected to 2030.
28
Edtech developer roles doubled 2020-2023.
29
Green tech CS jobs up 40% in 2023.
30
Gaming industry devs: 12% growth to 2032.
Interpretation
Job Growth Interpretation
While traditional programming may be gently declining, the tech landscape is exploding with demand for those who can build, secure, and decipher our digital world, proving that the future belongs to architects, guardians, and alchemists of data, not just its scribes.
05 · Category
Salaries30 stats
01
Median annual salary for software developers in the US was $127,260in 2022.
02
Entry-level software engineer salary averaged $112,000in 2023.
03
Computer systems analysts median pay: $103,800per year in 2022.
04
Data scientists earned a median of $103,500in 2022.
05
Information security analysts average salary: $112,000in 2023.
06
Web developers median wage: $80,730annually in 2022.
07
Computer programmers average pay: $97,800in 2022.
08
Network architects median salary: $129,840in 2022.
09
Database administrators earned $101,000median in 2022.
10
In Silicon Valley, senior software engineers averaged $250,000total comp in 2023.
11
CS bachelor's grads starting salary: $75,000average in 2023.
12
Machine learning engineers median: $150,000in 2023.
13
IT managers salary median: $164,070in 2022.
14
DevOps engineers average $135,000in US, 2023.
15
Cybersecurity specialists: $120,360median pay 2022.
16
Full-stack developers: $110,000average salary 2023.
17
Cloud architects earn $160,000median in 2023.
18
Frontend developers median: $85,000in 2022.
19
Backend developers average $115,000in 2023.
20
AI engineers salary: $140,000median 2023.
21
QA engineers: $90,000average in US 2023.
22
Product managers in tech: $145,000median 2022.
23
Systems analysts: $99,270median 2022.
24
Big Data engineers: $130,000average 2023.
25
Mobile app developers: $105,000median 2023.
26
CTO average salary: $250,000+ in 2023 for mid-size firms.
27
Computer support specialists: $59,660median 2022.
28
Blockchain developers: $150,000average 2023.
29
VR/AR developers: $120,000median 2023.
30
Site reliability engineers: $155,000average 2023.
Interpretation
Salaries Interpretation
While the median computer science salary is a comforting six figures, the true data story is a frantic bidding war where Silicon Valley AI architects bathe in champagne while front-end developers and support specialists fight over the last slice of office pizza.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Alexander Schmidt. (2026, February 13). Computer Science Employment Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/computer-science-employment-statistics
MLA
Alexander Schmidt. "Computer Science Employment Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/computer-science-employment-statistics.
Chicago
Alexander Schmidt. 2026. "Computer Science Employment Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/computer-science-employment-statistics.
Sources & references
55 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level