.NET Developer Salary in Raleigh: $75,000-$135,000 (2026)

Raleigh’s cost of living index (~98) means nominal . NET salaries go further than in NYC or San Francisco.

For example, a mid‑level . NET dev earning ~$95k can typically afford a one‑bed rental in central Raleigh ($1,400–$1,700) while still saving more than someone with the same salary in Charlotte or Austin where rents can be higher in tech neighborhoods.

Home prices around Raleigh’s suburbs (Cary, Apex, Wake Forest) remain elevated compared to smaller NC cities but are ~15–25% below major coastal tech hubs, improving long‑term net worth prospects. Commute costs are moderate: many companies cluster in the Research Triangle Park (RTP) and downtown Raleigh, which keeps average drive times 20–30 minutes from nearby suburbs and limits fuel and time costs.

For developers, this translates to better discretionary spending and a higher effective take‑home after housing and transport—particularly relevant when comparing total compensation packages that include smaller base salaries but generous remote or hybrid flexibility and lower day‑to‑day expenses.

Raleigh’s . NET salary structure is shaped by a mix of stable enterprise employers and a growing startup scene.

Large, established players—SAS in Cary, Red Hat/IBM, Fidelity, and IQVIA—need seasoned . NET engineers to support critical enterprise apps, integration with cloud platforms (Azure/AWS), and modernization of legacy .

NET Framework apps to . NET Core / .

NET 6+. Mid‑sized companies like Bandwidth and Pendo and numerous healthtech and fintech firms regularly hire full‑stack .

NET talent for SaaS products. The RTP concentration reduces hiring friction and keeps salaries competitive but below coastal tech premiums.

Additionally, state and local incentives, venture funding into Raleigh startups, and increasing cloud migration projects sustain demand. As organizations modernize monoliths, the premium for engineers who understand both legacy ASP.

NET and modern . NET Core, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and CI/CD pipelines has pushed mid and senior salaries upward.

Durham (col index ~96) and Chapel Hill (100) are immediately adjacent and show similar pay scales; commuting inside the Triangle (Raleigh–Durham–Cary) is common and often makes relocation unnecessary. Charlotte (COL ~102) offers comparable or slightly lower .

NET base salaries for mid roles (~$95k) but sometimes higher in finance roles; however, commuting from Raleigh to Charlotte is impractical. If you’re evaluating relocation, weigh housing and family needs: a move to Raleigh from Charlotte often yields similar pay but lower commute times if working locally.

Remote work has broadened options: large fintech and SaaS firms now hire Raleigh talent remotely for roles paying national market rates, often boosting pay by 5–15% over strictly local offers. Practical rule: commute within the Triangle for daily work; consider relocation only if the employer’s total comp or role specialization offers a clear upside.

Typical progression: entry-level (0–2 yrs) mastering C#, ASP. NET Core basics, SQL Server, Azure fundamentals; mid-level (3–7 yrs) owning services, designing APIs, mentoring juniors and handling CI/CD; senior (8+ yrs) leading architecture, migration strategies, and cross‑team technical decisions.

In Raleigh, transitioning from mid to senior often takes 4–6 years but can accelerate to 2–4 years if you lead a high‑visibility modernization project (e. g.

, migrating a monolith to microservices on Azure Kubernetes Service) or gain specialties like cloud architecture, security compliance (HIPAA, SOC2), or domain expertise in fintech/healthtech. Contributing to open‑source .

NET projects, speaking at local meetups (RTP . NET User Group), or leading internal brown‑bag sessions speeds recognition.

Management tracks typically split around 7–10 years, with engineering lead and architect roles offering 15–25% salary premiums over senior individual contributor roles depending on company size.

Target realistic ranges: entry $60k–75k, mid $85k–105k, senior $110k–140k depending on company and scope. When negotiating, cite local comparables (Raleigh avg ~$100.

5k), emphasize cloud/. NET Core experience, and quantify past modernization outcomes (reduced latency, deployment frequency increases).

Ask about bonuses, equity (startups), and sign‑on for high‑demand skills like Azure DevOps, Kubernetes, and performance tuning. Benefits matter: flexible/hybrid schedules, remote allowance, professional development stipends, and employer‑paid certifications (Azure, Microsoft) can bridge base salary gaps.

Cultural note: Raleigh hiring teams value collaborative fit—demonstrate cross‑functional impact and product thinking. If the base offer is below midmarket, negotiate for a 6–12 month performance review with a defined raise target tied to deliverables (e.

g. , lead migration of a core service to .

NET 6).