Starting range
Average salary
Top earners
approximately 14% below U.S. average
Compare to Nearby Cities
| City | Average Salary | Cost of Living Index | Real Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa, OK | $87,000 | 88 | $98,864 |
| Kansas City, MO | $95,000 | 95 | $100,000 |
| St. Louis, MO | $92,000 | 93 | $98,925 |
Local Market Outlook
Demand Level
steady, incremental growth driven by healthcare IT modernization, e-commerce support, and regional digital transformation projects
Top Employers
Key Industries
How Springfield’s cost of living affects a .NET developer’s purchasing power
Springfield (Springfield, MO) sits about 14% below the national cost-of-living index. For a .
NET developer earning the local average (~$85k), housing is the biggest driver of increased purchasing power: typical rents for a two-bedroom average $900–$1,050 per month; a modest single-family home median price is roughly $180,000. Commuting costs are likewise lower than metro peers—average monthly fuel and maintenance for a 25–35 mile roundtrip commute is commonly $150–$250 depending on vehicle, and public transit options are limited so most developers budget for car costs.
Day-to-day expenses (groceries, utilities, dining) trend 8–15% below U. S.
urban averages. The net effect: a mid-level .
NET developer in Springfield can maintain a comfortable lifestyle (own a home in suburban neighborhoods, afford childcare or private student loan payments) that would require a higher salary in Kansas City or St. Louis.
However, premium urban amenities and niche tech meetups are fewer, so lifestyle trade-offs include less dense nightlife and smaller specialized training markets.
Why .NET salaries are at current levels in Springfield
Salaries for . NET developers in Springfield are moderated by a mix of strong regional employers and a limited high-tech cluster.
Large, stable organizations—O’Reilly Auto Parts (corporate technology), CoxHealth and Mercy (hospital IT), and Bass Pro Shops (e-commerce & logistics)—account for most local enterprise hiring. These employers require .
NET skills for internal systems, integration with healthcare platforms (EPIC/HL7 adapters), and retail/order-management backends, but many roles are maintenance-heavy or tied to legacy . NET Framework stacks rather than bleeding-edge cloud-native initiatives.
Local government and state IT add steady demand for secure, compliant . NET developers.
Supply factors: local computer science graduate output and bootcamp graduates feed the market, but many developers prefer remote work or move to larger metros, keeping demand moderate. Cost-conscious regional employers pay below large-market premiums, but offer good benefits and job stability, which keeps turnover low and suppresses upward salary pressure.
Comparing Springfield to nearby cities — when to commute or relocate
Compared to Tulsa, Kansas City and St. Louis, Springfield pays slightly less for .
NET talent but also has a lower cost of living. Kansas City offers higher typical salaries (~$95k) and more specialized roles (cloud-native .
NET, DevOps, fintech), while Tulsa and St. Louis present intermediate opportunities.
If your priority is higher pay and exposure to cutting-edge stacks, relocating to Kansas City or St. Louis makes sense—especially for senior engineers seeking cloud-architect roles or product startups.
Commuting is often impractical for daily work (driving 90+ minutes each way), but hybrid arrangements with 1–2 in-office days can work if employers permit. Remote work is increasingly available: many Springfield-based .
NET developers take remote positions for Bay Area or Midwest companies, keeping local residence while capturing higher pay. When deciding, weigh salary uplift (often +10–25% in KC/St.
Louis) against higher COL and commute time.
Typical .NET career progression and how to accelerate it in Springfield
Entry-level . NET developers (0–2 years) typically start in application maintenance, bug fixes, and internal tooling (~$55k).
Mid-level engineers (3–7 years) move into full-stack responsibilities, integrations (web APIs, SQL Server), and lead small feature teams (~$80k). Senior engineers (8+ years) take on architecture, cloud migrations (Azure), or engineering leadership and can reach ~$110k locally.
Acceleration strategies: specialize in Azure ecosystem certifications (Azure Developer, Azure Solutions Architect), master modern . NET Core/.
NET 6+ and microservices patterns, and gain healthcare interoperability experience (HL7, FHIR) to be more attractive to CoxHealth/Mercy. Contributing to regional open-source projects, presenting at local meetups, or contracting for Kansas City-based firms can shorten timelines to senior pay by 1–3 years.
Also, gaining experience in CI/CD, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes) and automated testing raises market value significantly.
Location-specific negotiation tips for Springfield .NET developers
When negotiating, use local comparables and employer type. Reasonable total cash ranges: entry $50k–$62k, mid $70k–$95k, senior $95k–$120k.
For enterprise roles (healthcare, retail HQ), employers may trade a smaller base for stronger benefits—emphasize PTO, tuition reimbursement, and sign-on bonuses. For consultancies and SMBs, negotiate for training budgets, remote days, and performance-based bonuses.
Push for Azure certification reimbursement and flexible hours if base is constrained. Use evidence: cite recent job postings from O’Reilly, CoxHealth, and regional consultancies listing .
NET + Azure or FHIR experience to justify mid-to-high range asks. Cultural note: local hiring managers value demonstrated reliability and community fit; bring project case studies, references from local organizations, and show willingness to support on-call or cross-functional tasks to improve leverage.
Related Tools
Sources & Methodology
How We Calculate Salary Data
Location-specific salary data is compiled from government statistics (BLS), employer-reported data, and verified employee submissions. Cost of living adjustments use COLI data from the Council for Community and Economic Research. All figures are cross-referenced across multiple sources and updated quarterly to reflect current market conditions.
Data last verified: January 2026
Data Sources
Official government occupational employment and wage statistics
Self-reported salary data from employees by location
Job posting salary data aggregated by metro area
Council for Community and Economic Research cost of living data
Regional compensation data and cost-of-living adjustments