.NET Developer Salary in Winston: $70,000-$125,000 (2026)

Winston-Salem’s cost-of-living index near 92 (100 = U. S.

average) makes a meaningful difference for . NET developers compared with larger NC tech centers.

Rent for a one-bedroom averages roughly $900–$1,100 monthly, and two-bedroom units commonly rent for $1,100–$1,400 depending on neighborhood (West End, Ardmore, or new developments near Innovation Quarter). Median home prices remain around $230k–$270k in the city proper, significantly below Raleigh/Charlotte.

Commute expenses are modest: typical drive times are 15–25 minutes from many suburbs and gasoline/parking costs are lower than congested metros. For a .

NET developer earning the local average (~$95k), lower housing and transportation costs mean more disposable income for savings, student-loan payments or investments. Lifestyle expenses — dining, childcare, gym memberships — trend below national averages, so a mid-level developer can maintain a comfortable two-income household on local salaries, or a single developer can allocate meaningful funds to retirement or home purchase sooner than peers in higher-cost cities.

Salaries reflect a mix of regional economic structure and employer mix. Large local employers—Wake Forest Baptist Health/Wake Forest University and Novant Health—generate steady demand for health IT, interoperability (.

NET Web APIs, HL7/FHIR integrations) and enterprise application maintenance. Inmar Intelligence (software and analytics) offers higher-paying engineering roles requiring .

NET backend, cloud (Azure) and data pipelines. Corporate headquarters like Hanesbrands and R.

J. Reynolds create requirements for internal IT, enterprise apps, and legacy modernization—often staffed by local teams or regional consultancies.

Financial operations and Truist regional centers add demand for secure, regulated systems and integration work. Compared with Raleigh/Charlotte, Winston-Salem has fewer large-scale pure-software employers, so competition is moderate and salaries sit below major NC tech hubs but above smaller non-tech markets.

Local salary pressure rises when healthcare IT projects or Inmar-led initiatives expand, and when consultancies bring short-term contract volume.

Raleigh (avg ~$110k, COL 105) and Charlotte (avg ~$105k, COL 102) pay higher base salaries for . NET roles, reflecting larger tech ecosystems, more startups and national employers.

Greensboro (~$88k, COL ~90) is slightly cheaper than Winston-Salem and pays a bit less on average. If you’re early-career and prioritize rapid salary growth and exposure to cloud-native/DevOps practices, relocating or commuting to Raleigh/Charlotte may accelerate progression.

For many mid/senior professionals, commuting to Charlotte (1. 5–2 hours) is impractical; remote work is a realistic alternative—many Charlotte/Raleigh employers now hire remote .

NET engineers, allowing Winston-Salem talent to capture higher pay while retaining lower local costs. Commuting into Greensboro is feasible for some suburbs, but salary uplift is minimal.

Consider hybrid or fully remote positions if prioritizing higher compensation without relocating.

Entry-level (0–2 years): start as a junior . NET developer on maintenance teams, building skills in C#, ASP.

NET MVC/Core, SQL Server, and basic Azure services. Expect 1–2 years in this role before a title bump if you demonstrate test-driven development and delivery reliability.

Mid-level (3–7 years): ownership of modules, API design, cloud deployments, and mentoring juniors. Movement to mid-level often follows delivery of a cross-functional project (e.

g. , migrating a legacy .

NET Framework app to . NET Core and Azure).

Senior (8+ years): lead architect, engineering lead or platform specialist roles—responsible for architecture, security, and system reliability; salaries jump with proven cloud/DevOps and data integration experience. Accelerators: contributing to cross-team initiatives (healthcare integrations, supply-chain systems), obtaining Azure certifications, and building demonstrable full-stack or cloud migration experience.

Consultants and contractors can accelerate earnings during peaks in healthcare or retail technology demand.

When negotiating, use local comparables: reasonable base ranges are $65k–$80k for entry, $85k–$105k for mid, and $105k–$130k+ for senior roles depending on cloud/architecture skills. Emphasize specialized value—experience with Azure DevOps, FHIR/HL7 (for healthcare), or supply-chain integrations (Inmar/Hanes use cases)—to justify top-of-range offers.

If an employer cannot reach top base pay, negotiate bonuses, paid training/certification budgets (Azure Architect, Security), increased PTO, flexible/remote work, and a clear promotion timeline with milestones. Many local employers offer strong benefits (healthcare, retirement matching) but fewer stock options than startups—request signing or performance bonuses when equity isn’t available.

Culturally, hiring managers in Winston-Salem value demonstrated reliability and community fit; provide concrete examples of delivery, cross-team collaboration, and region-specific domain knowledge to strengthen leverage.