US Developer Tools & SaaS
US software is a $177 billion-a-quarter industry: software publishers earned $176,958 million in Q2 2026, about $1.07 million per employee (Census Bureau). Talent is the main cost: 1,687,890 software developers earned a mean $148,100 a year in May 2025 (BLS).
20 verified facts tracked for this market — each with its source, reporting period and evidence tier. Tier 1 = primary institutions (central banks, statistical offices); tier 2 = disclosed industry panels.
| Metric | Value | Geo | Period | Tier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gap in annualised revenue per employee between US software publishers and US IT services firms | 3.26times | US | 2026-Q2 | T1 | census.gov |
| Quarter on quarter change in revenue of US software publishers | 3.8percent | US | 2026-Q2 | T1 | census.gov |
| Annualised revenue per employee at US software publishers | 1074753USD per employee per year | US | 2026-Q2 | T1 | census.gov |
| Quarterly revenue of US software publishers | 176958USD million per quarter | US | 2026-Q2 | T1 | census.gov |
| Median VC deal value, US Series A rounds | 19.4USD million | US | 2026-H1 | T1 | nvca.org |
| Share of US VC deal value going to companies with all-female founding teams | 0.7percent of VC deal value | US | 2026-H1 | T1 | nvca.org |
| Median VC deal value, US seed rounds | 3.0USD million | US | 2026-H1 | T1 | nvca.org |
| US VC deal value in companies with all-female founding teams | 2.9USD billion | US | 2026-H1 | T1 | nvca.org |
| Median VC valuation step-up of US non-AI companies | 1.6x | US | 2026-H1 | T1 | nvca.org |
| Producer price index for all output of US software publishers | 97.700index | US | 2026-08 | T1 | api.bls.gov |
| Payroll employment in US software publishers | 657.0thousand employees | US | 2026-07 | T1 | api.bls.gov |
| US Information sector businesses using AI in any business function | 39.7% of Information-sector businesses (NAICS 51: software, publishing, telecom), as of survey wave ending 2026-05-03 | United States | 2026-05-03 | T1 | census.gov |
| Annual wage of US software developers at the mean | 148100USD per year | US | 2025-05 | T1 | api.bls.gov |
| Software developers employed at US software publishers | 173080people | US | 2025-05 | T1 | api.bls.gov |
| Employment in the occupation Software Developers in the US | 1687890people | US | 2025-05 | T1 | api.bls.gov |
| Share of first-time-financed US non-AI companies that raised a second VC round | 6.9percent | US | 2025 cohort | T1 | nvca.org |
| Median VC deal value, US Series B rounds | 30.0USD million | US | 2025 | T1 | nvca.org |
| Annual average producer price index for US software maintenance and technical support services | 222.083index | US | 2025 | T1 | api.bls.gov |
| US VC deal count, pre-seed/seed stage | 5049VC deals | US | 2025 | T1 | nvca.org |
| US companies raising their first VC round, count | 4778companies | US | 2025 | T1 | nvca.org |
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