{
  "query": {
    "country": "US",
    "what": "software engineer hourly rate"
  },
  "status": "ok",
  "price": {
    "currency": "USD",
    "unit": "per hour, ceiling rate",
    "value": 137.3,
    "measure": "median",
    "median": 137.3,
    "typical_low": 88.56,
    "typical_high": 211.42,
    "min": 29.27,
    "max": 465.6
  },
  "sample_size": 4861,
  "period": {
    "from": "2026-10-30",
    "to": "2026-10-30"
  },
  "confidence": "high",
  "price_type": "posted_price",
  "as_of": "2026-10-30T09:45:06.933Z",
  "source": {
    "id": "us-gsa-calc",
    "name": "GSA CALC+: contract-awarded labour category ceiling rates",
    "publisher": "U.S. General Services Administration, Technology Transformation Services (CALC+)",
    "licence": "CC0 1.0 Universal (public domain dedication): data.gov record 'Contract-Awarded Labor Category API' lists the licence as https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ (publisher GSA Technology Transformation Services; access level public), read 23 Oct 2026. Commercial reuse allowed, no attribution required.",
    "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
    "attribution": "Source: GSA CALC+ (Contract-Awarded Labor Category), U.S. General Services Administration. Ceiling hourly rates, not prices paid. ProofPrice is not endorsed by GSA.",
    "url": "https://buy.gsa.gov/pricing/"
  },
  "method": "GSA CALC+ labour-category lines whose labour category, vendor or contract number contains \"software engineer\", from the nightly index of 2026-10-30. Each line is the current hourly CEILING rate in US dollars that a contractor may charge federal buyers for one labour category on one contract. Median and 10th–90th percentile of those rates as computed by GSA's search index (approximate). Ceiling rates are not prices paid; one line per category per contract; contractors are never named.",
  "method_url": "https://proofprice.com/method",
  "summary": "US federal schedule contracts set a median ceiling rate of US$137 per hour for \"software engineer\" (typical range US$88.56 to US$211, 10th to 90th percentile). These are ceiling (maximum) hourly rates written into GSA contracts, not what agencies actually paid. Based on 4861 records from U.S. General Services Administration, Technology Transformation Services (CALC+) (2026-10-30 to 2026-10-30). Confidence: high.",
  "notice": "Information, not a valuation or offer. Ranges describe past recorded prices.",
  "extra": {
    "rate_basis": "ceiling",
    "rate_lines": 4861,
    "matched_keyword": "software engineer",
    "value_basis": "hourly ceiling rate per labour category per contract; not a price paid"
  },
  "answer_id": "ans_0a80e0450a99c4ed5e90",
  "method_version": "1",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T09:45:06.932Z",
  "evidence": {
    "type": "posted_price",
    "label": "Ceiling hourly rate",
    "meaning": "The most a contractor may charge federal buyers per hour for this labour category under its GSA contract. Actual orders can be lower. Not a price paid."
  },
  "reliability": "record_level",
  "data_as_of": "2026-10-30",
  "data_age_days": 0,
  "suggestions": [
    "This is a posted price, not what each customer paid."
  ]
}