Side-by-side distribution
Android
$179,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 30.7%
- Live roles
- 424
Backend Engineer
$185,375
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33%
- Live roles
- 2,443
Highest-paying jobs
Mobile Android Engineer
Helix AI Engineer, Embedded Android Systems
Staff Android Software Engineer, Cash App Consumer Platform
Staff Android Software Engineer, Cash App Consumer Platform
Android Engineer, Ad Formats
Android Engineer, ChatGPT Mobile Infrastructure
Android Engineer, Applied Foundations
Mobile Android Engineer
Helix AI Engineer, Android Tooling
Mobile Engineer, Android
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Backend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Intermediate Backend Software Engineer
Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
Lead Software Engineer (Backend)
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Backend Engineer, AI
Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer (Java)
Senior Backend Engineer (Java)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Mindrift
|
$124,800 | 24 |
Reddit
|
$260,450 | 9 |
Robinhood
|
$180,500 | 5 |
| GR GRVTY | $175,000 | 4 |
|
OpenAI
|
$307,500 | 3 |
Verkada
|
$207,500 | 3 |
Scout Motors
|
$200,000 | 3 |
Applied Intuition
|
$195,000 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Air Apps
|
$68,094 | 33 |
Affirm
|
$183,000 | 20 |
Databricks
|
$205,100 | 16 |
Grafana Labs
|
$192,485 | 15 |
|
OpenAI
|
$309,000 | 9 |
Teleport
|
$261,440 | 9 |
Whoop
|
$150,000 | 9 |
Satispay
|
$55,934 | 9 |
Android salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $223,150 | 14 |
| Los Angeles | $210,000 | 3 |
| New York | $185,250 | 30 |
| Seattle | $162,650 | 4 |
| Boston | $150,000 | 7 |
| Singapore | $149,098 | 4 |
| Austin | $141,500 | 3 |
| London | $136,665 | 4 |
| Toronto | $112,360 | 8 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $220,000 | 166 |
| New York | $207,500 | 165 |
| Seattle | $205,500 | 38 |
| Denver | $195,875 | 4 |
| Austin | $194,500 | 7 |
| Los Angeles | $184,075 | 12 |
| Chicago | $175,000 | 5 |
| Boston | $175,000 | 21 |
| Singapore | $151,034 | 3 |
| Toronto | $149,375 | 38 |
Android vs Backend Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Android is $179,500 per year (typically $132,085–$210,000), versus $185,375 for Backend Engineer ($145,499–$225,000). That puts Backend Engineer about 3% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Android and Backend Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.