Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$184,175
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.8%
- Live roles
- 2,597
Blockchain
$172,250
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 38.3%
- Live roles
- 47
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Expert Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer, Perpetuals
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Software Engineer, API Safety
Software Engineer, API Agents
Software Engineer, API Frontiers
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Software Engineer - Blockchain Platform
Senior Smart Contract Engineer (SVM)
Staff/Principal Full Stack Blockchain Engineer
Blockchain Developer
Senior Software Engineer- Blockchain Network
Senior Software Engineer- Blockchain Platform (Wallets, Liquidity & Bridging)
Senior Software Engineer - Go & Rust, Blockchain Infrastructure
Senior Software Engineer - Blockchain
Blockchain & AI Software Lead Engineer (Payments), Vice President
Backend Engineer, Blockchain - Vice President
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$170,500 | 52 |
Air Apps
|
$65,555 | 33 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 18 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 14 |
Grafana Labs
|
$148,144 | 14 |
Verkada
|
$225,000 | 11 |
| KA Kalepa | $219,000 | 11 |
Robinhood
|
$180,500 | 9 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Coinbase
|
$202,483 | 4 |
|
Mastercard
|
$154,750 | 2 |
|
iCapital
|
$153,750 | 2 |
Certik
|
$141,000 | 2 |
|
Swift
|
$225,762 | 1 |
|
Groma
|
$212,500 | 1 |
|
Ellipsis Labs
|
$210,000 | 1 |
|
Quicknode
|
$192,500 | 1 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,250 | 148 |
| New York | $205,000 | 173 |
| Seattle | $200,000 | 52 |
| Los Angeles | $196,000 | 17 |
| Boston | $191,500 | 19 |
| Denver | $167,950 | 11 |
| Austin | $160,000 | 13 |
| Chicago | $150,350 | 10 |
| Singapore | $143,718 | 6 |
| Toronto | $139,976 | 42 |
Blockchain salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $175,000 | 3 |
Backend Engineer vs Blockchain: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $184,175 per year (typically $140,485–$220,000), versus $172,250 for Blockchain ($143,490–$202,483). That puts Backend Engineer about 7% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and Blockchain 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.