Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$187,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.4%
- Live roles
- 2,364
Blockchain
$177,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 35%
- Live roles
- 40
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Backend Engineer, Markets
Senior Backend Engineer, Perpetuals
Senior Backend Engineer, Trust & Safety
Senior Backend Engineer, Exchange Infrastructure
Backend Engineer, Markets
Senior Backend Engineer, Payments
Staff+ Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Software Engineer - Blockchain Platform
Senior Blockchain Platform Engineer
Senior Smart Contract Engineer (EVM)
Staff/Principal Full Stack Blockchain Engineer
Senior Smart Contract Engineer (SVM)
Senior Software Engineer - Blockchain Network
Senior Blockchain Engineer
Blockchain / Backend Engineer - Vice President
Smart Contract Engineer (EVM)
Blockchain Security Engineer - (Solidity / Rust / Golang)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$170,500 | 34 |
Air Apps
|
$67,479 | 33 |
Grafana Labs
|
$137,917 | 26 |
OpenAI
|
$339,000 | 14 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 13 |
Verkada
|
$220,000 | 12 |
GitLab
|
$187,200 | 10 |
Satispay
|
$57,178 | 10 |
GoFasti
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,000 | 161 |
| Seattle | $214,700 | 49 |
| New York | $205,129 | 166 |
| Los Angeles | $198,500 | 13 |
| Boston | $195,750 | 12 |
| Denver | $193,171 | 6 |
| Austin | $185,000 | 5 |
| Chicago | $165,000 | 3 |
| Singapore | $156,000 | 5 |
| Toronto | $143,419 | 28 |
Blockchain salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $195,000 | 6 |
Backend Engineer vs Blockchain: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $187,500 per year (typically $146,042–$225,000), versus $177,500 for Blockchain ($145,750–$210,000). That puts Backend Engineer about 6% 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.