Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$185,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.3%
- Live roles
- 2,441
CFO
$222,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 19.4%
- Live roles
- 345
Highest-paying jobs
Intermediate Backend Software Engineer
Senior Staff Backend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
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)
Highest-paying jobs
1.1. Chief Financial Officer
VP of Finance
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer
CFO, Prism Media LLC
Chief Financial Officer
VP, Finance
VP, Finance
Chief Financial Officer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Air Apps
|
$68,094 | 33 |
Affirm
|
$183,000 | 20 |
Databricks
|
$205,100 | 16 |
Grafana Labs
|
$192,485 | 11 |
OpenAI
|
$309,000 | 9 |
Teleport
|
$261,440 | 9 |
Verkada
|
$215,000 | 9 |
Whoop
|
$150,000 | 9 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CFO Insights
|
$187,539 | 8 |
The Symicor Group
|
$170,000 | 5 |
The Brydon Group
|
$268,750 | 2 |
Hold Brothers
|
$232,500 | 2 |
Black White Zebra
|
$125,000 | 2 |
The Pod Group
|
$112,500 | 2 |
|
Phoenix Tailings
|
$737,500 | 1 |
|
Duolingo
|
$440,000 | 1 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $220,000 | 165 |
| New York | $207,500 | 163 |
| Seattle | $205,500 | 38 |
| Denver | $195,875 | 4 |
| Austin | $189,750 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $185,000 | 13 |
| Boston | $178,750 | 20 |
| Chicago | $175,000 | 5 |
| Singapore | $151,034 | 3 |
| Toronto | $147,978 | 39 |
CFO salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $301,250 | 8 |
| New York | $275,000 | 17 |
| Los Angeles | $215,000 | 3 |
| London | $187,539 | 9 |
| Chicago | $115,000 | 3 |
Backend Engineer vs CFO: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $185,500 per year (typically $145,499–$225,000), versus $222,500 for CFO ($174,425–$279,000). That puts CFO about 20% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and CFO 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.