Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$185,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31.5%
- Live roles
- 2,797
Full-Stack
$160,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 25.4%
- Live roles
- 4,702
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Expert Backend Engineer
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Backend Engineer, Perpetuals
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Software Engineer, API Agents
Backend Software Engineer, GTM Innovation
Software Engineer, API Safety
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Full Stack Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior/Staff Full Stack Engineer, Applied AI
Fullstack Software Engineer, Agent Platform
Founding Engineer - Full Stack
Full-Stack Engineer, ChatGPT Education & Learning
Full Stack Engineer, Fleet Scheduling
Staff+ Fullstack Software Engineer, Safeguards Engineering
Staff+ Software Engineer, Full-stack
Staff+ Software Engineer, Enterprise (Full Stack)
Lead / Staff Full-Stack Software Engineer - Console Experience
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$158,000 | 50 |
Air Apps
|
$65,555 | 33 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 17 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,400 | 44 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 26 |
CACI
|
$143,125 | 26 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$135,200 | 23 |
GDIT
|
$168,000 | 19 |
|
Affirm
|
$183,000 | 15 |
Leidos
|
$151,475 | 15 |
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 15 |
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,000 | 148 |
| New York | $205,000 | 173 |
| Seattle | $200,000 | 52 |
| Los Angeles | $196,000 | 17 |
| Boston | $191,500 | 19 |
| Denver | $167,950 | 11 |
| Austin | $160,625 | 14 |
| Chicago | $150,350 | 10 |
| Singapore | $143,718 | 6 |
| Toronto | $139,976 | 42 |
Full-Stack salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $207,500 | 160 |
| Seattle | $202,500 | 40 |
| New York | $195,000 | 173 |
| Boston | $171,450 | 39 |
| Los Angeles | $165,000 | 27 |
| London | $156,168 | 14 |
| Singapore | $156,000 | 5 |
| Austin | $155,000 | 24 |
| Chicago | $155,000 | 19 |
| Denver | $150,000 | 15 |
Backend Engineer vs Full-Stack: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $185,000 per year (typically $140,342–$219,213), versus $160,000 for Full-Stack ($125,000–$200,000). That puts Backend Engineer about 16% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and Full-Stack 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.