Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$183,350
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.1%
- Live roles
- 2,668
iOS
$179,400
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.3%
- Live roles
- 443
Highest-paying jobs
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Expert Backend Engineer
Software Engineer, Backend
Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Staff/Principal Backend Software Engineer
Backend Software Engineer, Cooperative AI (Evals)
Software Engineer, API Multicloud
Software Engineer, API Safety
Software Engineer, API Agents
Highest-paying jobs
Staff iOS Engineer
Mobile iOS Engineer
Staff Software Engineer, iOS
Member of Technical Staff (iOS Engineer, Computer Growth)
Senior Staff Prototyping Engineer, iOS
Staff iOS Software Engineer, Product Platform
Staff iOS Software Engineer, Bitcoin
iOS Engineer, Applied Foundations
Senior / Staff Software Engineer, iOS
Mobile iOS Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Affirm
|
$158,000 | 54 |
Air Apps
|
$65,555 | 33 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 17 |
Grafana Labs
|
$149,186 | 16 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 14 |
Verkada
|
$225,000 | 11 |
| KA Kalepa | $229,500 | 9 |
Robinhood
|
$180,500 | 9 |
Compass
Reddit
Airbnb
Duolingo
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $215,500 | 155 |
| New York | $206,900 | 176 |
| Seattle | $200,000 | 53 |
| Los Angeles | $196,000 | 17 |
| Boston | $180,633 | 18 |
| Denver | $167,950 | 11 |
| Austin | $160,000 | 15 |
| Chicago | $140,700 | 11 |
| Toronto | $138,978 | 39 |
| Atlanta | $138,010 | 5 |
iOS salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $261,000 | 3 |
| San Francisco | $221,363 | 26 |
| New York | $202,500 | 38 |
| Seattle | $188,275 | 8 |
| Boston | $168,000 | 6 |
| Toronto | $140,588 | 15 |
| London | $124,119 | 6 |
Backend Engineer vs iOS: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $183,350 per year (typically $137,906–$220,000), versus $179,400 for iOS ($140,451–$215,000). That puts Backend Engineer about 2% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and iOS 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.