Side-by-side distribution
COBOL
$125,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 15.6%
- Live roles
- 45
JavaScript
$135,200
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 17.1%
- Live roles
- 356
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Mainframe Developer – IMS Database & zOS
Mainframe Developer
Software Developer Lead - COBOL, z/OS Mainframe
Senior Mainframe Developer
Mainframe Developer - Cards & Rewards
Senior Mainframe Developer
Mainframe Developer
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Software Engineer (Frameworks), JavaScript SDK
Senior Software Engineer (Node), JavaScript SDK
Senior Software Engineer (Node), JavaScript SDK
Senior Software Engineer (Frameworks), JavaScript SDK
Automated Test Engineer (Hybrid) - Cypress/JavaScript/Agile/Git/Jira/AWS/CI/CD
Front-End Developer (Mid/Senior) - Java/Quarkus/HTML/CSS/JavaScript/Oracle/AWS
Full-Stack Developer - Python/JavaScript/CSS/REST/Docker
Front-End Developer (Mid/Senior) - Java/Quarkus/HTML/CSS/JavaScript/Oracle/AWS
Software Engineer 2 (Hybrid) - JavaScript/React/Angular/Java/Linux
Software Engineer - Python/FASApi/JavaScript/JSON/CSS/MongoDB/Docker
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| US USAA | $166,055 | 1 |
|
Bank of America
|
$141,400 | 1 |
|
Regions
|
$140,690 | 1 |
|
Ensono
|
$125,000 | 1 |
|
PNC
|
$122,188 | 1 |
| TF Thermo Fisher Scientific | $99,750 | 1 |
| TB TD Bank | $70,853 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Air Apps
|
$60,559 | 11 |
Esri
|
$112,580 | 9 |
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 7 |
|
Sentry
|
$243,615 | 4 |
Virtu Financial
|
$175,000 | 2 |
Oscilar
|
$158,083 | 2 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$137,775 | 2 |
Morningstar
|
$132,819 | 2 |
JavaScript salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $225,800 | 5 |
| New York | $175,000 | 4 |
| Denver | $112,580 | 9 |
| Toronto | $105,303 | 6 |
COBOL vs JavaScript: which pays more?
The median for COBOL is $125,000 per year (typically $110,969–$141,045), versus $135,200 for JavaScript ($98,253–$200,000). That puts JavaScript about 8% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so COBOL and JavaScript 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.