Side-by-side distribution
C / C++
$193,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31%
- Live roles
- 387
Rust
$190,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 25.2%
- Live roles
- 123
Highest-paying jobs
C Developer
Software Engineer - Training/Inference (C++)
Software Engineer - Network (C++)
Software Engineer - Platform Infrastructure (Rust, C++)
Software Engineer - Kernels/CUDA (C++)
Software Engineer, C++
Principal Engine Programmer - Systems (C++)
Principal Core Systems Software Engineer - Game Engine (C++)
Staff Software Engineer, Logging (C++)
Senior Software Engineer, C++ (Market Data)
Highest-paying jobs
Software Engineer - Platform Infrastructure (Rust, C++)
Staff Rust SDK Engineer
Founding Rust Engineer
Software Engineer 3 - Linux/Bash/Python/Rust/NoSQL/Docker/Kubernetes/Helm
Principal Rust Developer
Senior Software Engineer (Backend Rust)
New Grad Software Engineer (Backend Rust)
Principal Rust Developer
Software Engineer (Backend Rust)
Senior Software Engineer, Rust
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 16 |
Applied Intuition
|
$170,500 | 14 |
|
Roblox
|
$218,940 | 9 |
Esri
|
$134,264 | 8 |
Stevens Capital Management LP
|
$225,000 | 5 |
|
xAI
|
$310,000 | 4 |
| FT Flow Traders | $233,750 | 4 |
|
Aurora Innovation
|
$222,000 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 3 |
|
N1
|
$190,000 | 3 |
|
Zscaler
|
$221,000 | 2 |
Certik
|
$141,000 | 2 |
Blockhouse
|
$85,500 | 2 |
|
xAI
|
$310,000 | 1 |
|
Twin Labs
|
$261,899 | 1 |
|
LiveKit
|
$250,000 | 1 |
Rust salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $190,000 | 5 |
| San Francisco | $190,000 | 5 |
| Toronto | $127,500 | 3 |
C / C++ vs Rust: which pays more?
The median for C / C++ is $193,000 per year (typically $156,450–$222,000), versus $190,000 for Rust ($155,000–$204,500). That puts C / C++ about 2% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so C / C++ and Rust 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.