Side-by-side distribution
Frontend Engineer
$160,950
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 32.1%
- Live roles
- 1,339
Principal Engineer
$168,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 47.5%
- Live roles
- 6,465
Highest-paying jobs
Staff Frontend Engineer ($400k - $500k salary)
Staff/Principal Frontend Software Engineer
Staff/Principal Frontend Software Engineer
Software Engineer, Frontend
Frontend Software Engineer, ChatGPT Space
Frontend Software Engineer, Codex App
Principal Frontend AI Engineer - Cortex Code
Senior / Staff Software Engineer, Frontend
Principal Frontend Software Engineer - Discovery
Staff Software Engineer, Frontend
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Software Engineer
Staff / Principal Data Engineer
Principal Engineer, Agentic AI Systems
Principal Research Engineer, Model Training & Post-Training
Distinguished Engineer - Servicing Tech
Principal Sales Systems Engineer
Principal Security Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Principal Software Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Staff / Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Inference - USA
Principal Field Application Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CACI
|
$137,075 | 18 |
Air Apps
|
$58,701 | 11 |
Sift Stack, Inc.
|
$205,000 | 9 |
GDIT
|
$155,000 | 9 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$113,700 | 9 |
|
Harvey
|
$241,700 | 8 |
Verkada
|
$225,000 | 7 |
|
Roblox
|
$268,610 | 6 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Northrop Grumman
|
$129,500 | 1,024 |
Elastic
|
$123,105 | 60 |
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
|
$260,500 | 49 |
|
Roblox
|
$320,145 | 47 |
| AL Astera Labs | $209,000 | 41 |
Leidos
|
$184,325 | 39 |
Blue Origin
|
$219,831 | 38 |
Draper
|
$170,000 | 37 |
Frontend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $208,750 | 66 |
| San Francisco | $205,000 | 67 |
| Boston | $200,000 | 8 |
| Seattle | $199,000 | 16 |
| Austin | $187,500 | 5 |
| Chicago | $155,600 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $134,531 | 4 |
| Paris | $130,094 | 3 |
| Denver | $127,250 | 5 |
| Berlin | $112,040 | 3 |
Principal Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $266,000 | 100 |
| Seattle | $244,000 | 97 |
| New York | $231,025 | 126 |
| Los Angeles | $230,750 | 50 |
| Atlanta | $228,000 | 23 |
| Boston | $222,000 | 75 |
| Denver | $203,549 | 44 |
| Chicago | $200,850 | 39 |
| Austin | $200,000 | 43 |
| Berlin | $159,275 | 3 |
Frontend Engineer vs Principal Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Frontend Engineer is $160,950 per year (typically $122,500–$202,483), versus $168,500 for Principal Engineer ($130,253–$216,066). That puts Principal Engineer about 5% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Frontend Engineer and Principal Engineer 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.