Side-by-side distribution
Frontend Engineer
$181,642
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.3%
- Live roles
- 1,051
Staff Engineer
$220,063
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 54.2%
- Live roles
- 4,821
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Frontend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Principal Front End Developer
Senior Frontend Engineer
Senior Frontend Engineer
Staff Frontend Engineer ($300k - $500k salary)
Staff / Principal Frontend Software Engineer
Principal Software Engineer, Frontend - Design Systems
Web Developer
Senior Software Engineer, UI
Frontend Engineer, Financial Web Platform
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Backend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior Staff React Native Engineer ($500k - 1.5m salary)
Senior Staff Full Stack Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior Staff Frontend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Senior/Staff Full Stack Engineer, Applied AI
Staff Research Engineer, Discovery Team
Research Engineer (Senior Staff+), Safeguards Labs
Senior Staff+ Software Engineer, Node Infra
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Mindrift
|
$124,800 | 12 |
Roblox
|
$269,270 | 11 |
Air Apps
|
$61,110 | 10 |
Verkada
|
$220,000 | 7 |
Anduril Industries
|
$193,000 | 6 |
PlayStation Global
|
$187,600 | 6 |
Harvey
|
$241,700 | 5 |
Sigma Computing
|
$230,000 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 115 |
Databricks
|
$226,000 | 77 |
|
Anthropic
|
$405,000 | 57 |
Crusoe
|
$231,000 | 45 |
Grafana Labs
|
$147,923 | 45 |
Aurora Innovation
|
$231,500 | 40 |
Archer
|
$192,500 | 36 |
Okta
|
$206,000 | 34 |
Frontend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $201,150 | 70 |
| San Francisco | $200,000 | 63 |
| Boston | $191,250 | 6 |
| Seattle | $184,250 | 14 |
| Los Angeles | $159,766 | 6 |
| Toronto | $134,418 | 15 |
| Singapore | $124,800 | 5 |
| Berlin | $101,594 | 4 |
| Dublin | $99,370 | 3 |
| London | $78,965 | 5 |
Staff Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Dublin | $257,300 | 5 |
| Seattle | $250,000 | 155 |
| San Francisco | $245,000 | 625 |
| New York | $240,000 | 461 |
| Austin | $232,250 | 48 |
| Chicago | $229,500 | 43 |
| Los Angeles | $222,000 | 63 |
| Denver | $211,250 | 46 |
| Boston | $210,000 | 97 |
| London | $206,683 | 47 |
Frontend Engineer vs Staff Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Frontend Engineer is $181,642 per year (typically $134,531–$220,000), versus $220,063 for Staff Engineer ($188,813–$250,000). That puts Staff Engineer about 21% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Frontend Engineer and Staff 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.