Side-by-side distribution
Frontend Engineer
$162,406
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31.6%
- Live roles
- 1,339
Staff Engineer
$210,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 50.6%
- Live roles
- 7,602
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
Senior Staff React Native Engineer ($500k - 1.5m salary)
Senior Staff Full Stack Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Senior/Staff Full Stack Engineer, Applied AI
Staff Research Engineer, Multi-Agent Scaling
Staff Research Engineer, Discovery Team
Staff+ Research Engineer, RL Data Platform
Staff Software Engineer, Node Infra
Staff Infrastructure Engineer, Cluster Infrastructure
Staff Software Engineer, Kubernetes Platform
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CACI
|
$160,950 | 19 |
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 |
|
Roblox
|
$267,950 | 7 |
Verkada
|
$225,000 | 7 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Northrop Grumman
|
$210,150 | 258 |
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 130 |
|
Anthropic
|
$402,500 | 95 |
Databricks
|
$226,000 | 73 |
Crusoe
|
$235,000 | 51 |
GEICO
|
$182,500 | 47 |
| AD Analog Devices | $168,305 | 46 |
General Motors
|
$236,000 | 36 |
Frontend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $207,500 | 67 |
| San Francisco | $205,000 | 67 |
| Seattle | $193,000 | 17 |
| Boston | $188,750 | 10 |
| Austin | $187,500 | 5 |
| Chicago | $155,600 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $134,531 | 5 |
| Denver | $127,250 | 5 |
| Toronto | $118,408 | 24 |
| Paris | $116,000 | 3 |
Staff Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| London | $267,000 | 45 |
| Seattle | $256,000 | 250 |
| New York | $250,000 | 537 |
| San Francisco | $250,000 | 738 |
| Berlin | $227,311 | 11 |
| Los Angeles | $223,000 | 93 |
| Boston | $219,375 | 95 |
| Denver | $206,675 | 76 |
| Austin | $205,587 | 102 |
| Toronto | $200,500 | 165 |
Frontend Engineer vs Staff Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Frontend Engineer is $162,406 per year (typically $123,125–$202,500), versus $210,000 for Staff Engineer ($177,500–$245,000). That puts Staff Engineer about 29% 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.