Side-by-side distribution
Java
$132,625
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 14.9%
- Live roles
- 785
Python
$157,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 23.8%
- Live roles
- 794
Highest-paying jobs
Lead Java Developer
Senior Backend Engineer (Java)
Senior Java Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer (Java)
Senior Software Engineer, Java
Senior Software Engineer, Java
Software Engineer 3- Python/Kotlin/Java/Terraform/ElasticSearch/OpenSearch/AWS
Software Engineer 2 - AWS/Hadoop/Accumulo/Terraform/Python/Java
Software Engineer 2 - Java/MapReduce/Cloud/GhostMachine/QTA
Software Engineer 1/2 - Java/MapReduce/GhostMachine/Spring/NiFi
Highest-paying jobs
Polyglot Engineer (JS/Python/Go)
Polyglot Engineer (JS/Python/Go)
Senior Python Engineer - AI Coding Agent Evaluation (Freelance)
Senior Python Engineer - AI Coding Agent Evaluation (Freelance)
Senior Python Engineer - AI Coding Agent Evaluation (Freelance)
Senior Python Engineer - AI Coding Agent Evaluation (Freelance)
Senior Python Engineer - AI Coding Agent Evaluation (Freelance)
Senior Python Engineer - AI Coding Agent Evaluation (Freelance)
Senior Python Engineer - AI Coding Agent Evaluation (Freelance)
Senior Python Engineer - AI Coding Agent Evaluation (Freelance)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 24 |
Elastic
|
$118,060 | 18 |
Referral Board
|
$118,411 | 10 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$138,100 | 4 |
Bloomreach
|
$56,441 | 4 |
|
Moniepoint
|
$520,000 | 3 |
SentinelOne
|
$180,550 | 3 |
| CA Capco | $95,057 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Mindrift
|
$93,600 | 105 |
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 34 |
|
Bloomreach
|
$56,441 | 4 |
| DR DRW | $187,500 | 3 |
Nearform
|
$180,000 | 3 |
Akuna Capital
|
$145,000 | 3 |
Silver.dev
|
$75,000 | 3 |
| YL YLD | $773,411 | 2 |
Java salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $187,500 | 5 |
| Chicago | $175,000 | 6 |
| San Francisco | $122,500 | 3 |
| Toronto | $101,279 | 4 |
Java vs Python: which pays more?
The median for Java is $132,625 per year (typically $98,913–$200,000), versus $157,500 for Python ($93,600–$200,000). That puts Python about 19% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Java and Python 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.