Side-by-side distribution
Java
$127,674
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 20.1%
- Live roles
- 1,401
Ruby
$193,300
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 29%
- Live roles
- 31
Highest-paying jobs
Java of Senior Software Engineer, AI Training
Senior Java Data Platform Engineer - Clearance Required
Senior Software Engineer, Java
Senior Software Engineer, Java
Java Developer (SME)
ETL Java Developer (SME)
Upcoming Opportunity – Principal Engineer – Java/AWS
Distinguished Engineer - Java / AWS - Zelle
Senior Software Engineer, Treasury and Reference Data (Java/Ruby/Python)
Software Engineer 1 - Python/Kotlin/Java/Terraform/Elasticsearch/Opensearch/AWS
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Software Engineer, Treasury and Reference Data (Java/Ruby/Python)
Ruby Developer Senior
Staff Fullstack Engineer (Ruby/Vue.js) Monetization Engineering: Purchase
Staff Engineer/Senior Developer CONTRACT (Elixir, Ruby, Flutter)
Senior Software Engineer (Ruby/Rails), MVR
Senior Ruby / Ruby on Rails Engineer
Senior Software Engineer II -Ruby
Staff Engineer/Senior Developer (Elixir, Ruby, Flutter)
Ruby Developer
Senior Ruby Engineer - Remote Europe
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Elastic
|
$104,155 | 30 |
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 27 |
|
Leidos
|
$151,475 | 12 |
Referral Board
|
$117,865 | 11 |
Bank of America
|
$141,400 | 10 |
GDIT
|
$185,000 | 9 |
State Street
|
$119,750 | 8 |
Accenture
|
$101,920 | 7 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
SmartLogic
|
$175,250 | 2 |
| DR DRW | $237,500 | 1 |
|
GitLab
|
$206,000 | 1 |
|
Checkr
|
$201,500 | 1 |
|
CACI
|
$193,300 | 1 |
|
Capital Technology Group
|
$142,500 | 1 |
|
MKS2 Technologies
|
$135,000 | 1 |
|
RELX
|
$127,050 | 1 |
Java vs Ruby: which pays more?
The median for Java is $127,674 per year (typically $103,110–$173,425), versus $193,300 for Ruby ($135,000–$206,000). That puts Ruby about 51% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Java and Ruby 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.