Side-by-side distribution
Java
$133,632
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 16.2%
- Live roles
- 728
Ruby
$206,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 38.5%
- Live roles
- 39
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Software Engineer, Java
Senior Software Engineer, Java
Senior Software Engineer, Treasury and Reference Data (Java/Ruby/Python)
Platform Engineer (Hybrid) - Python/Java/AWS/Linux
Senior DevOps Engineer - AWS/Java/Linux/Ansible/Git/Python
Front-End Developer (Mid/Senior) - Java/Quarkus/HTML/CSS/JavaScript/Oracle/AWS
Front-End Developer (Mid/Senior) - Java/Quarkus/HTML/CSS/JavaScript/Oracle/AWS
Software Engineer 3 - Linux/Java/Jax-RS/REST/JSON/XML/Maven/Eclipse/Gitlab
Software Engineer - Java/OOP/Linux/Git/Maven/REST
Senior DevOps Engineer (Hybrid) - AWS/Java/Linux/Ansible/Git/Python
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Software Engineer, Treasury and Reference Data (Java/Ruby/Python)
Staff Fullstack Engineer (Ruby/Vue.js) Monetization Engineering: Purchase
Staff Backend Engineer (Ruby), AI Engineering: DAP Repository Flows
Principal Software Engineer, SOC Experience (Ruby/Rails)
Principal Software Engineer, SIEM (Ruby/Rails)
Senior Software Engineer (Ruby), Security Platform: Authorization
Senior Backend Engineer (Ruby), Plan: Portfolio Experience
Staff Software Engineer - Showcase Platform (Ruby/Rails)
Staff Software Engineer - ISPM Platform (Ruby/Rails)
Staff Software Engineer-ESPM Platform (Ruby / Rails)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 23 |
Elastic
|
$119,499 | 19 |
Referral Board
|
$119,439 | 11 |
SentinelOne
|
$165,000 | 4 |
|
CLEAR - Corporate
|
$245,000 | 3 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$138,100 | 3 |
| AD Adyen | $211,500 | 2 |
PitchBook Data
|
$202,500 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| HU Huntress | $210,000 | 6 |
|
GitLab
|
$196,600 | 4 |
| DR DRW | $237,500 | 1 |
SmartLogic
|
$145,000 | 1 |
MKS2 Technologies
|
$145,000 | 1 |
iCapital
|
$140,000 | 1 |
Reedsy
|
$107,596 | 1 |
Java vs Ruby: which pays more?
The median for Java is $133,632 per year (typically $102,368–$200,000), versus $206,000 for Ruby ($160,000–$210,000). That puts Ruby about 54% 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.