Java vs Swift

Put two roles head to head — any role, in any location or worldwide-remote.

Side A

Side B

Java pays about 20% more at the median.

Side-by-side distribution

Java Swift
$134.6k
$112.2k
$67.3k box = 25th–75th · whiskers = 10th–90th $209.8k

Java

$134,632

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▼ -26.5%
$183,201 $134,632
$106.8k 25th
$134.6k Median
$175.5k 75th
$83.2k
$200k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $5k – $300k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
19.2%
Live roles
1,566
Browse roles Set alert

Swift Swift

$112,200

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▼ -37.6%
$179,865 $112,200
$82k 25th
$112.2k Median
$146k 75th
$77.1k
$166.1k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $18.7k – $204k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
39.4%
Live roles
33
Browse roles Set alert

Highest-paying jobs

CLEAR - Corporate

Senior Software Engineer, Java

CLEAR - Corporate · New York, New York, United States

$225,000 – $300,000 CLEAR - Corporate

Senior Software Engineer, Java

CLEAR - Corporate · Austin, Texas, United States

$210,000 – $280,000 Leidos

Java Developer (SME)

Leidos · Bethesda, MD

$154,050 – $278,475 Leidos

ETL Java Developer (SME)

Leidos · Bethesda, MD

$154,050 – $278,475 Early Warning Services

Principal Engineer, Zelle Client Solutions (Java, AWS)

Early Warning Services · San Francisco

$207,000 – $276,000 Early Warning Services

Principal Software Engineer - Ecommerce - Java/AWS

Early Warning Services · San Francisco

$207,000 – $276,000 Early Warning Services

Distinguished Engineer - Java / AWS - Zelle

Early Warning Services · Scottsdale

$206,000 – $275,000
DR

Senior Software Engineer, Treasury and Reference Data (Java/Ruby/Python)

DRW · Chicago

$200,000 – $275,000 Captivation Software

Platform Engineer (Hybrid) - Python/Java/AWS/Linux

Captivation Software · Columbia, MD - Hybrid

$130,000 – $270,000 Captivation Software

Front-End Developer (Mid/Senior) - Java/Quarkus/HTML/CSS/JavaScript/Oracle/AWS

Captivation Software · Annapolis Junction, MD

$130,000 – $270,000

Highest-paying jobs

KLA

Applications Development Engineer - LS-SWIFT

KLA · Milpitas, CA

$120,000 – $204,000 KLA

Applications Development Engineer - LS-SWIFT

KLA · Milpitas, CA

$120,000 – $204,000
DI

Senior Product Software Engineer (Swift)

Disney · Glendale, CA, USA

$141,900 – $190,300
DI

Sr Product Software Engineer (Swift)

Disney · Seattle, WA, USA

$141,900 – $190,300 Dev Technology

iOS Mobile Developer (Swift)

Dev Technology · Reston, VA

$100,000 – $160,000 Dev Technology

Principal iOS Mobile Developer (Swift)

Dev Technology · Reston, Virginia

$100,000 – $160,000 KLA

Customer Engagement Applications Engineer - SWIFT

KLA · Hillsboro, OR

$83,100 – $141,300 KLA

Product Install Engineer - SWIFT-90% Travel

KLA · Chandler, AZ

$66,102 – $112,403 KLA

Product Install Engineer (OR) - SWIFT

KLA · Hillsboro, OR

$60,715 – $103,210 KLA

Product Install Engineer (OR) - SWIFT - 90% Travel

KLA · Hillsboro, OR

$60,715 – $103,210

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
Captivation Software $200,000 23
Elastic $119,499 19
PNC $124,144 16
Leidos $151,475 13
Early Warning Services $198,500 11
Referral Board $119,439 11
TB TD Bank $81,797 9
GDIT $185,346 8

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
KLA $85,608 8
DI Disney $166,100 2
Dev Technology $130,000 2
QuickTeam $14,560 1

Java salary by location

Location Median Roles
San Francisco $204,250 10
Seattle $202,500 4
Chicago $185,000 11
Atlanta $176,800 5
New York $174,050 19
Denver $138,450 9
Boston $133,000 3
Toronto $97,297 20

Java vs Swift: which pays more?

The median for Java is $134,632 per year (typically $106,802–$175,450), versus $112,200 for Swift ($81,962–$146,000). That puts Java about 20% ahead at the median.

Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Java and Swift 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.

See full salary data

Java salary Swift salary

More comparisons

Java vs Python Java vs JavaScript Java vs TypeScript Java vs Kotlin Java vs Scala Java vs C / C++

Catch your next role the second it’s posted.

Create a free account and we’ll watch the boards for you — the instant a job matches your search, it lands in your inbox or Telegram. No digging, no refreshing.

Create free account

Free forever · takes 30 seconds · already have one?

Get an edge on your job hunt.

Join our Telegram channel for the stuff that helps you land the role — salary benchmarks, the weekly market pulse, and new-feature drops. No spam, just signal.

Join the channel — it's free