Side-by-side distribution
Python
$162,025
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 16.2%
- Live roles
- 1,069
SQL
$119,600
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 28.7%
- Live roles
- 94
Highest-paying jobs
Python Senior Software Engineer, AI Training
Software Engineer (C++ or Python) – 2027 Grads
GenAI Python Systems Engineer –Senior Manager
Senior Software Engineer (Networking, Python, C/C++)
Senior Software Engineer, Treasury and Reference Data (Java/Ruby/Python)
Software Integration Engineer 2 (On-Call) - Linux/Bash/Python/Docker/Kubernetes/IaC/Helm/Prometheus/Grafana
Senior DevOps Engineer - AWS/Java/Linux/Ansible/Git/Python
Software Engineer 2 (Hybrid) - AWS/Hadoop/Accumulo/Terraform/Python/Java
Senior DevOps Engineer - AWS/Java/Linux/Ansible/Git/Python
Software Engineer 2 (Hybrid) - AWS/Hadoop/Accumulo/Terraform/Python/Java
Highest-paying jobs
Software Developer - Database Administrator - Senior
Database Developer SME- TS/SCI w/poly
Database Administrator PL/SQL Developer
Senior Mainframe Developer – IMS Database & zOS
Distinguished Systems Developer - SQL Engine
SQL Server Database Senior Developer, Vice President
Technical Lead (.NET/SQL) Programmer Analyst 4
Database Developer
Senior Lead Software Developer Database | Acushnet Company
Principal Software Developer - Query Engine, Database Internals - Elasticsearch
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 33 |
Northbeam
|
$185,000 | 12 |
Travelers
|
$144,750 | 9 |
Bank of America
|
$141,400 | 7 |
| PA PayPal | $199,600 | 5 |
Leidos
|
$151,475 | 5 |
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 4 |
OpenDataJobs
|
$123,750 | 4 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
GDIT
|
$114,228 | 4 |
|
Amentum
|
$156,850 | 2 |
|
Elastic
|
$128,481 | 2 |
|
MUFG
|
$176,000 | 1 |
|
InterSystems
|
$174,500 | 1 |
|
Intel
|
$172,445 | 1 |
| US USAA | $166,055 | 1 |
|
TOMORROW HIRE
|
$162,240 | 1 |
Python vs SQL: which pays more?
The median for Python is $162,025 per year (typically $119,700–$200,000), versus $119,600 for SQL ($98,880–$159,245). That puts Python about 35% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Python and SQL 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.