- Home >
- Startup hiring data >
- GraphQL Developer Salary in Chicago Startups 2026
GraphQL Developer Salary in Chicago 2026
How much does a GraphQL developer expect to make at Chicago-based startups? The average expected salary for GraphQL developers in Chicago-based startups is 137k per year, with a range from 85k to 212k. These amounts were gathered from Wellfound self-reported data and represent the median salary range. The salary range for GraphQL developers in Chicago startups varies depending on factors such as industry, experience, and startup stage.
137.0k
Average Salary
4 years
Average years of experience

Salary
The average salary for a GraphQL developer in Chicago is$137,042, which is 21.4% higher than the average Chicago startup salary of $112,875. GraphQL developer salaries in Chicago are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: years of experience, title, size of company, skill-set, and industry.
Top of market
$174,007/yr
Range $127k - $212k
Average
$137,042/yr
Range $107k - $212k
Below Average
$117,201/yr
Range $85k - $187k
Industries
The highest average salary a GraphQL developer in Chicago can get in SaaS, that is $212,000. This pay is 53.1% higher than the average GraphQL developer salary, which is $138,450. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: SaaS (avg $212,000 per year), B2B (avg $186,500 per year), Developer APIs (avg $186,500 per year).
Tech Stack
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying developer skills of 2026 are:
1. Docker
$205k
2. openAI
$200k
3. Heroku
$190k
4. Python
$175k
5. PostgreSQL
$170k
6. C
$162.5k
7. Django
$160k
8. Ruby on Rails
$157k
9. Deep Learning
$147.5k
10. Prometheus
$140k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary GraphQL developer in Chicago can get with 7-10 years of experience, that is $186,500. This pay is 65.2% higher than the average salary in Chicago startups, which is $112,875. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
Popular roles in Chicago
Software EngineerMobile DeveloperAndroid DeveloperiOS DeveloperFrontend EngineerBackend EngineerFull-Stack EngineerSoftware ArchitectMachine Learning EngineerEmbedded EngineerData EngineerDevOpsEngineering ManagerQA EngineerData ScientistDesignerUI/UX DesignerUser ResearcherVisual DesignerCreative DirectorGraphic Designer Product DesignerProduct ManagerOperationsFinance/AccountingH.R.Office ManagerRecruiterCustomer ServiceOperations ManagerSalesBusiness DevelopmentSales Development RepresentativeAccount ExecutiveBD ManagerAccount ManagerSales ManagerCustomer Success ManagerMarketingGrowth HackerMarketing ManagerContent CreatorCopywriterSocial Media ManagerManagementCEOCFOCMOCOOCTOOther EngineeringHardware EngineerMechanical EngineerSystems EngineerOtherBusiness AnalystProject ManagerAttorneyData AnalystInvestorLimited PartnerStrategic InvestorInstitutional InvestorVenture DebtVCSeed FundIndividual InvestorAngelFounder