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Backend Engineer Salary and Equity in 2026
How much do Backend Engineers expect to make at US-based startups? The average expected salary for Backend Engineers in a startup is 158k per year, with a range from 70k to 249k. The salary range for Backend Engineers varies depending on factors such as location, industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
158.2k
Average Salary
4 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average Backend Engineer salary is $158,208, which is 22.6% higher than the average startup salary of $129,000. Backend Engineer salaries are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: location, years of experience, title, size of company, skill-set, and industry.
Top of market
$228,583/yr
Range $192k - $249k
Average
$158,208/yr
Range $125k - $175k
Below Average
$105,125/yr
Range $70k - $131k
Top Locations
The highest average salary a Backend Engineer can get in Vancouver, that is $175,000. This pay is 10.6% higher than the average Backend Engineer salary in startups, which is $158,208. Salaries will vary based on your location. The top-paying markets in the US, on average, are currently: Vancouver (avg $175,000 per year), New York (avg $165,000 per year), Minneapolis (avg $153,000 per year). Remote jobs often pay based on the location you reside in.
Vancouver
$175k
New York
$165k
Minneapolis
$153k
Boston
$150k
Chicago
$142k
Santa Monica
$140k
Denver
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View SalariesRemote
View SalariesIndustries
The highest average salary a Backend Engineer can get in Portals, that is $297,500. This pay is 11.3% higher than the average Backend Engineer salary, which is $267,400. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Portals (avg $297,500 per year), Social News (avg $276,000 per year), Blogging Platforms (avg $267,000 per year).
Tech Stack
The highest average salary a Backend Engineer can get with GraphQL, that is $204,000. This pay is 28.9% higher than the average Backend Engineer salary in startups, which is $158,208. Salary range for specific skills will vary based on the supply and demand in the current market.
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying Backend Engineer skills of 2026 are:
1. GraphQL
$204k
2. Azure
$197.5k
3. Go
$190k
4. Kotlin
$185k
5. Pyspark
$175k
6. Airflow
$171.5k
7. Splunk
$171.5k
8. Scala
$170k
9. Elixir
$162k
10. Heroku
$162k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a Backend Engineer can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $155,000. This pay is 2.0% lower than the average Backend Engineer salary, which is $158,208. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
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Popular skills
Tech Hubs for Backend Engineer
Industries for Backend Engineer
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