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Engineering Manager Salary and Equity in 2026
How much do Engineering Managers expect to make at US-based startups? The average expected salary for Engineering Managers in a startup is 195k per year, with a range from 149k to 311k. The salary range for Engineering Managers varies depending on factors such as location, industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
194.7k
Average Salary
6 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average Engineering Manager salary is $194,667, which is 50.9% higher than the average startup salary of $129,000. Engineering Manager 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
$272,833/yr
Range $225k - $311k
Average
$194,667/yr
Range $182k - $212k
Below Average
$157,000/yr
Range $149k - $168k
Top Locations
The highest average salary a Engineering Manager can get in New York, that is $195,000. This pay is 0.2% higher than the average Engineering Manager salary in startups, which is $194,667. Salaries will vary based on your location. The top-paying markets in the US, on average, are currently: New York (avg $195,000 per year), Santa Monica (avg $190,000 per year), Toronto (avg $184,000 per year). Remote jobs often pay based on the location you reside in.
New York
$195k
Santa Monica
$190k
Toronto
$184k
Boston
$182k
Seattle
$180k
Los Angeles
$170k
San Francisco Bay Area
View SalariesLondon
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View SalariesSan Diego
View SalariesDenver
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View SalariesVancouver
View SalariesIndustries
The highest average salary a Engineering Manager can get in Social Games, that is $365,000. This pay is 11.2% higher than the average Engineering Manager salary, which is $328,200. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Social Games (avg $365,000 per year), Portals (avg $365,000 per year), Local Commerce (avg $329,000 per year).
Tech Stack
The highest average salary a Engineering Manager can get with WebRTC, that is $249,500. This pay is 28.2% higher than the average Engineering Manager salary in startups, which is $194,667. Salary range for specific skills will vary based on the supply and demand in the current market.
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying Engineering Manager skills of 2026 are:
1. WebRTC
$249.5k
2. Android
$237.5k
3. Kotlin
$235k
4. Qt
$228.5k
5. Electron
$227.5k
6. Drupal
$220k
7. react
$210k
8. openAI
$210k
9. Rabbitmq
$210k
10. GraphQL
$208.5k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a Engineering Manager can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $210,000. This pay is 7.9% higher than the average Engineering Manager salary, which is $194,667. 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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