- Home >
- Startup hiring data >
- Founder Salary and Equity Compensation in Startups 2026
Founder Salary and Equity in 2026
How much do Founders expect to make at US-based startups? The average expected salary for Founders in a startup is 75k per year, with a range from 40k to 275k. The salary range for Founders varies depending on factors such as location, industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
74.7k
Average Salary
3 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average Founder salary is $74,714, which is 33.8% lower than the average startup salary of $112,833. Founder 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
$182,500/yr
Range $120k - $275k
Average
$74,714/yr
Range $55k - $100k
Below Average
$53,571/yr
Range $40k - $71k
Top Locations
The highest average salary a Founder can get in Toronto, that is $125,000. This pay is 67.3% higher than the average Founder salary in startups, which is $74,714. Salaries will vary based on your location. The top-paying markets in the US, on average, are currently: Toronto (avg $125,000 per year), New York (avg $125,000 per year), San Francisco Bay Area (avg $105,000 per year). Remote jobs often pay based on the location you reside in.
Toronto
$125k
New York
$125k
Austin
$100k
Boston
$87.5k
Chicago
$87.5k
Denver
View SalariesSeattle
View SalariesVancouver
View SalariesLondon
View SalariesLos Angeles
View SalariesSan Diego
View SalariesIndustries
The highest average salary a Founder can get in Marketplaces, that is $275,000. This pay is 63.2% higher than the average Founder salary, which is $168,500. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Marketplaces (avg $275,000 per year), Future Of Work (avg $275,000 per year), E-Commerce (avg $275,000 per year).
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a Founder can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $60,000. This pay is 19.7% lower than the average Founder salary, which is $74,714. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
Popular roles
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