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Full-Stack Engineer Salary and Equity in Chicago 2026
How much does a Full-Stack Engineer expect to make at Chicago-based startups? The average expected salary for Full-Stack Engineers in Chicago-based startups is 139k per year, with a range from 63k to 224k. These amounts were gathered from Wellfound self-reported data and represent the median salary range. The salary range for Full-Stack Engineers in Chicago startups varies depending on factors such as industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
139.1k
Average Salary
4 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average salary for a Full-Stack Engineer in Chicago is $139,125, which is 23.3% higher than the average Chicago startup salary of$112,875. Full-Stack Engineer 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
$194,375/yr
Range $140k - $224k
Average
$139,125/yr
Range $92k - $183k
Below Average
$117,125/yr
Range $63k - $160k
Industries
The highest average salary a Full-Stack Engineer in Chicago can get in Consumer, that is $200,000. This pay is 11.5% higher than the average Full-Stack Engineer salary in Chicago, which is $179,450. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Consumer (avg $200,000 per year), Software (avg $189,000 per year), Self Development (avg $186,000 per year).
Tech Stack
The highest average salary a Full-Stack Engineer in Chicago can get with Java, that is $200,000. This pay is 77.2% higher than the average salary in Chicago startups, which is $112,875. Salary range for specific skills will vary based on the supply and demand in the current market.
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying Full-Stack Engineer skills in Chicago of 2026 are:
1. Java
$200k
2. PostgreSQL
$175k
3. Nest.Js
$140k
4. React Native
$130k
5. SQL
$120k
6. Ruby on Rails
$120k
7. MongoDB
$115k
8. Python
$90k
9. Javascript
$90k
10. TypeScript
$90k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a Full-Stack Engineer in Chicago can get with 7-10 years of experience, that is $142,500. This pay is 26.2% 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.
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