Backend Engineer salaries and job demand
Last updated
Backend Engineer roles typically advertise around US$175,000 a year. Here's the current salary range, hiring demand, and the skills employers ask for most.
What do Backend Engineer roles pay in 2026?
As of October 2026, the typical advertised salary is US$175,000 a year, with most postings between US$135,000 and US$208,000.
| 25th percentile | US$135,000 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$175,000 |
| 75th percentile | US$208,000 |
Advertised base salary, from 197 job postings with pay data, as of October 2026.
Disclosed base wage (H-1B/LCA)
Employers disclose a median base wage of US$165,000 on H-1B/LCA visa filings for this role, between US$122,003 and US$205,979, against the US$175,000 median advertised above.
| 25th percentile | US$122,003 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$165,000 |
| 75th percentile | US$205,979 |
Disclosed base wage, from 966 H-1B/LCA filings, U.S. DOL OFLC, as of Q4 2025.
| Period | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | US$130,000 | US$170,000 | US$208,869 |
| Q4 2024 | US$136,970 | US$179,991 | US$220,000 |
| Q1 2025 | US$141,704 | US$183,024 | US$215,000 |
| Q2 2025 | US$105,997 | US$144,000 | US$185,724 |
| Q3 2025 | US$147,376 | US$185,000 | US$225,000 |
| Q4 2025 | US$124,124 | US$172,809 | US$210,000 |
How strong is hiring demand for Backend Engineer roles in 2026?
Tarmac tracked 342 postings in September 2026, the most recent month we tracked from start to finish.
We're not publishing a month-by-month series yet: the number of postings Tarmac collects each month is still growing, so a month-on-month change would measure our coverage rather than the job market.
Skills employers ask for
- databases-sql1603
- system-design1346
- aws1331
- http-apis1264
- python1240
- docker912
- java661
- kubernetes600
- ci-cd-pipelines412
- go388
- ai-engineering373
- spring-boot309
Postings for this role that named each skill, out of the postings we could parse. Bars run to 1603, the most-asked skill here.
Which skills to study first
These skills matter most for this role, scored together on how often employers ask for them, what they pay, and how often people pass them when they practise.
| Skill | Market demand | Median pay | Pass rate | Leverage | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Python | 55% of postings44,668 postings | US$167,500+26% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Databases & SQL | 47% of postings38,689 postings | US$162,913+22% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AWS | 42% of postings34,123 postings | US$172,500+30% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| System Design | 26% of postings21,200 postings | US$180,347+36% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| HTTP & APIs | 22% of postings18,019 postings | US$165,000+24% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| AI Engineering | 21% of postings17,148 postings | US$180,000+35% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Docker | 21% of postings17,105 postings | £77,500+3% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| CI-CD Pipelines | 20% of postings16,267 postings | £76,840+2% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Kubernetes | 18% of postings14,788 postings | £80,000+7% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Java | 10% of postings8,035 postings | £80,000+7% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Go | 5% of postings4,114 postings | US$191,000+44% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Spring Boot | 3% of postings2,270 postings | £75,000 | Not enough data yet | — | — |
Pass rate is the share of correct answers among people who practised that skill on Tarmac, a self-selected group rather than every developer, so read it as relative difficulty, not a universal stat. It comes from how people actually scored, not what anyone claimed, and a dash in that column means not enough people have practised the skill here yet. Leverage scores demand, pay, and difficulty together (out of 100); a higher score means a skill is both worth learning and worth your study time.
Pay by level and city in United States
These figures cover United States postings only, as of October 2026. The median above pools every level and every city; these split it, so you can read the rung you are actually applying for.
| Level | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-level | US$139,525 | US$162,500 | US$212,500 | 42 |
| Senior | US$135,250 | US$180,500 | US$208,000 | 130 |
| Staff+ | US$112,883 | US$174,950 | US$231,688 | 22 |
| City | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | US$250 | US$152,500 | US$250,000 | 49 |
| Seattle, WA | US$195,000 | US$210,000 | US$224,000 | 32 |
| Boston, MA | US$161,250 | US$168,083 | US$190,375 | 28 |
| Remote | US$106,000 | US$136,350 | US$176,750 | 28 |
| New York, NY | US$125,000 | US$175,000 | US$196,225 | 15 |
| Los Angeles, CA | US$182,988 | US$198,500 | US$198,875 | 12 |
Advertised base salary. A level or city with too few postings quoting pay is left out rather than shown on a thin sample.
What it takes
The entry bar and required skills employers ask for. Most job ads reach us as a short summary rather than the full posting, and the percentages below count only the ones we have in full — so they skew toward employers who publish a fuller description. Every bar runs 0 to 60% of those postings: solid is required, outlined is preferred, dashed is the posting's own words.
Australia
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
United States
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Years asked up 5 years over the last 8 weeks.
- Databases & SQL now required in 63% of postings, was 14% 8 weeks ago.
- HTTP & APIs now required in 54% of postings, was 14% 8 weeks ago.
- Java now required in 42% of postings, was 14% 8 weeks ago.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Java now required in 83% of postings, was 14% 9 weeks ago.
- HTTP & APIs now required in 33% of postings, was 14% 9 weeks ago.
United Kingdom
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- Python now required in 47% of postings, was 25% 4 weeks ago.
- Kubernetes now required in 41% of postings, was 25% 4 weeks ago.
- AWS now required in 65% of postings, was 50% 4 weeks ago.
- CI-CD Pipelines required in only 6% of postings, was 38% 4 weeks ago.
- HTTP & APIs required in only 47% of postings, was 75% 4 weeks ago.
- Databases & SQL required in only 35% of postings, was 63% 4 weeks ago.
Practice interview questions
Jobs data powered by Adzuna.
Disclosed wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC.
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