Full Stack Engineer salaries and job demand
Last updated
Full Stack Engineer roles typically advertise around US$177,150 a year. Here's the current salary range, hiring demand, and the skills employers ask for most.
What do Full Stack Engineer roles pay in 2026?
As of October 2026, the typical advertised salary is US$177,150 a year, with most postings between US$124,950 and US$213,239.
| 25th percentile | US$124,950 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$177,150 |
| 75th percentile | US$213,239 |
Advertised base salary, from 304 job postings with pay data, as of October 2026.
Disclosed base wage (H-1B/LCA)
Employers disclose a median base wage of US$116,938 on H-1B/LCA visa filings for this role, between US$101,109 and US$142,500, against the US$177,150 median advertised above.
| 25th percentile | US$101,109 |
|---|---|
| Median (50th percentile) | US$116,938 |
| 75th percentile | US$142,500 |
Disclosed base wage, from 3,807 H-1B/LCA filings, U.S. DOL OFLC, as of Q4 2025.
| Period | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | US$102,752 | US$119,572 | US$141,003 |
| Q4 2024 | US$105,227 | US$123,760 | US$148,240 |
| Q1 2025 | US$105,997 | US$122,056 | US$143,655 |
| Q2 2025 | US$93,019 | US$106,080 | US$129,501 |
| Q3 2025 | US$105,997 | US$126,090 | US$150,000 |
| Q4 2025 | US$111,000 | US$127,962 | US$151,939 |
How strong is hiring demand for Full Stack Engineer roles in 2026?
Tarmac tracked 918 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
- react3701
- databases-sql3367
- typescript2960
- javascript2749
- aws2325
- python2180
- http-apis2111
- nodejs2071
- system-design1359
- java1281
- docker1040
- css1008
Postings for this role that named each skill, out of the postings we could parse. Bars run to 3701, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JavaScript | 17% of postings13,614 postings | US$160,000+20% | 47%36 attempts | 45 | 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 |
| Docker | 21% of postings17,105 postings | £77,500+3% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| React | 15% of postings11,837 postings | US$175,250+32% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| TypeScript | 13% of postings10,213 postings | US$180,000+35% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Java | 10% of postings8,035 postings | £80,000+7% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| Node.js | 7% of postings5,391 postings | US$176,800+33% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
| CSS | 6% of postings4,487 postings | US$175,000+31% | Not enough data yet | — | Practice |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | US$74,329 | US$109,000 | US$119,600 | 8 |
| Mid-level | US$121,250 | US$145,000 | US$183,750 | 66 |
| Senior | US$138,010 | US$187,500 | US$223,750 | 209 |
| Staff+ | US$163,875 | US$184,300 | US$216,600 | 19 |
| City | 25th | Median | 75th | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | US$224 | US$208,320 | US$317,200 | 60 |
| Chicago, IL | US$159,594 | US$192,050 | US$223,750 | 50 |
| Seattle, WA | US$134,748 | US$189,000 | US$224,000 | 42 |
| Remote | US$90,000 | US$142,950 | US$185,000 | 35 |
| New York, NY | US$143,700 | US$180,000 | US$231,250 | 24 |
| Boston, MA | US$28,281 | US$151,675 | US$187,425 | 22 |
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
- Years asked down 2.5 years over the last 4 weeks.
- JavaScript now required in 67% of postings, was 57% 4 weeks ago.
- HTTP & APIs required in only 17% of postings, was 57% 4 weeks ago.
- TypeScript required in only 17% of postings, was 57% 4 weeks ago.
- Databases & SQL required in only 50% of postings, was 86% 4 weeks ago.
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 down 1 year over the last 5 weeks.
- CI-CD Pipelines now required in 29% of postings, was 20% 5 weeks ago.
- Docker now required in 29% of postings, was 20% 5 weeks ago.
- TypeScript required in only 29% of postings, was 80% 5 weeks ago.
- HTTP & APIs required in only 57% of postings, was 100% 5 weeks ago.
- JavaScript required in only 29% of postings, was 60% 5 weeks ago.
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
- React now required in 61% of postings, was 40% 11 weeks ago.
- HTTP & APIs now required in 39% of postings, was 20% 11 weeks ago.
- Python required in only 21% of postings, was 40% 11 weeks ago.
United Kingdom
Required
Preferred
In the postings’ own words
Required
Preferred
- HTTP & APIs now required in 63% of postings, was 25% 4 weeks ago.
- Docker now required in 50% of postings, was 25% 4 weeks ago.
- React now required in 63% of postings, was 38% 4 weeks ago.
- Python required in only 25% of postings, was 50% 4 weeks ago.
- TypeScript required in only 38% of postings, was 63% 4 weeks ago.
- CI-CD Pipelines required in only 13% of postings, was 25% 4 weeks ago.
Practice interview questions
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Disclosed wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC.
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