Java salary: $206K median
From 891 open roles that publish a yearly US-dollar range. Advertised ranges, not verified pay.
$206Kmedian advertised salary
$180K – $238Kmiddle half of roles
$211Kaverage advertised salary
891roles counted
Java salary by level
Lead roles advertise a median of $235K, 19% more than senior roles ($198K). The level comes from the job title; titles without a level word are counted separately.
| Level | Median salary | Middle half | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | $198K | $186K–$220K | 358 |
| Lead and above | $235K | $216K–$271K | 265 |
| No level in title | $172K | $144K–$210K | 262 |
Java salary by location
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸San Francisco Bay Area | $223K | 341 |
| 🇺🇸California | $215K | 415 |
| 🇺🇸New York | $214K | 104 |
| 🇺🇸Chicago | $212K | 21 |
| 🇺🇸United States | $206K | 867 |
| 🇺🇸Seattle | $204K | 102 |
| 🇺🇸Texas | $192K | 16 |
| 🇺🇸Boston | $182K | 21 |
| 🇺🇸Los Angeles | $175K | 63 |
| 🇺🇸Atlanta | $175K | 19 |
Top-paying companies
| Name | Median salary | Roles counted |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | $402K | 11 |
| OpenAI | $356K | 11 |
| Perplexity | $312K | 3 |
| Patreon | $309K | 3 |
| $279K | 12 | |
| Roblox | $269K | 31 |
| Zoox | $266K | 4 |
| Hims & Hers | $260K | 7 |
| Block | $256K | 14 |
| xAI | $255K | 9 |
| Waymo | $252K | 13 |
| Faire | $250K | 5 |
| Ramp | $246K | 5 |
| Maven Clinic | $246K | 4 |
| Stripe | $246K | 7 |
| Socure | $244K | 4 |
| Adyen | $243K | 8 |
| Airbnb | $238K | 15 |
| Squarespace | $234K | 3 |
| Toast | $230K | 20 |
| $229K | 16 | |
| Typeface | $225K | 3 |
| Agility Robotics | $224K | 3 |
| Attentive | $223K | 5 |
| Chime | $223K | 4 |
Highest-paying open Java roles
All Java jobs- Research Engineer, InterpretabilityAnthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA$315K - $560KRustGoPython
- Principal Engineer, AI PlatformPinterest · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA, US; Remote, US$243K - $500KRemoteLeadRustJavaC++
- Principal Engineer, Big Data PlatformPinterest · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA, US; Remote, US$243K - $500KRemoteLeadGoPythonJava
- Staff+ Software Engineer, CachingAnthropic · 🇺🇸San Francisco, CA | New York City, NY | Seattle, WA$320K - $485KLeadRustGoPython
- Security Engineer, Application SecurityOpenAI · 🇺🇸San Francisco$266K - $445KPythonJavaC++
- Security Engineer, Application SecurityOpenAI · 🇺🇸Seattle$266K - $445KPythonJavaC++
- Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer, Computer)Perplexity · 🇺🇸San Francisco$220K - $405KRustGoPython
- Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer, Computer Growth)Perplexity · 🇺🇸San Francisco$220K - $405KPythonTypeScriptReact
- Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Financial ProductsAdyen · 🇺🇸San Francisco$297K - $401KLeadPythonJavaSQL
- Principal Software Engineer, InfrastructureReddit · 🇺🇸Remote - United States$287K - $401KRemoteLeadRustGoPython
- Senior Software EngineerSardine · 🇧🇷Brazil$285K - $400KRemoteSeniorGoPythonTypeScript
- Senior Software Engineer, Foundational StorageSentry · 🇺🇸San Francisco, California$190K - $400KSeniorRustGoPython
- Staff Software Engineer, Platform & InfrastructureSentry · 🇺🇸San Francisco, California$240K - $400KLeadGoPythonJava
- Principal Software Engineer, Creator AnalyticsRoblox · 🇺🇸San Mateo, CA, United States$345K - $399KLeadGoPythonJava
- Staff Software Engineer, Cash App BankingBlock · 🇺🇸Bay Area, CA, United States of America$264K - $395KLeadJavaKotlinKafka
- Staff Software Engineer, Cash App BankingBlock · 🇺🇸New York, NY, United States of America$264K - $395KLeadJavaKotlinKafka
- Staff Software Engineer, Data InfrastructurePatreon · Remote$232K - $386KRemoteLeadPythonJavaSQL
- Staff Software Engineer, Backend PlatformPatreon · 🇺🇸San Francisco$258K - $386KLeadRustGoPython
- Principal Security Software Engineer, IAMRoblox · 🇺🇸San Mateo, CA, United States$326K - $385KLeadRustGoPython
- Chief ArchitectLegion · 🇺🇸Remote, United States$300K - $385KRemoteLeadGoPythonJava
Questions about Java pay
- What is the average Java salary?
- $211K a year on average and $206K at the median, across 891 open Java postings at tech companies that state pay (November 2026). The median is the better guide: a few very high offers pull the average up.
- What is the typical range?
- The middle half of the postings offer $180K to $238K a year. A quarter offer less and a quarter offer more.
- Which companies advertise the highest Java pay?
- Anthropic ($402K), OpenAI ($356K), Perplexity ($312K), by the median of their open postings that state pay (three postings or more).
- Where do these figures come from?
- From the pay ranges employers print in their own job postings, read from their careers pages every hour. The midpoint of each range is counted. These are advertised ranges for open roles, mostly in the United States and in US dollars, not what people are actually paid.
Writing about this? A sentence you can quote
The median advertised salary for Java roles at tech companies is $206K a year, and the middle half of postings offer $180K to $238K. Counted from 891 open job postings that state pay, November 2026. Source: Hiring Right Now, https://jobseveryhour.com/salaries/java/
Free to use with the link.