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Full stack developer salary from junior to senior level

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Complete full stack developer salary data Blog

Full-stack software developer is one of the best career prospects today. It comes with great growth opportunities. But what does a junior full stack developer earn and what is the highest paid full stack developer salary?

Skills of a full stack developer

“Tech stack” refers to the combination of software products and programming languages. A full stack developer should possess a variety of skills. This means handling databases, servers, systems engineering, and clients at the same time. Having such a range of expertise is appealing for employers since it means reducing the cost of employment while adding value to the organization.

To give you a full understanding of the subject, we’ve put together up-to-date, industry-specific data from reputable sources including PayScale, Indeed, FRG Technology Consulting, and ZipRecruiter with their annual salaries for this position.

Similarly to many other software engineer salaries, the pay of a full stack developer depends on a number of factors. The developer‘s skill set is probably the most significant one, along with their work experience and previous income. Nonetheless, there are many other factors that influence the pay of a full stack developer. These include demographics, geographic location, and the “standards” of the organization in question. That’s precisely why there is often a huge gap between salaries being offered for the same role.

If you are looking for front end developer and backend developer salary numbers, we also have salary data for languages like Python and JavaScript.

The average full stack developer salary

How much does a Full Stack Developer make? According to PayScale , the national salary for a Full Stack Developer is $74,958 in the United States. The salary typically ranges from a base salary of $46,303, all the way up the salary of a senior software engineer, which is around $114,183 (at the time of the publication).

full stack developer salary data from PyScale

Indeed.com estimated the full stack developer annual salaries from more than 30,000 job advertisements in the past 3 years. They found out that the US average was much higher – $113,462 per year.

Indeed full stack developer salary information
full stack developer salary data ZipRecruite
full stack developer salary info from the Pearson Frank salary survey

According to ZipRecruiter, the annual full-stack software developer average salary ranges from $36,000 to $151,500. The majority currently ranges between $80,000 and $116,500 across the United States. As you can see, the average pay range for this position varies significantly, which suggests that there are many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, regardless of location.

Let’s now look at the global salaries. Based on the FRG Technology Consulting Salary Survey , the average equals approximately $45,000. Within the European Union, the best full stack developer salaries can be found in Denmark and Sweden.

Experience

As you can see, a skilled full stack developer‘s salary can range quite a lot. Experience is one of the key factors affecting pay and experienced workers can expect a more competitive salary than a junior software engineer or a mid-level employee.

Before we take a closer look at the correlation between salary level and experience, let’s delve into the typical responsibilities of a full stack software developer. They are hired for their technical skills and knowledge of the programming language.

Their job is to keep every part of the system running smoothly. To support other team members with their broad knowledge and experience, and play different roles, depending on the needs. Essentially, a full stack developer might be asked to perform the following activities:

  • Translating user requirements into the overall architecture
  • Writing back-end, as well as front-end code
  • Understanding, creating, and debugging database-related queries
  • Managing projects and being in touch with the client
  • Monitoring the performance of the applications and reporting results
  • Troubleshooting and coming up with proper resolutions

Full stack developers don’t have to master all of the above-mentioned tasks and software technologies. That said, they should definitely have a broad knowledge of and genuine interest in software development. Actually, becoming an experienced full stack developer tends to take at least four years of working both in the front, as well as the back-end.

According to ZipRecruiter:

  • the entry level full stack developer salary in the US is $84,903 per year on average
  • the mid-level full stack developer salary reaches $97,500
  • the senior full stack developer salary reaches $116,504 a year

According to Glassdoor, the senior full stack web developer salary is currently $114,395 per year. $79K is the low range senior fullstack developer salary and $157K is the highest salary range.

 senior full stack developer salary data

Source: Glassdoor

Location

Location is without a doubt one of the most important factors influencing full stack web developer pay. There is a significant salary difference when comparing earnings within the US.

Highest and lowest full stack web developer salary levels in the US

PayScale data shows that the full stack salary is the highest for Cupertino. Its Median Pay Total reaches $153,878. This is +$77,696 (+102%) more than the national average.

full stack developer salary pay difference by location

On the other end of the spectrum is Cleveland, with total median pay reaching $39,900 ($-36,343 and -48% below the national average).

Full stack developer salary Los Angeles

According to Indeed, the average full stack developer salary in Los Angeles equals $123,217 (at the time of the publication).

Full stack developer salary NYC

Indeed reports that a full stack developer salary in NYC is on average $120,270.

Other factors affecting pay

As with most careers, the salary for a full stack web developer varies depending on the specific skills and knowledge required.

Core skills

Core skills for a full stack developer include HTML, CSS, JavaScript & JQuery, Bootstrap, a back end language, database, web storage skills, and web architecture skills.

Useful additional skills

Since a full stack web developer can be asked to do pretty much anything, there are many additional skills that can be useful on a daily basis:

  • Databases & web storage
  • The basics of UX/UI design
  • WordPress

Conclusion

With the tech industry developing so rapidly these days, it’s hardly surprising that more and more people choose software development as a career. Still, this often poses the question of what should be expected in terms of salary and whether it differs by country.

When considering full stack development, it’s worth remembering that the payment can be slightly different worldwide. Yet, software developers with these skills are often offered the highest total compensation. It’s mostly because of their versatility and experience in both the front- and back-end. It can easily lead to significant reductions in development costs on the company’s side.

We also have other great resources devoted to software engineering and developer salaries:

Image source: Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC 3.0 BY

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