Which Companies Pay Software Engineers the Most? 2023 Salary Rankings Revealed

Overview

Levels.fyi recently published its 2023 programmer income report, which aggregates more than 200,000 salary submissions to present median total compensation—including salary, stock and bonuses—for software engineers.

Scope and Limitations

Although the data focus on software engineers, the highest‑paying companies and locations generally apply to a broad range of technical roles. Compensation varies with interview performance, experience, and competitive offers, and the figures mainly reflect top‑paying tech firms, not the entire market.

Entry‑Level Engineer Salary Rankings

Jane Street leads the entry‑level category with a median total compensation of $325,000. The second spot goes to the former‑Figma team (now part of Adobe) at $240,500, followed by Databricks at $230,500.

Mid‑Level Engineer Salary Rankings

Databricks remains on top for mid‑level engineers with a median of $380,000, slightly down from $443,000 in 2022. IMC and Roblox tie for second at $350,000, while Rippling and Plaid share third place at the same level.

Senior Engineer Salary Rankings

Databricks again tops the senior engineer list with a median compensation of $584,000.

Staff Engineer Salary Rankings

OpenAI leads staff engineers with a median of $925,000.

Principal Engineer Salary Rankings

Principal engineers earn the most at Facebook ($1.02 M), followed by Stripe ($940,700), Pinterest ($870,000), Uber ($830,000), Apple ($825,000), Cruise ($819,600) and Airbnb ($810,000). These roles typically require over 15 years of experience and represent less than 3 % of a company’s workforce.

Top US Cities for Software Engineer Compensation

The highest‑paying US regions are San Francisco ($249,000), Seattle ($225,000) and New York ($185,000).

Global City Salary Rankings (Excluding the US)

Outside the United States, Tel Aviv leads with a median of $138,000, followed by Vancouver at $115,656 and Sydney at $110,237.

China and Taiwan

Beijing, Hsinchu (Taiwan) and Hong Kong rank 6th, 9th and 10th respectively, with median compensations of $90,000, $69,000 and $63,000.

Outlook

The report predicts that as technology advances and digital transformation accelerates, demand for programmers will continue to rise, pushing compensation higher. It advises engineers to keep upgrading their skills, stay informed about industry trends, and choose work environments that align with their career goals.