Compensation by role, and top responding countries — Work data 2026

Question

What is your current total annual compensation (salary, bonuses, and perks, before taxes and deductions)? Please enter a whole number in the box below, without any punctuation. If you are paid hourly, please estimate an equivalent yearly salary. If you prefer not to answer, please leave the box empty.

free text
Optional
v2026.1

Data

	Respondents	Median salary
Engineering manager	378	$133,263
Senior executive (C-suite, VP, etc.)	176	$131,498
Cloud infrastructure engineer	129	$110,000
Architect, software or solutions	1,023	$102,355
Solutions engineer, implementation engineer, or forward-deployed engineer	144	$101,710
Software engineer	105	$101,218
AI/ML engineer	194	$95,337
Founder or entrepreneur	111	$94,012
Data scientist	155	$90,982
Data engineer	233	$90,000
Developer, back-end	1,922	$85,296
Developer, embedded applications or devices	412	$85,296
DevOps engineer or professional	307	$85,096
Developer, mobile	346	$84,277
Developer, desktop or enterprise applications	559	$80,000
Developer, full-stack	3,761	$79,610
Developer, game or graphics	108	$77,002
Developer, front-end	441	$70,320
Data or business analyst	119	$67,161
Academic researcher	253	$61,413
System administrator	122	$55,230
Other	106	$51,000

Use this data

Citation

Response data is released under the ODbL 1.0, which asks that you attribute it.

Stack Exchange Inc. (2026). “Compensation by role, and top responding countries”. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026. Licensed under ODbL 1.0. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/work/data/compensation

JSON

Structured for code, with the question, the year and the source url alongside the numbers.

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  "question": "Compensation by role, and top responding countries",
  "dataId": "Compensation",
  "asked": "What is your current total annual compensation (salary, bonuses, and perks, before taxes and deductions)? Please enter a whole number in the box below, without any punctuation. If you are paid hourly, please estimate an equivalent yearly salary. If you prefer not to answer, please leave the box empty.",
  "year": "2026",
  "url": "https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/work/data/compensation",
  "demographic": {
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      "response": "Engineering manager",
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      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 133263
    },
    {
      "response": "Senior executive (C-suite, VP, etc.)",
      "count": 176,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 131498
    },
    {
      "response": "Cloud infrastructure engineer",
      "count": 129,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 110000
    },
    {
      "response": "Architect, software or solutions",
      "count": 1023,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 102355
    },
    {
      "response": "Solutions engineer, implementation engineer, or forward-deployed engineer",
      "count": 144,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 101710
    },
    {
      "response": "Software engineer",
      "count": 105,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 101218
    },
    {
      "response": "AI/ML engineer",
      "count": 194,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 95337
    },
    {
      "response": "Founder or entrepreneur",
      "count": 111,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 94012
    },
    {
      "response": "Data scientist",
      "count": 155,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 90982
    },
    {
      "response": "Data engineer",
      "count": 233,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 90000
    },
    {
      "response": "Developer, back-end",
      "count": 1922,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 85296
    },
    {
      "response": "Developer, embedded applications or devices",
      "count": 412,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 85296
    },
    {
      "response": "DevOps engineer or professional",
      "count": 307,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 85096
    },
    {
      "response": "Developer, mobile",
      "count": 346,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 84277
    },
    {
      "response": "Developer, desktop or enterprise applications",
      "count": 559,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 80000
    },
    {
      "response": "Developer, full-stack",
      "count": 3761,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 79610
    },
    {
      "response": "Developer, game or graphics",
      "count": 108,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 77002
    },
    {
      "response": "Developer, front-end",
      "count": 441,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 70320
    },
    {
      "response": "Data or business analyst",
      "count": 119,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 67161
    },
    {
      "response": "Academic researcher",
      "count": 253,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 61413
    },
    {
      "response": "System administrator",
      "count": 122,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 55230
    },
    {
      "response": "Other",
      "count": 106,
      "median_yearly_salary_usd": 51000
    }
  ]
}

Markdown

A formatted table, ready to paste into a document, an issue or a prompt.

|  | Respondents | Median salary |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Engineering manager | 378 | $133,263 |
| Senior executive (C-suite, VP, etc.) | 176 | $131,498 |
| Cloud infrastructure engineer | 129 | $110,000 |
| Architect, software or solutions | 1,023 | $102,355 |
| Solutions engineer, implementation engineer, or forward-deployed engineer | 144 | $101,710 |
| Software engineer | 105 | $101,218 |
| AI/ML engineer | 194 | $95,337 |
| Founder or entrepreneur | 111 | $94,012 |
| Data scientist | 155 | $90,982 |
| Data engineer | 233 | $90,000 |
| Developer, back-end | 1,922 | $85,296 |
| Developer, embedded applications or devices | 412 | $85,296 |
| DevOps engineer or professional | 307 | $85,096 |
| Developer, mobile | 346 | $84,277 |
| Developer, desktop or enterprise applications | 559 | $80,000 |
| Developer, full-stack | 3,761 | $79,610 |
| Developer, game or graphics | 108 | $77,002 |
| Developer, front-end | 441 | $70,320 |
| Data or business analyst | 119 | $67,161 |
| Academic researcher | 253 | $61,413 |
| System administrator | 122 | $55,230 |
| Other | 106 | $51,000 |

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