Back-End Developer Salary: Your 2024 Guide

The software engineering field is vast, allowing back-end developers to work not only in tech companies but across diverse industries like education and advertising. Industry, company, specialization, and location can all influence your salary as a back-end developer. Use this article to learn how much you can earn, compare salaries at each career stage, and identify in-demand skills you can use to increase your earning potential.

Read more: What Does a Back-End Developer Do?

Back-end developer salary and job outlook

The average yearly salary for a back-end developer in the US is $114,000 [1]. This base salary does not include the estimated additional pay average of $24,394 per year, which represents wages earned from commissions, profit-sharing, or bonuses. According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it’s projected that jobs for web developers and digital designers will grow by 8 percent from 2023 to 2033, faster than the average for all occupations [2].

Front-end vs. back-end developer salary

A back-end developer specializes in a website or application's server side. Working in back-end development means that you’ll be responsible for everything the end user doesn’t see, such as databases and structural components. In contrast, front-end developers create the client-facing elements of a website, known as the user interface (UI). Front-end developers earn an average salary of $102,000 annually, $12,000 less than the average for back-end developers.

Read more: Front-End Developer Salary: Your 2024 Guide

Factors that influence back-end developer salaries

Experience level

Typically, the number of years in the field or experience level can help you earn a higher salary. Here are the average salaries for each career stage in back-end engineering, from entry-level to senior:

• 0-1 year of experience (entry-level back-end developer salary): $90,000 per year

• 1-3 years of experience (junior back-end developer salary): $100,000 per year

• 4-6 years of experience (intermediate back-end developer salary): $109,000 per year

• 7-9 years of experience (senior back-end developer salary): $115,000 per year

Read more: Software Engineer Career Path 2024: Overview, Jobs, and Pay

Skills and areas of expertise

As a backend developer, you have a wide range of skills to learn as you grow in the field and further your education. Some skills are more in-demand than others and can help you land a higher-paying job and boost your resume. The next few sections provide an overview of a few specializations and skills to consider as a back-end developer.

Read more: Web Developer Certification: Is it Worth It? (+ How to Choose)

Full-stack development

Full-stack developers work on both the front-end and back-end of a website or application. If you're a back-end developer looking to increase your earning potential, you might consider learning to work on the front end to complete your full-stack developer skill set. You can learn from an industry leader while earning a certificate for your study by enrolling in Meta's Front-End Developer Professional Certificate program:

MERN stack

As a back-end developer, you're likely familiar with popular programming languages like JavaScript, SQL, PHP, and Ruby. Building off this expertise to specialize in a specific tech stack can help give you an edge in the job market. MERN stack is an example of a popular tech stack for web development. It stands for MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js.

Read more: MERN Stack: An Overview

AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) skills have risen in popularity and demand in the last few years. In a technical field, it's especially important to stay current with advancements and trends. To increase your competitiveness as a job candidate, consider adding generative AI to your skill set and resume. You can learn to effectively apply generative AI to a software development workflow with the Generative AI for Software Developers Specialization offered by IBM. Complete this intermediate-level course series in just one month, earning a certificate for your LinkedIn or resume.

Read more: Becoming an AI Engineer: 7 Questions with an IBMer

Database development

The data field is experiencing high growth. Back-end developers often have experience with database management tools and processes, unlocking database developer or database engineer as potential next steps in their career path. You might consider strengthening your data visualization and analysis tools to prepare for a role in database development or work closely with programming languages often used by data professionals like SQL.

Read more: What Does an SQL Developer Do? Role, Salary, and Skills

Industries

Even with the same education and experience, two back-end developers working in different industries can expect to make a different average salary. Glassdoor offers a breakdown of average median total pay (including additional pay such as commissions or bonuses) by industry [1]:

• Information technology (IT): $136,354

• Media & Communication: $110,527

• Management & Consulting: $90,113

• Human Resources & Staffing: $90,093

Education and credentials

There are several paths to becoming a back-end developer. According to Zippia, 71 percent of developers earn a bachelor's degree, 19 percent hold a master's degree, and five percent have an associate degree [3]. Employers may also be interested in candidates with demonstrable skills and experience, with TestGorilla reporting that 70 percent of companies chose to adopt skills-based hiring methods in 2023 [4].

Read more: 7 High-Income Skills Worth Learning

Prepare for your next back-end developer role with Coursera

Start gaining the skills you need to become a back-end developer with Meta’s Back-End Developer Professional Certificate. You'll learn Python and gain hands-on experience with industry-standard tools and operating systems like Linux; no prior experience required. Upon completion, gain exclusive access to career resources like resume review, interview prep, and career support.