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Staff engineer salary
Average staff engineer salary
$107,530
Understanding Staff Engineer Salaries
As of October 2025, the average salary for a Staff Engineer stands at $107,530 per year, or about $52 per hour. This figure can vary significantly based on various factors, including experience level, industry, and geographic location. For instance, Staff Engineers in technology hubs often command higher salaries due to the demand for specialized skills.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level Staff Engineers typically earn less, while those with several years of experience can see substantial salary increases. A Staff Engineer with over ten years of experience may earn upwards of $120,000 annually, particularly in sectors such as software development or telecommunications.
Highest Paying States
When considering location, states like California, Washington, and New York generally offer the highest salaries for Staff Engineers. Companies in these areas often provide additional benefits, making them attractive job markets.
Job Market Insights
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Where can a Staff Engineer earn more?
Staff engineer salaries by experience level
Staff engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average staff engineer salary by state
The average staff engineer salary in California, New Mexico, and Arizona are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average staff engineer salary states are Florida, South Dakota, and Kansas.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for staff engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $118,226 | $56.84 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $99,704 | $47.93 |
| 3 | Arizona | $100,076 | $48.11 |
| 4 | New Mexico | $108,301 | $52.07 |
| 5 | District of Columbia | $99,590 | $47.88 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $89,431 | $43.00 |
| 7 | Oregon | $87,924 | $42.27 |
| 8 | Washington | $88,631 | $42.61 |
| 9 | Maine | $97,023 | $46.65 |
| 10 | Delaware | $93,212 | $44.81 |
| 11 | New Hampshire | $87,110 | $41.88 |
| 12 | Connecticut | $89,704 | $43.13 |
| 13 | Nevada | $86,077 | $41.38 |
| 14 | Maryland | $90,594 | $43.55 |
| 15 | West Virginia | $94,659 | $45.51 |
| 16 | Colorado | $84,950 | $40.84 |
| 17 | Utah | $78,629 | $37.80 |
| 18 | Virginia | $82,420 | $39.63 |
| 19 | Michigan | $78,570 | $37.77 |
| 20 | Texas | $80,433 | $38.67 |
| 21 | Minnesota | $80,628 | $38.76 |
| 22 | New York | $84,067 | $40.42 |
| 23 | Illinois | $81,470 | $39.17 |
| 24 | Louisiana | $81,772 | $39.31 |
| 25 | New Jersey | $82,154 | $39.50 |
| 26 | North Carolina | $77,291 | $37.16 |
| 27 | Oklahoma | $80,416 | $38.66 |
| 28 | Tennessee | $77,552 | $37.28 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | $73,607 | $35.39 |
| 30 | Alabama | $73,299 | $35.24 |
| 31 | North Dakota | $78,234 | $37.61 |
| 32 | Indiana | $74,116 | $35.63 |
| 33 | Ohio | $71,537 | $34.39 |
| 34 | Idaho | $73,894 | $35.53 |
| 35 | Vermont | $72,248 | $34.73 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | $72,156 | $34.69 |
| 37 | Iowa | $72,256 | $34.74 |
| 38 | Alaska | $76,280 | $36.67 |
| 39 | Wyoming | $71,763 | $34.50 |
| 40 | Missouri | $72,112 | $34.67 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $71,115 | $34.19 |
| 42 | Georgia | $71,005 | $34.14 |
| 43 | South Carolina | $70,040 | $33.67 |
| 44 | Mississippi | $70,125 | $33.71 |
| 45 | Florida | $68,246 | $32.81 |
| 46 | Nebraska | $68,452 | $32.91 |
| 47 | South Dakota | $67,650 | $32.52 |
| 48 | Kansas | $66,352 | $31.90 |
| 49 | Montana | $59,959 | $28.83 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $49,119 | $23.61 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $59,131 | $28.43 |
Highest paying cities for staff engineers
The highest-paying cities for staff engineers are San Mateo, CA, Phoenix, AZ, and Boston, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Mateo, CA | $129,368 | $62.20 |
| 2 | Phoenix, AZ | $100,770 | $48.45 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $99,733 | $47.95 |
| 4 | Washington, DC | $99,574 | $47.87 |
| 5 | Portland, ME | $97,894 | $47.06 |
| 6 | Baltimore, MD | $90,790 | $43.65 |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $88,898 | $42.74 |
| 8 | Portland, OR | $87,105 | $41.88 |
| 9 | Littleton, CO | $84,885 | $40.81 |
| 10 | New York, NY | $84,245 | $40.50 |
| 11 | Newport News, VA | $82,511 | $39.67 |
| 12 | Irving, TX | $82,385 | $39.61 |
| 13 | Bridgewater, NJ | $81,990 | $39.42 |
| 14 | Chicago, IL | $81,590 | $39.23 |
| 15 | Bloomington, MN | $80,607 | $38.75 |
| 16 | Washington, MI | $78,723 | $37.85 |
| 17 | Raleigh, NC | $78,190 | $37.59 |
| 18 | Indianapolis, IN | $74,315 | $35.73 |
| 19 | Columbus, OH | $71,651 | $34.45 |
| 20 | Atlanta, GA | $71,065 | $34.17 |
Staff Engineers are the most in-demand in these five cities:
Staff engineer salary details
A staff engineer's salary ranges from $69,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $167,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a staff engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $167,000 | $13,917 | $80 |
| 75th Percentile | $135,000 | $11,250 | $65 |
| Average | $107,530 | $8,961 | $52 |
| 25th Percentile | $85,000 | $7,083 | $41 |
| 10th Percentile | $69,000 | $5,750 | $33 |
Highest paying staff engineer jobs
The highest paying types of staff engineers are senior staff engineer, senior principal engineer, and principal engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research And Development Engineer | $100,169 | $8,347 | $48.16 | 187,910 |
| Product Development Engineer | $86,075 | $7,173 | $41.38 | 202,155 |
| Development Engineer | $93,206 | $7,767 | $44.81 | 224,881 |
| Mechanical Engineer | $75,352 | $6,279 | $36.23 | 105,618 |
| Consulting Engineer | $97,746 | $8,145 | $46.99 | 125,600 |
| Design Engineer | $77,134 | $6,428 | $37.08 | 138,173 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for staff engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring staff engineers now:
Which companies pay staff engineers the most?
Staff engineer salaries at Flexport and Lyft are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average staff engineer salary at companies like Google and The Walt Disney Company are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flexport | $194,299 | $93.41 |
| 2 | Lyft | $193,083 | $92.83 |
| 3 | $188,316 | $90.54 | |
| 4 | The Walt Disney Company | $185,722 | $89.29 |
| 5 | eBay | $182,983 | $87.97 |
| 6 | Grubhub | $182,839 | $87.90 |
| 7 | Instacart | $182,325 | $87.66 |
| 8 | $182,246 | $87.62 | |
| 9 | Zenefits | $178,768 | $85.95 |
| 10 | Eventbrite | $176,672 | $84.94 |
| 11 | $175,857 | $84.55 | |
| 12 | VMware | $175,666 | $84.45 |
| 13 | Medallia | $175,060 | $84.16 |
| 14 | Uber Technologies | $175,027 | $84.15 |
| 15 | TripActions | $174,882 | $84.08 |
| 16 | HBO | $173,852 | $83.58 |
| 17 | PayPal | $170,797 | $82.11 |
| 18 | Apple | $170,020 | $81.74 |
| 19 | Box | $169,455 | $81.47 |
| 20 | Minted | $169,389 | $81.44 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Staff Engineer salary by industry
The average staff engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average staff engineer salary in the telecommunication industry is $119,079, the highest of any industry.
- The average staff engineer salary in the finance industry is $116,067.
- Staff engineers in the professional industry earn an average salary of $82,341, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for staff engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telecommunication | $119,079 | $57.25 |
| 2 | Technology | $116,067 | $55.80 |
| 3 | Retail | $115,569 | $55.56 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $101,902 | $48.99 |
| 5 | Professional | $82,341 | $39.59 |
High paying staff engineer jobs
Staff engineer salary trends
The average staff engineer salary has risen by $13,036 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average staff engineer earned $94,494 annually, but today, they earn $107,530 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for staff engineers over the last decade.
Compare staff engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average staff engineer salary over time
Compare staff engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Staff engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $108,000 | $51.70 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $105,000 | $50.70 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $104,000 | $50.10 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $102,000 | $49.24 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $100,000 | $48.27 | +0.7% |
Recently added staff engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exelixis | Staff Engineer-Cloud Infrastructure | Alameda, CA | 06/30/2025 | $141,500 |
| University of Alaska System | Summer Engineering Academy Staff-First/Second Year | Anchorage, AK | 06/30/2025 | $26,129 |
| Beta | Traffic Staff Engineer | New Hampshire | 06/30/2025 | $99,000 |
| Beta | Traffic Staff Engineer | Rhode Island | 06/30/2025 | $73,000 |
| Home Depot u | Cybersecurity Fraud Staff Engineer (Remote) | Nunez, GA | 06/29/2025 | $125,000 |
| Relativity | Staff Platform Engineer (Core) | Long Beach, CA | 06/29/2025 | $183,000 |
| Searhc | Staff Engineer | Wrangell, AK | 06/29/2025 | $62,234 |
| Arlo | Staff Android Engineer | Milpitas, CA | 06/29/2025 | $123,000 |
| Reltio | Staff Engineer Devops | Rowe, MA | 06/29/2025 | $154,000 |
| Marqeta | Staff Devsecops Engineer (Cryptography) | Oakland, CA | 06/29/2025 | $179,800 |
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