Frontend Engineer Salary in 2026: 9 Cities Compared (With Real Numbers)

Frontend engineering in 2026 is nothing like it was a decade ago. The role has evolved from "make the mockup look right in Chrome" to building complex, interactive applications that handle state management, real-time data, offline functionality, and pixel-perfect performance across every device and browser.

The market compensates accordingly — but with more variance than most engineers expect. A frontend engineer in Berlin earns €48K–€77K. The same skillset applied remotely for a US company can command $80K–$250K. Same React knowledge, same component architecture, dramatically different bank accounts.

Here's what frontend engineers actually earn in 2026 across 9 major markets.

The Quick Comparison

Two things jump out: Austin's ceiling ($231K) is surprisingly close to San Francisco's, and Seattle's range ($68K–$141K) is much tighter and lower than you'd expect for a Big Tech hub. The data tells different stories about different markets.

San Francisco: $89K–$240K

San Francisco leads on median frontend salary ($148K), driven by the concentration of companies building complex consumer and enterprise products.

The frontend problems in SF are genuinely hard. Figma's collaborative real-time canvas. Stripe's payment UIs that must work flawlessly across every browser and accessibility requirement. Vercel and Next.js — literally building the frameworks that other frontend engineers use. These companies pay premium salaries because they need engineers who understand browser rendering pipelines, not just React component APIs.

The $89K floor represents junior frontend roles at smaller companies or early-stage startups. Even in SF, the entry ramp for frontend is gentler than backend — more companies are willing to hire and train junior frontend talent because the onboarding curve is typically shorter.

The $240K ceiling is senior frontend engineers at Big Tech or well-funded startups. At this level, you're not writing CSS — you're designing component architectures, building design systems used by hundreds of engineers, or owning the performance budget for applications serving millions of users. Google's Material Design team and Meta's React team represent the apex of frontend engineering compensation.

Full breakdown: Frontend Engineer Salary in San Francisco

Remote (US): $80K–$250K

Remote frontend engineering has the widest range on this list — and the highest ceiling at $250K. Frontend work translates to remote environments naturally: the output is visual and demonstrable, collaboration happens through design tools and pull requests, and there's no hardware or lab dependency.

The $250K ceiling represents senior frontend engineers at remote-first companies that pay SF-equivalent rates regardless of location. Companies like Vercel, Netlify, and Linear have pushed the frontier of what distributed frontend teams can achieve, and they pay accordingly.

The $80K floor reflects location-adjusted roles or positions at bootstrapped companies with limited budgets. The spread between $80K and $250K is almost entirely explained by employer type: venture-funded remote companies pay 2-3x what bootstrapped or location-adjusted companies pay for the same skill level.

The arbitrage opportunity for frontend engineers is arguably the strongest of any discipline. Frontend work requires a laptop, a browser, and an internet connection. A senior frontend engineer earning $200K while living in Lisbon, Medellín, or Bali has an extraordinary quality of life that no office-based role in SF can match.

Current ranges: Frontend Engineer Salary — Remote

New York: $66K–$215K

New York's frontend engineering market is shaped by its industry diversity. Unlike SF (dominated by tech) or Seattle (dominated by Big Tech), NYC spreads frontend demand across tech, finance, media, advertising, and fashion.

Media and publishing companies — The New York Times, Bloomberg, Condé Nast — have built sophisticated frontend teams creating interactive journalism, data visualizations, and digital subscription platforms. These roles are creatively interesting and moderately compensated ($100K–$150K range).

Ad tech and e-commerce drive the higher end. Companies building real-time bidding interfaces, programmatic ad platforms, and large-scale e-commerce experiences pay senior frontend engineers $150K–$215K. Shopify's NYC office and Amazon's advertising division are notable examples.

The $66K floor is the lowest starting point among major US cities for frontend. It reflects NYC's vast non-tech economy — agencies, small businesses, and traditional companies that need frontend work but don't think of themselves as tech companies and price accordingly.

See the numbers: Frontend Engineer Salary in New York

Austin: $65K–$231K

Austin's frontend market is the most surprising on this list. The $231K ceiling nearly matches San Francisco ($240K), which isn't what you'd expect from a mid-size Texas city. The explanation: major tech companies establishing Austin offices and paying near-headquarters rates to attract talent.

Tesla, Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon all have significant Austin presences. When these companies hire frontend engineers locally, they compete with each other — driving compensation upward. Apple's Austin campus alone employs thousands of engineers, many in frontend-adjacent roles.

The $65K floor represents the traditional Austin market — agencies, local startups, and non-tech companies. There's a visible two-tier market: Big Tech satellite offices paying $150K–$231K and the local ecosystem paying $65K–$120K. The gap is wider in Austin than in most cities.

Texas has no state income tax, which makes the math extremely attractive. A frontend engineer earning $180K in Austin has more purchasing power than a $230K engineer in San Francisco after taxes and cost of living. Housing in Austin has risen sharply but remains 40-50% cheaper than the Bay Area.

Current data: Frontend Engineer Salary in Austin

Seattle: $68K–$141K

Seattle's frontend salary range is unexpectedly low — the $141K ceiling is the lowest among US cities on this list. This is somewhat misleading and requires context.

The data reflects a market where frontend-specific roles are less common than at Bay Area companies. Amazon and Microsoft — Seattle's dominant employers — tend to hire "software development engineers" rather than frontend specialists. These SDE roles often involve both frontend and backend work and are categorized separately, pulling pure frontend salary data downward.

The frontend-specific roles that do exist in Seattle tend to be at smaller companies, agencies, or startups that can't compete with Big Tech's compensation. The result is a compressed range that understates what a skilled frontend engineer can earn if they're flexible on title.

If you're a frontend-focused engineer targeting Seattle, consider applying for SDE or full-stack roles at Amazon/Microsoft and focusing your work on the frontend. The compensation will be significantly higher than the frontend-specific data suggests.

Washington's no-income-tax advantage still applies — a $120K frontend salary in Seattle nets more than $140K in San Francisco after tax.

Full data: Frontend Engineer Salary in Seattle

Toronto: C$75K–C$150K

Toronto's frontend market benefits from Canada's strong design and UX culture. Shopify — headquartered in Ottawa but with a massive Toronto presence — is one of the world's most frontend-intensive companies, and its influence on the local market is substantial.

The C$75K–C$150K range (roughly US$55K–US$110K) positions Toronto similarly to European cities on purchasing power. The median of ~C$120K is competitive for the local cost of living, which has risen but remains below NYC and SF.

Beyond Shopify, Toronto's frontend demand comes from fintech (Wealthsimple, Koho), gaming (Ubisoft Toronto), and a growing SaaS ecosystem. The city produces strong frontend talent through programs at University of Toronto and Waterloo, creating a self-sustaining talent pipeline.

For international frontend engineers, Canada's immigration system is a major advantage. The Global Talent Stream and Express Entry pathways are faster and more predictable than US visa processes. Many engineers use Toronto as a stepping stone — building experience and eventually transferring to US-based companies at US salaries.

See the breakdown: Frontend Engineer Salary in Toronto

London: £45K–£105K

London's frontend engineering market is mature and diverse. The £45K–£105K range with a £70K median reflects a market where demand is consistent but rarely reaches the intensity of US tech hubs.

Big Tech London offices (Google, Meta, Amazon) pay at the top of this range — senior frontend engineers earn £85K–£105K base. The fintech sector adds competition: Revolut, Monzo, and Checkout.com all invest heavily in frontend teams to build polished, trust-inspiring banking interfaces. In fintech, frontend quality directly affects conversion and retention, which justifies higher salaries.

London's creative and media industries — BBC, Guardian, Spotify London — offer frontend roles that are technically interesting but moderately compensated (£55K–£75K range). These roles attract engineers who prioritize the work itself over maximum compensation.

The £45K floor represents junior roles or positions at agencies and smaller companies. It's tight for London's cost of living but manageable with flat-sharing or zone 3+ living.

Full data: Frontend Engineer Salary in London

Amsterdam: €48K–€120K

Amsterdam has quietly built one of Europe's best frontend engineering markets, driven by Booking.com, Adyen, TomTom, and a thriving startup ecosystem.

Booking.com is the anchor. One of the world's most-visited websites, it runs continuous A/B tests on every pixel of its interface — creating demand for frontend engineers who understand performance, experimentation frameworks, and conversion optimization at massive scale. Senior frontend engineers at Booking.com earn at the top of the €120K range.

Adyen (payment infrastructure) and MessageBird (communications APIs) similarly value frontend excellence for their developer-facing dashboards and documentation portals.

The €48K floor represents entry-level roles at smaller companies. The €70K median is comfortable in Amsterdam — though housing costs have risen dramatically. Expect ~€1,400–€1,800/month for a one-bedroom in central Amsterdam.

The Netherlands offers the 30% ruling for skilled migrants — a tax benefit that exempts 30% of your salary from income tax for up to 5 years. For a frontend engineer earning €90K, this ruling increases take-home pay by roughly €8,000–€10,000 annually. It's one of Europe's most compelling immigration incentives for tech workers.

See the details: Frontend Engineer Salary in Amsterdam

Berlin: €48K–€77K

Berlin has the narrowest range and lowest ceiling on this list — and it's worth understanding why before dismissing the market.

German tech salaries are structurally lower than US markets. This isn't a bug — it's a different social contract. The €48K–€77K range includes unlimited healthcare, 30 days paid vacation, strong job protections (termination requires cause and 3+ months notice for senior employees), and generous parental leave. These benefits have real monetary value that doesn't appear in the salary number.

A frontend engineer earning €69K (median) in Berlin takes home ~€3,500/month. Rent in Friedrichshain or Neukölln: ~€950–€1,100 for a one-bedroom. Public transit monthly pass: €49. No car needed. The lifestyle-per-euro is excellent.

The frontend scene in Berlin is vibrant. Zalando, SoundCloud (what's left of it), and N26 are the established employers. A growing wave of international startups — many from the US — establish Berlin offices specifically for frontend talent, often paying above the local range. These hybrid-pay companies (US funding, Berlin office) are the best-compensated frontend roles in the city.

Full breakdown: Frontend Engineer Salary in Berlin

What Drives Frontend Salaries?

Three factors separate the $65K frontend engineers from the $240K ones:

1. Application complexity. Building a marketing site with Tailwind and Next.js is fundamentally different from building Figma's real-time collaborative canvas or Stripe's payment form that must work in every browser on Earth. Complex, interactive applications with real-time data, offline support, or extreme performance requirements command the highest salaries. 2. Design system expertise. Companies like Google, Shopify, and Atlassian employ senior frontend engineers specifically to build and maintain design systems used by hundreds of other engineers. This requires both deep CSS/component knowledge and the ability to think in systems — and it's one of the highest-paying frontend specializations. 3. Performance engineering. Core Web Vitals, bundle optimization, render performance, accessibility compliance — these cross-cutting concerns require deep browser knowledge. Frontend engineers who can measurably improve performance metrics (and tie them to business outcomes) earn significant premiums.

The Frontend Career Ladder

The mid-to-senior jump is where the market splits. Senior frontend engineers who can architect component systems, mentor teams, and make technology decisions earn 40–60% more than mid-level engineers who execute designs. That jump requires transitioning from "I build features" to "I design the systems that features are built with."

The Bottom Line

Frontend engineering in 2026 is a mature, well-compensated career — but with more geographic variance than backend or DevOps roles. The gap between Berlin (€69K median) and San Francisco ($148K median) is roughly 2x, while for backend engineers it's closer to 2.5x. Frontend salaries are more compressed globally, partly because the tools (React, TypeScript) are universal.

If you're maximizing compensation, San Francisco or a remote role paying US rates offers the best numbers. If you're optimizing for lifestyle, Amsterdam's 30% ruling or Berlin's work-life balance deliver the most value per euro earned.

The most important salary lever isn't your city — it's your specialization. Performance engineers, design system architects, and real-time application specialists consistently earn at the top of every market's range. Generalist "React developers" sit in the middle. Choose your depth deliberately.