Startup Salaries

Data & AI pays a median of $195K, product $195K

What roles at early-stage startups actually pay, from postings that list a salary. Every figure stays in one currency, never converted.

USD, all locations

Salary by category

What roles pay by category, in USD, from postings that state a salary. The count beside each name is how many postings the figures come from.

CategoryMedianAvgMinMax
Engineering (3,994)$190K$194K$40K$545K
Sales & Business Development (1,711)$150K$163K$45K$500K
Operations (885)$142K$146K$18K$400K
Marketing & Growth (693)$160K$162K$32K$425K
Healthcare & Care Services (581)$173K$157K$20K$350K
Finance & Legal (577)$163K$167K$30K$365K
Customer Success & Support (545)$120K$125K$12K$278K
Data & AI (542)$195K$200K$53K$517K
Product (483)$195K$196K$68K$453K
Hardware & Science (349)$158K$168K$40K$500K
Design (284)$175K$175K$45K$332K
People & Talent (271)$150K$151K$35K$450K
Field & Trades (54)$120K$123K$60K$265K
Education (40)$77K$84K$35K$176K
Retail & Hospitality (24)$80K$90K$55K$185K

Salary by industry

What roles pay by industry, in USD, from postings that state a salary. The count beside each name is how many postings the figures come from.

IndustryMedianAvgMinMax
Healthcare (1,467)$165K$161K$14K$575K
AI & Machine Learning (1,264)$208K$214K$35K$545K
Fintech & Payments (1,065)$175K$172K$30K$445K
Aerospace & Defense (802)$160K$166K$58K$388K
Robotics & Manufacturing (734)$195K$190K$40K$425K
Climate & Energy (709)$150K$152K$33K$325K
Developer Tools & Infrastructure (679)$185K$183K$16K$360K
Marketing & Sales (495)$165K$168K$45K$375K
Construction & Real Estate (475)$140K$149K$10K$450K
Cybersecurity (450)$175K$181K$48K$347K
Biotech & Life Sciences (433)$171K$177K$20K$375K
Mobility & Logistics (381)$165K$161K$60K$425K
Legal, Compliance & GovTech (329)$170K$178K$46K$386K
Consumer & Lifestyle (310)$140K$150K$12K$315K
Media & Gaming (292)$168K$171K$12K$450K
HR & Recruiting (263)$156K$162K$45K$338K
Business & Operations Software (235)$170K$169K$28K$490K
Insurance (231)$180K$175K$52K$338K
Education (177)$116K$132K$35K$350K
Commerce & Retail (147)$146K$145K$18K$350K
Crypto & Web3 (122)$180K$174K$30K$385K
Other (83)$155K$151K$59K$279K

Salary by experience level

What roles pay by experience level, in USD, from postings that state a salary. The count beside each name is how many postings the figures come from.

Seniority classification changed on 13 September 2026: Manager in a job title no longer sets the experience level. Earlier reports retain the previous classification, so comparisons across this date can reflect the correction.

Experience levelMedianAvgMinMax
Senior (2,150)$180K$181K$45K$413K
Lead (792)$193K$194K$18K$500K
Director (563)$198K$206K$27K$495K
Junior (297)$95K$102K$35K$280K
Head (266)$222K$233K$95K$500K
VP (130)$259K$259K$150K$450K
C-level (70)$200K$218K$65K$425K
Intern (6)$101K$99K$40K$163K
Mid-level (3)$140K$118K$70K$145K

Where these figures come from

Figures come only from postings that state a salary, counted as full-time yearly pay. Contract, internship and per-month rates are still listed on the site but left out of these averages. Nothing is converted between currencies, and every figure shows how many postings it is based on.

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