Skip to salary data
Salaries

Backend Developer.

Jackson.

$109,000

median salary, 18% below the national average

$85,000 to $139,000. Last updated August 2026.

Close the job.

Get the job.

Data points to own the conversation.

Jackson is 21% cheaper than the national average. For Backend Developers, that shakes out to a median of $109,000, with the full range spanning $85,000 to $139,000. Language specialization, distributed systems experience, and database optimization skills are the primary differentiators. Know the range before you walk in. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.

Salary range.

25th Percentile

$85,000

per year

Median

$109,000

per year

75th Percentile

$139,000

per year

Where do you fall?

$85,000$139,000

Orbyt estimate for Backend Developer in Jackson, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.

Government benchmark for this occupation

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $96,990 for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in the Jackson, MS metropolitan area, based on 550 employed workers (May 2025 release).

10th percentile

$61,950

25th percentile

$75,490

Median

$96,990

75th percentile

$124,590

90th percentile

$155,420

Workers surveyed

550

BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) rather than Backend Developer specifically. The Jackson range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.

View the BLS source for SOC 15-1252

Salary by experience.

The gap between entry and lead level is typically $98,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.

Entry (0-2 yrs)

$71,000

to $87,000

Mid (3-5 yrs)

$93,000

to $114,000

Senior (6-9 yrs)

$120,000

to $142,000

Lead (10+ yrs)

$136,000

to $169,000

Total compensation.

Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $24,000 to the total package.

Base

$109,000

Equity

$13,000

Bonus

$9,000

Signing

$2,000

Estimated total: $133,000

Backend Developer salary by company.

Backend Developer total compensation by company in Jackson
CompanyTotal Comp Range
Google$125,000 to $146,000
Amazon$121,000 to $136,000
Meta$126,000 to $149,000
Apple$122,000 to $140,000
Netflix$130,000 to $158,000

Total compensation estimates include base, equity, bonus, and signing. Ranges reflect mid to senior level. Derived from public H-1B LCA filings (DOL).

How Jackson compares.

Jackson, MS

$109,000

Cost of living: 21% below average

National Average

$133,000

Jackson is $24,000 below

Backend Developer salary by city.

Backend Developer salary comparison across 10 cities
CityMedianRangeCOLAdjusted
San Jose, CA$187,000$145,000 to $238,0001.38x$136,000
San Francisco, CA$185,000$143,000 to $235,0001.35x$137,000
Honolulu, HI$176,000$137,000 to $224,0001.30x$135,000
New York, NY$175,000$136,000 to $223,0001.28x$137,000
Boston, MA$169,000$131,000 to $214,0001.22x$139,000
Seattle, WA$168,000$130,000 to $214,0001.24x$135,000
Los Angeles, CA$163,000$126,000 to $207,0001.18x$138,000
Washington DC, DC$160,000$124,000 to $203,0001.25x$128,000
San Diego, CA$157,000$122,000 to $200,0001.17x$134,000
Jackson, MS$109,000$85,000 to $139,0000.79x$138,000

See all 81 cities for Backend Developer →

Salary by role in Jackson.

Salary comparison by role in Jackson
RoleMedianRange
CTO$237,000$185,000 to $308,000
CEO$224,000$163,000 to $309,000
General Counsel$219,000$170,000 to $285,000
Backend Developer$109,000$85,000 to $139,000
Machine Learning Engineer$109,000$81,000 to $143,000
Computer Vision Applications Engineer$109,000$81,000 to $143,000
RAG Engineer$109,000$81,000 to $143,000
Full Stack Developer$109,000$85,000 to $139,000

What you should know.

Here is what the Backend Developer market actually looks like in Jackson. Jackson is Mississippi's capital and largest city, with an economy driven by government, healthcare, and energy. The University of Mississippi Medical Center is a major employer. Jackson offers some of the lowest living costs in the country, making even moderate salaries deliver substantial purchasing power. Language specialization, distributed systems experience, and database optimization skills are the primary differentiators. Backend developers proficient in Go, Rust, or Java for high throughput systems earn premiums. Experience with microservices architecture, message queues, and handling millions of requests per second significantly elevates compensation.

Junior backend developers start at $75,000 to $100,000, reaching mid level at $110,000 to $145,000 within two to three years. Senior backend developers earn $145,000 to $190,000. Staff engineers and architects at major companies can exceed $280,000 in total compensation including equity. In Jackson, your dollars stretch further. Cost of living runs 21% below the national average, which means even a median salary buys a stronger lifestyle.

Base salary is not the full picture. Equity grants at tech companies add $15,000 to $90,000 annually at senior levels. Bonuses of 8 to 15% are standard. Signing bonuses range from $15,000 to $40,000. Benefits frequently include compute credits, home lab stipends, and on call compensation for production support rotations. And on the tax side: mississippi's top income tax rate is 5%. Jackson has no city income tax. The very low cost of living means take home pay goes further here than almost any other metro. When someone quotes you $109,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.

On negotiation: Benchmark against regional healthcare and government pay scales. Jackson employers offer competitive benefits packages to compensate for lower base salaries. The range for Backend Developers in Jackson runs from $85,000 to $139,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.

Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology

Interactive

Is your offer competitive?

Enter your Backend Developer offer to see where you stand in Jackson.

$

25th

$85,000

Median

$109,000

75th

$139,000

Considering a related role?

Common questions.

Go and Rust developers currently command the highest premiums, earning 10 to 20% above the median. Java and C++ remain strong in enterprise and finance. Python pays well in AI adjacent roles. The specific language matters less than your ability to design scalable, maintainable systems.

System design expertise is the single most impactful skill for salary growth beyond the mid level. Developers who can architect distributed systems, design for fault tolerance, and optimize for scale are the ones who reach staff engineer compensation. This skill differentiates $130,000 roles from $200,000+ roles.

In Jackson, large enterprises typically pay Backend Developers 10 to 20% more in base salary than small companies, but startups often compensate with equity that can exceed base salary value. Equity grants at tech companies add $15,000 to $90,000 annually at senior levels. The $85,000 to $139,000 range reflects this entire spectrum.

Many Jackson employers are shifting toward skills based hiring for Backend Developer positions. While a degree can accelerate your path to the median salary of $109,000, demonstrated experience, certifications, and a strong portfolio carry significant weight. Candidates without degrees may start closer to $85,000 but can reach the upper end of that range with three to five years of proven results.

Language specialization, distributed systems experience, and database optimization skills are the primary differentiators. Backend developers proficient in Go, Rust, or Java for high throughput systems earn premiums. Experience with microservices architecture, message queues, and handling millions of requests per second significantly elevates compensation. In Jackson, these factors can push compensation from $85,000 to $139,000 or beyond.

Ask about equity structure, vesting schedule, annual bonus targets, 401(k) match, health insurance premiums, PTO policy, and remote flexibility. Equity grants at tech companies add $15,000 to $90,000 annually at senior levels. In Jackson's market, these extras can add $27,250 or more on top of the base salary.

Relevant certifications can add 5 to 15% to a Backend Developer's base salary in Jackson. Specifically, language specialization, distributed systems experience, and database optimization skills are the primary differentiators. In a market where the range spans $85,000 to $139,000, certifications often bridge the gap between the median and the top of the range.

Backend Developer salary in other cities.

Other salaries in Jackson.

Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Backend Developers in Jackson.

Related tools.

Do you work as a backend developer in Jackson?

Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.

Add your salary

Cite this data

Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.

"Backend Developer Salary in Jackson, MS." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/backend-developer/jackson

Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.

Share

LinkedInX

Was this helpful?

You have the data.

Now own the conversation.

Start tracking your offers

Related tools

Salary CalculatorTake-Home PayTotal CompensationInterview PrepResume ScoreOrbyt JobsIntelligence API