Front-End Developer Jobs & Salary

You’ve graduated college, code school or watched enough YouTube videos to become a web developer – or you want a raise – now what? If you know enough JavaScript and UI principles, then you can get started at a front-end developer job making a decent salary. The team at Gennovcap has put together a helpful resource for new or experienced front-end developers to get hired and get a raise.

Looking to hire instead? Then check out our guide to help non-technical business owners find the right app developers here.

Knowing what you’re worth can be challenging, but thankfully in tech there’s a lot of public data we can use to make sure you’re compensated fairly. For example, we can search Glassdoor to see that there are 1,414 front-end developer jobs in Austin, TX. The average salary is $76,350 with a range from $53,000 to $117,000. That’s a $5,000 higher front-end web developer salary than the average in nearby Dallas.

On Payscale the average front-end developer salary in the United States is $71,790 with a range between $48,000 and $109,000. The range is similar but significantly lower than Glassdoor’s estimates. Payscale has a highly-customizable salary report for you to input your location, skills and years of experience into for a more detailed estimate.

Using Dice’s Salary Predictor, an entry-level front-end developer in Austin, TX can expect a salary between $50,000 and $67,000. If they have 5 years of experience, the front-end web developer’s salary can increase to an average of $58,500 to $77,500. With Adobe experience to help with UX, they could see an increase by 7% in their pay.

Don’t Forget Living Costs

How much you’re paid is only one factor in whether one front-end web developer job is better than another. Average living costs can vary dramatically depending on where you live. According to one analysis on Thinkful, the higher salaries of NYC and Silicon Valley don’t necessarily make up for their sky-high living costs. When adjusting for cost of living, the best states for compensation are:

1. Texas: $85,693
2. Virginia: $84,222
3. Utah: $83,821
4. Illinois: $82,820
5. Wyoming: $80,466 

California came in 23rd with only $69,724 and New York at 32 at $64,483. Money isn’t everything, but think twice before moving to the two obvious tech hubs simply to earn a higher front-end developer salary.

Six skills that will increase a Front-End Developer’s salary

Experience and location are the biggest factors in how much a web developer gets paid. But what specific frameworks they know and their ability to test code can increase their pay too. Please note: all Dice stats are based upon the location of Austin, TX with 3 years of experience.

• Backbone.js: Knowing how to use this Model-View-Controller framework can boost your salary by up to 8% according to Dice’s salary calculator. That’s more than any other JavaScript library.
• LESS: Front-End Web Developers salary will see an average increase of 5% if they know LESS. Plus, the demand for it is predicted to increase over the coming years.
• Drupal: Web Developers that know how to customize the UI in Drupal will still be sought after for the foreseeable future – and they’ll see a 5% increase in their salary. 
• Jasmine: Mastering this JavaScript testing framework results in a modest 3% increase in salary. But demand for developers with Jasmine is steadily increasing.
• RESTful: Learning REpresentational State Transfer architecture won’t just speed up a web application, but your career too. Like Jasmine, it’s another skill with a sharp increase in demand as it begins replacing SOAP.
• React.js: According to Payscale, knowing this JavaScript library created by Facebook could boost your salary by 13% – far more than other frameworks.

For another perspective on what skills could lead to a raise, read this excellent post by Scott Morris at SkillCrush.

9 Websites to Find Front-End Developer Jobs

The more jobs a web developer gets offered, the easier it is to ask for a higher salary. Here are 9 job boards that are less saturated than LinkedIN or Indeed, to find more opportunities. This should help get multiple offers.

• AwesomeJobs: If the idea of working remotely sounds awesome, then AwesomeJobs is an excellent aggregator. You’ll need to scroll through for the front-end developer jobs though, as they don’t offer the most precise of filters or search options. 
• Zippia: Their job board is an extensive curation of openings posted directly to corporate sites and the big tech recruiting sites. Zippia also offers thorough insights into what a career as a front-end web developer is like.
• VueJobs: There’s a growing demand among UI developers for coders with skills Vue.js. This niche job board helps connect opportunities with front end developers with knowledge in the framework. They also feature affordable courses for those wanting to learn Vue.js.
• Built In: If you live nearby or are willing to move to Austin, Boston, Chicago, Colorado, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco or Seattle – then Built In is one of the more exciting tech job boards to look for work. Check the recruiting events they organize in the community sites they have set up for the big tech hubs.

• Landing.job: If you want to work in Europe, then this is the tech job board for you. There are dozens of jobs for front-end web developers from Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and more. If you’re relocating, they also feature helpful resources for workers depending on which country you hope to live.
• SmartRecruiters: A worldwide aggregator with dozens of job listings for UI developers. SmartRecruiters makes it easy to apply to multiple opportunities by creating a SmartProfile.
• AngularJobs: Another prolific curation of jobs for UI developers proficient in various JavaScript frameworks. AngularJobs has opportunities throughout the United States, Canada, the UK and India. They also feature a LinkedIN Group for Angular developers here.
• Idealist: Depending on where you live in the US, Idealist may have some front end developer jobs to apply for. You won’t just be making a decent salary, but a difference in the world.
• Motion Recruitment: It’s an active board to find UI developer jobs AND a recruiting service you can submit your resume to. All of their listings are transparent about what the salary is.

If you’re looking for even more job boards, check out our extensive list of websites to find remote and freelance work as a coder here.

Career Paths for Web Developers

Learning new skills won’t only lead to a higher salary in your current position, but help advance your career. Below are some of the most lucrative and/or common career paths for front-end developers. Please note: all Dice stats are based upon the location of Austin, TX with 3 years of experience.

• Angular JS Developer: There are only 30 openings for Angular JS Developers on Dice at the time of publishing this article. But they have an average 23% higher salary than standard front-end developer jobs.
• UX Designer: If you want to spend more time wireframing and using photoshop than coding, transitioning into a UX Designer could lead to a 9% increase in average salary.
• Lead UI Developer: Another more difficult to find position, but results in a sharp 36% average increase in salary.
• Senior Software Engineer: On Zippia, one of the common progressions for a front-end developer is to become a Senior Software engineer which pays on average $109,000.
• Chief Technology Officer: Becoming a CTO is the most lucrative career path for web developers according to Zippia. You’ll need to work well with people and have 10+ years of experience, but you’ll be rewarded with a hefty $153,000 salary.

Additional Reading: BitDegree has put together another excellent resource for helping web developers determine how much they should expect to be paid.