News

Careers Site: iOS Coding Pays More than Android

• By David Ramel
• October 4, 2017

Not only do Apple's mobile devices cost more, but developing for them also pays more, according to careers site Dice.

Dice compared iOS and Android salaries across five major U.S. metropolitan areas, using its new Salary Calculator that was announced last month.

The research confirms the obvious observation that Apple's mobile efforts are a plane above Android in several financial aspects: iOS devices cost more; iOS users spend more on apps; and now, iOS development pays more -- about $7,000 more on average.

The salary calculator measures in-demand skills and adjusts ranges as skills are added to a profile.

Without adding any distinct skills, here are the results for a mobile developer with three years of experience:

New York
iOS: $91,494 – $118,942 / average $105,218
Android: $84,203 – $109,464 / average $96,834

Dallas
iOS: $79,721 – $103,637 / average $91,709
Android: $75,651 – $98,346 / average $86,999

Seattle
iOS: $84,176 – $109,429 / average $96,803
Android: $77,964 – $101,353 / average $89,659

Silicon Valley, Calif.
iOS: $87,901 – $114,271 / average $101,086
Android: $81,015 – $105,320 / average $93,168

Los Angeles
iOS: $85,759 – $111,487 / average $98,623
Android: $79,041 – $102,753 / average $90,897

That results in these average salary bumps for iOS coders for each area:

• New York: $8,384
• Dallas: $4,710
• Seattle: $7,144
• Silicon Valley: $7,918
• Los Angeles: $7,726

"As you can see from the ranges and average salaries, iOS development is more lucrative," Dice said. "The absolute average across the board is $7,176; that's a pretty distinct discrepancy between iOS and Android. If you're debating which platform to pursue, $7,000 is nothing to sneeze at."