JavaScript Developer Salary Trends in South Africa

07 July 2023, by Josh Nel

JavaScript is the most widely used programming language by South African developers. 55.5% of South African developers list it as a primary programming language. Here’s an overview of what South African JavaScript developers earn at each stage of their careers and how they compare to those of React and TypeScript developers.

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Junior and entry-level JavaScript developer salary trends

Average salaries for entry-level JavaScript developers in South Africa start at R21 769, 10.8% higher than 2022’s average for JavaScript developers at this career stage. At this point of their careers, they earn 6.8% less than the average entry-level TypeScript developer and 8.8% less than React developers with fewer than two years of experience.

Salaries for junior JavaScript developers rise by 40.5% to an average of R30 587 after they gain two years of experience. They now earn 11.2% less than their TypeScript counterparts but the gap between themselves and junior React developers has narrowed to 6.4%.

After they’ve been in the profession for four years, salaries for JavaScript developers increase by 43.7% to an average of R43 940. Despite this increase, average salaries for JavaScript developers still trail those for TypeScript and React developers with comparable experience.

Average JavaScript Developer Salaries by Experience

Average Salary by Years Experience, showing 25th and 75th percentiles

Years of Experience	25th Percentile	Average	75th Percentile
0-2	R10,000	R21,769	R26,500
2-4	R17,500	R30,587	R37,500
4-6	R27,500	R43,940	R52,500
6-10	R42,500	R63,359	R72,500
10-15	R57,500	R83,470	R97,500

Senior JavaScript developer salary trends

Salary growth for JavaScript developers shoots up once they reach higher levels of seniority. Senior JavaScript developers with at least six years of experience can look forward to a 44.2% increase. This is the most significant increase of their careers and gives them an average monthly salary of R63 359. However, they still earn 6.1% and 5.7% less than their TypeScript and React counterparts, respectively.

Once they pass the ten year mark, they can expect an additional 31.7% increase to R83 470.

A developer’s primary programming language and experience are not the only factors affecting their salary. Their role also affects what they can expect to earn across their careers.

Front end JavaScript developer salary trends

JavaScript is the most-used language by frontend developers in South Africa. Here, we’ll look at how average salaries for frontend JavaScript developers compare to the averages for all JavaScript developers.

Entry-level frontend JavaScript developers start out with an average salary of R20 789 per month, 4.5% less than the average for entry-level JavaScript developers as a whole.

This increases by 28.8% to an average of R30 587 once they’ve been in the profession for at least two years. However, the gap between them and junior JavaScript as a whole has widened to 12.4%.

Mid-level frontend JavaScript developers with at least four years of experience can expect a 42.5% increase, giving them an average monthly salary of R38 152.

Senior frontend JavaScript developers with six to ten years of experience also see their most significant increase at this stage of their careers. They can look forward to a 58.4% bump, giving them an average salary of R60 446. As a result of this, they’ve narrowed the gap between themselves and JavaScript developers as a whole to 4.6%

Once they pass the ten-year mark, they see an additional 20.7% to R72 954. However, the earnings gap has widened again to 12.6%.

Average Frontend JavaScript Developer Salaries

Years of Experience	25th Percentile	Average	75th Percentile
0-2	R10,000	R20,789	R26,500
2-4	R17,500	R26,780	R37,500
4-6	R27,500	R38,152	R52,500
6-10	R42,500	R60,446	R70,500
10-15	R57,500	R72,954	R86,500

Keep in mind

The data in this article is taken from OfferZen’s 2023 State of the Software Developer Nation Report. In this article, ‘salary’ refers to the gross monthly salary (before tax) provided by more than 4500 survey respondents.

Average salaries are single data points and only one part of a bigger story. It’s expected that many respondents may earn significantly more or less than these averages. However, we hope to provide a picture of underlying trends by mapping the average salaries for different experience levels.

These averages should not be used to estimate what your actual salary will or should be.

Salaries depend on the industry, individual, perks and nature of work. These factors all influence the salary a company will offer to a prospective hire. In addition, most developers are “fluent” in several languages, which will affect the final figures.

It’s also important to remember that every individual’s context is different. Ultimately, salary is a personal conversation that should take place between employee and employer.

On OfferZen you can hire JavaScript developers and find JavaScript developer jobs.