FDE Council’s November salary report: US median total pay $225K, posting bases still sit lower

FDE Council published Volume 1, Issue 2 of its monthly FDE Salary Report with a data cut-off of 6 November 2026. The headline figure is Levels.fyi’s self-reported US median total compensation of $225,000 a year (middle half $172,000–$292,000, n=157), up from $220,000 (n=160) in the October edition. The same Levels.fyi view puts median base at $175,000; the gap is mostly equity and bonus that job ads leave out.

Posted-base studies still sit lower. FDE Pulse’s midpoint moved from $186,000 to $176,000 (192 of 1,187 postings); Recruiting from Scratch remains at a $200,000 midpoint for seed–Series B startup ads; Aced (formerly Exponent) reports a $190,000 posted-base median across 135 postings. By level, FDE Pulse’s November 6 midpoints are $160,000 mid-level (121 postings), $204,000 senior/staff (37), and $202,000 manager/lead (29)—with senior/staff now above the October $191,000 midpoint.

For FDEs comparing offers, the report’s practical point matches earlier pay coverage on fde.me: do not line a base-only posting against a Levels.fyi total-comp median. Location colour is thin this month—the Bay Area Levels page could not be re-read on 6 November (October had $230,000 median TC there), while New York Levels median TC is $225,000 (n=58). Lightcast’s demand counts are unchanged: roughly 200 US FDE postings in 2024, about 1,200 in 2025, and more than 5,200 in January–July 2026 alone.