How much do jobs that ask for Kafka pay?

$180,000 to $240,500 for the middle half, median $213,000, from 530 paid postings from 242 employers. Other postings that list skills advertise a median $166,500.

Does Kafka increase pay?

Matched on function, level and industry, postings that list Kafka advertise +6.2% (about $12k a year) more than similar postings that do not. That is a difference in advertised pay between postings, not proof that learning the skill raises a salary.

Which jobs list Kafka most?

Engineering (329 postings), Data & Analytics (150 postings), Security (14 postings).

Kafka salary: what jobs that ask for it advertise

Name: Advertised pay in U.S. job postings that list Kafka
Creator: NextChapter

Postings that list Kafka advertise a median $213,000 (530 paid postings from 242 employers), against $166,500 for other postings that list skills. Matched on function, level and industry the gap is +6.2%, about $12k a year.

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By Justin KullaLast updated November 3, 2026

Kafka pay range

From 530 paid postings from 242 employers that list it. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter: $180,000
Median: $213,000
Upper quarter: $240,500
Median without it: $166,500

Raw gap: +27.9%. This includes the seniority and field of the roles that list the skill.
Gap with function, level and industry matched: +6.2% (about $12k a year), across 340 postings in 8 comparison cells.

Where Kafka is asked for

The functions with the most postings that list it.

Skills with the highest median pay in the same function.

Questions about this data

How much do jobs that ask for Kafka pay?: $180,000 to $240,500 for the middle half, median $213,000, from 530 paid postings from 242 employers. Other postings that list skills advertise a median $166,500.
Does Kafka increase pay?: Matched on function, level and industry, postings that list Kafka advertise +6.2% (about $12k a year) more than similar postings that do not. That is a difference in advertised pay between postings, not proof that learning the skill raises a salary.
Which jobs list Kafka most?: Engineering (329 postings), Data & Analytics (150 postings), Security (14 postings).

Method, download and how to cite

Data as of November 3, 2026. Rebuilt daily.

Pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posted (or stated in the posting text), converted to a year, on live U.S. professional jobs. It is advertised pay, not what anyone is paid.

A “gap, job mix matched” compares postings inside cells of the same function, level and industry, so a group is not credited for simply holding more senior or better-paid roles. It needs 150 or more postings across at least 5 cells with 15 postings on each side, and is shown as n/a otherwise. A gap is a difference in advertised pay between postings. It does not show that a skill, an industry or an employer size causes higher pay.

Download the CSV (aggregates only; no posting, employer or person is in it). Cite as: NextChapter, “Advertised pay in U.S. job postings that list Kafka”, data as of November 3, 2026, https://launchyournextchapter.com/resources/pay-data/skills/kafka

See also the AI skills salary premium, which uses the same method for AI skills only, and the salary by job title pages.

More pay data

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