What do US companies pay Americans living in Europe?
Start from the US reference numbers: a software engineer runs $180,659 in San Francisco, $160,109 in New York and $139,718 across the rest of the US, base salary (Built In, 2026). A European contract anchors below those columns, and a useful rule is 45 to 50% below the San Francisco figure for the same role. The full table for eight roles is below, sourced and dated.
You moved. Your experience didn't. The local market prices you against local CVs, which is exactly the wrong ruler for someone who spent a decade selling to, building for, or supporting US customers. When a US company hires you where you live, the negotiation runs off a different table, and most candidates walk into it without the numbers. Here they are.
The reference table, eight roles
Base salary, tech industry, from Built In's 2026 data, with two rows shown as Glassdoor ranges:
| Role | San Francisco | New York | Rest of US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineer | $180,659 | $160,109 | $139,718 |
| Product manager | $169,414 | $134,628 | $133,231 |
| BDR / AE | $122,572 | $93,443 | $104,062 |
| Marketing manager | $120,408 | $97,319 | $94,787 |
| Head of Sales (range) | $142–257k | $128–233k | $109–204k |
| Director, Sales / Marketing | $196,888 | $170,249 | $150,484 |
| VP, Sales / Marketing | $264,939 | $205,502 | $207,340 |
| Customer Success Manager (range) | $87–130k | $75–121k | $69–113k |
Funded scaleups pay above the all-tech average: Carta puts new-hire engineering base at $189k against a $140k national blend. Treat these figures as the conservative end.
How to read it from a kitchen table in Valencia
Three things turn the table into a negotiating position. First, pick the right column: a company that competes for San Francisco talent budgets against the San Francisco figure, and a distributed company usually budgets against the rest-of-US column. Ask where they hire at home and you know which ruler they hold.
Second, apply the discount honestly. A European contract priced 45 to 50% below the San Francisco column is in the band where these hires happen. That is not generosity and it is not an insult: the employer's total cost includes contributions your payslip never shows, and your cost of living does the rest of the arithmetic. The calculator runs your role, your country and both sides of the math.
Third, hold the anchor in the contract's currency. European contracts pay in euros, and a dollar figure in your head is a euro figure on paper. At late-August 2026 rates a dollar buys about €0.86, and a 45% discount taken in the wrong currency quietly becomes a bigger one.
Why the local market can't price you
A hiring manager in Madrid reading your CV sees job titles from companies they may not know, at compensation that looks like a typo. That is not a flaw in the CV. It is a ruler mismatch, and the fix is selling into the market that can read you: US companies hiring where you live, and European companies selling into the US who need what you grew up knowing. Both exist, and both pay against the table above, which is the entire reason this firm exists.
Questions candidates ask
Do US companies pay full US salaries to people living in Europe?
Offers anchor below the US city columns. A European contract priced 45 to 50% below the San Francisco figure for the role is in the band where these hires happen. Where you land inside it depends on the role, the country and what you can show.
Which US city column should I anchor on?
The one the company hires against at home. Ask where their last three hires sat. The spread between columns is your negotiating range.
Are these figures base or total compensation?
Base, from Built In's 2026 tech data, with two rows as Glassdoor ranges. Commercial roles add variable pay on top.
What does the employer pay on top of my salary?
Employer contributions on a European contract run from about 21% in Spain to about 38% in Italy, on top of gross. That is their budget line, not yours, and knowing it exists makes you a better negotiator. The employer side is covered in our guide for the companies hiring you.
Sources
- US base salaries: Built In, 2026 tech salary data. Head of Sales and Customer Success rows: Glassdoor ranges.
- Scaleup premium: Carta, new-hire engineering base $189k against a $140k national blend.
- Exchange rate: EUR/USD 1.1666, 26 August 2026.
- Employer contribution band (21% Spain to 38% Italy): national social security schedules, verified August 2026.
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