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C#, Microsoft’s fast, scalable, cross-platform language, continues to grow in popularity and is now one of the most-used programming languages in the world. Software developers appreciate its easier memory management, robust support and documentation, and structure. It also happens to be the Netherlands’ sixth most-used programming language. In this article, we’ll examine average C# developer salaries by experience in the Netherlands, along with how these compare with Python and Java.
Average junior C# developer salary trends
C# developers in the early stages of their careers with 2-4 years of experience can expect to take home an average annual income of €38 869. At this level, they see the biggest gap with Python developers, who earn 8.9% (€3 780) more but see slightly lower salary increases as they progress through their careers. Java devs, meanwhile, earn 10.5% (€4 554) more.
A solid 15.8% (€6 139) raise in the 4-6 year experience bracket sees a C# developer’s salary grow to €45 008. That closes the gap to Python devs, who at this level earn 5.6% (€2 669) more, while Java developers pull ahead to earn 14.9% (€7 870) more.
While it lags behind Python and Java in terms of demand – and salary – C# proficiency is still highly sought-after, especially with its suitability for indie game development coupled with the burgeoning number of websites that use the ASP.NET framework.
Average C# developer salaries by experience
Average Salary by Years Experience, showing 25th and 75th percentiles
| Years of Experience | 25th Percentile | Average | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-4 | €34,560 | €38,869 | €43,500 |
| 4-6 | €37,350 | €45,008 | €53,400 |
| 6-10 | €39,600 | €51,989 | €65,000 |
| 10-15 | €53,400 | €67,135 | €83,000 |
Average senior C# developer salary trends
Income growth stays consistent once C# developers reach the 6-10 year mark, with a 15.5% (€6 981) raise making for an average salary of €51 989. That brings them pretty close to senior Python devs, who have a 4.1% (€2 200) lead, while Java developers stay consistent at 14.4% (€8 750) ahead.
There’s great news for Dutch developers who stick with C# in the long run, however. With 10-15 years on the job, they can expect a pay hike almost double that of anything they’ve received before – jumping a massive 29.1% (€15 146) to an average annual income of €67 135. That’s actually 2.4% (€1 542) more than similarly experienced Python developers, although it still lags behind Java by 9.3% (€6 921).
C# is renowned for being easy to learn, but mastery is another thing. Moreover, on top of designing, developing and testing applications, senior C# developers typically need to manage and mentor teams of more junior developers. With demand for the language seemingly only set to grow, it’s perhaps unsurprising that developers with the right skills and extensive experience see such significant salary growth.
Keep in mind
The data in this article is taken from StackOverflow’s 2022 Developer Survey’s open data. In this article, ‘salary’ refers to the gross annual salary (before tax) provided by 200 survey respondents from the Netherlands who identified as C# developers.
We only included salary insights for experience levels with enough data points to ensure that the amounts represent C# developers in the country. That’s why we excluded salaries for developers with fewer than two and more than fifteen years of experience in this article.
We also ran an outlier analysis to identify data points skewing the distribution of salaries. These points were removed from the final dataset to ensure that the amounts are representative of C# developers in the Netherlands. We’ve also included the 25th and 75th percentiles to give you further information about the distribution of salary data.
Average salaries are single data points and only one part of a bigger story. Many respondents may earn significantly more or significantly less than these averages. However, we hope to show 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 company size, industry, individual, perks and nature of the work. These factors all influence the salary a company will offer to a prospective hire. In addition, most developers are “fluent” in several languages and work across multiple roles, which will also affect the final figures.
It’s also important to remember that every individual’s context is different. Salary is a personal conversation that should take place between employee and employer.
Related resources
- 2023 Netherlands report: State of the Software Developer Nation
- How to Negotiate a Job Offer That's More Than Just the Money
- Developer Salary Hub
- How to Benchmark Your Salary Expectations as a Developer in 2023
- How to Negotiate when Hiring Developers
- Python Developer Salary Trends in the Netherlands
- TypeScript Developer Salary Trends in the Netherlands
- React Developer Salary Trends in the Netherlands
- Software Developer Salary Trends in the Netherlands
- Angular Developer Salary Trends in the Netherlands
- Java Developer Salary Trends in the Netherlands
- Node.js Developer Salary Trends in the Netherlands
- Vue.js Developer Salary Trends in the Netherlands