TLDR: A recent report by Deel and Carta reveals a stark contrast in tech compensation: median salaries for engineering and data roles in India plummeted by 40% to $22,000 in 2025, down from $36,000. Conversely, US-based tech professionals experienced a 23% surge in median compensation, reaching record highs, largely driven by intense competition for AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity talent.
The landscape of global technology compensation is undergoing a significant divergence, with Indian tech professionals facing a substantial downturn in earnings while their counterparts in the United States experience a robust surge, primarily fueled by the burgeoning artificial intelligence sector. A joint report from payroll and compliance platform Deel and equity management firm Carta highlights this widening chasm.
According to the report, median compensation for engineering and data roles in India has nosedived by 40%, dropping to $22,000 in 2025 from $36,000 just a year prior. This sharp decline marks a rare occurrence in India’s typically thriving digital economy. Experts attribute this trend to several factors, including a reduction in global remote work contracts, a resurgence of in-office mandates in Western markets, and a significant correction in startup valuations, which has eroded the value of equity-linked compensation.
This sentiment reflects a broader shift in the Indian tech industry, moving from the exuberant hiring sprees observed in 2021–22 to a more pragmatic and cost-conscious scaling approach in 2024–25. The report paints a sobering picture for India’s tech workforce, who were once considered the vanguards of the country’s IT success story and are now bearing the brunt of global recalibration.
In stark contrast, the United States presents a different narrative. Median compensation for US-based tech professionals soared by 23% in 2025, reaching unprecedented levels. This surge is a direct result of intensified competition for specialized roles, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. As AI continues to reshape industries, companies are engaged in a fierce bidding war to attract and retain engineers proficient in large language models, data architecture, and machine learning deployment, driving wages significantly upwards in major tech hubs such as San Francisco, Austin, and New York.
The report also sheds light on India’s quiet achievement in gender pay parity within the tech sector. Despite the overall dip in compensation, India has demonstrated near gender equality in tech roles, with sales achieving full gender parity, a feat many Western economies are still striving to accomplish.
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- Tech Industry Faces Major Workforce Cuts in 2025 as AI Reshapes Global Roles
- Women’s Role in India’s AI and ML Workforce Projected to Quadruple by 2027, Kalaari Capital Report Highlights Growth and Challenges
This emerging divide between India and the US is more than just a reflection of macroeconomic forces; it signals a redrawing of the global geography of work. For India, this short-term pay decline could foster long-term resilience, as companies may restructure compensation models towards more sustainable, performance-linked pay rather than inflated global parity. For the US, while the escalation in wages is a boon for talent, it also serves as a warning, fueling innovation but simultaneously intensifying cost pressures in an already expensive labor market. As the economic landscape realigns, the digital economy’s workforce is no longer moving in unison, with compensation becoming a new fault line in the ongoing balance between ambition and affordability.
