Mid Year Update | 2026 Django Developer Salary Report

Every January I put out my 2026 Django Developer Salary Report. Now, 6 months on it feels like the right time to look back at it and be honest about what has held up and what has moved.

The short version... Most of it is the same. But a few things have shifted enough at the halfway point of the year that they're worth a post of their own.

I've been recruiting in the Python and Django world since 2008 and this is written the same way the report was. From real conversations with developers, founders and engineering leaders, alongside the actual roles Foxley Talent has worked on so far this year.

You can download the original report HERE or look back at the accompanying blog post and my analysis HERE

What the report got right

The report suggests that 2026 would be a year of steady, sustainable growth rather than a dramatic rebound. That's exactly how it has played out so far.

Confidence to bring in new Django Developers has continued to grow, particularly from the companies that came through the last few years without over hiring. More of them are now taking on multiple developers across a 6 to 12 month period instead of making one cautious hire and stopping there.

In the US the reversal of Section 174 has done what I thought it would and pushed more companies to invest in domestic engineering teams again.

The salary bands from the report are broadly holding. No dramatic jumps and no falling off a cliff. If you want the full breakdown by level and region it's all still relevant in the original report.

So the overall picture is a good one. Here's what has changed.

1. AI has gone from talking point to the main event

At the start of the year AI was a hot topic. Halfway through it's clearly here to stay and it's changing how teams are built.

I'm seeing companies split into two camps. Some are folding AI into their existing stack and workflow and quietly getting on with it. Others are going all in and specifically hiring senior engineers to manage the agents and building the team around them.

Either way this is now a real factor in Django hiring.

If you're a developer, being able to show you can genuinely work with these tools and manage them rather than just poke at them is fast becoming a way to stand out. That's especially true at the senior end.

2. More jobs, but the fight is for the best people

The new job numbers are coming back. That's the good news and it matches what the report predicted. The catch is that companies are now battling for the best talent again, not just filling seats. And this is where I'm watching some teams trip over their own feet.

If you're a company still insisting on full time onsite, you're going to lose out on the best people. They have options again and they'll prioritise the company that trusts them to work hybrid or remotely. That's just the reality of this market.

My advice to companies hiring this year is simple. Tighten up your process and make it efficient. A slow, clunky process loses good people to faster ones. Time kills hires. And remember to actually sell your company while you're at it. The best developers are interviewing you as much as you're interviewing them, so give them a reason to choose you.

Check out the Foxley Talent Job Board for some of our latest positions. Check your current job advert vs your competitors. See what they are looking for in their next hire and look at what flexibility (or lack of it) they are offering too.

3. Stop using AI to write your CV

This one is turning into a bit of a broken record for me, but it matters more every month.

In the report I wrote that standing out as a genuine human is now a competitive advantage. Six months on I'd put it more bluntly. Stop using AI to write your CV.

They all look the same! Same phrases, same layout and the same "polish" with nothing real underneath. A recruiter or hiring manager reads a dozen of them a day and skips straight past these now... In a pile full of AI noise, the resume written in a real person's own words is the one that actually gets read.

I wrote a full guide on it recently. Have a read of how to write a Python developer resume that gets you hired.

4. Contractors are being utilised more and more

Something else I've noticed this year is that companies are bringing in contractors again. This is a flexible resource booked onto a team for a fixed spell, usually 3, 6 or 12 months.

It's nowhere near the levels we saw before Covid, and the rates are sensibly pitched so I'm not calling it a boom. But it's encouraging to see. For me, this tends to point to companies feeling confident enough to get things moving without committing to a permanent headcount straight away. Another trend in the right direction!

If you're a developer who's open to contract work this kind of employment is worth keeping an eye on. And if you're a company with a project that needs momentum, a good contractor can be a quick way to add the skills you need.

Recruiting Python/Django Contractors was actually how I started out on my 18+ year journey. If you want to add a contractor to your team, please get in touch!

Where that leaves us

2026 is doing what I hoped it would. Jobs are coming to market and being filled quickly by good developers. The difference now is that the bar is higher on both sides.

For developers that means being intentional, being human and being realistic. For companies it means competing on more than salary and getting your own house in order before you start hiring.

If your company is hiring in the second half of the year, or you're a Django developer starting to think about a move, come and have a chat. Recruiting Python and Django people is all I do and I'm happy to talk through what the market looks like in your region.