Education

University H-1B filings and offered wages

The public record on H-1B hiring at universities and colleges: who files, what the filings offer, and the campus and market records that put them in context.

Data current as of Sep 2, 2026

What the records contain / DOL & NCES IPEDS disclosures

1,221IPEDS-linked employer recordsEmployer records joined to campuses by EIN 1,200Linked to cap-exempt campusesPublic or nonprofit IPEDS control 124,282Certified instructional filingsDOL LCA · H-1B · SOC 25-1xx

What XH1B calculates / Comparisons & market benchmarks

$84,000Median offered wage0% above the BLS postsecondary median $84,290BLS postsecondary medianMarket benchmark · not a campus pay record 153Below 50% of campus avg1,202 employer records have a comparison

How to read these figures

Filing counts and institution linkage are source records: DOL labor condition applications for postsecondary teaching occupations, joined to NCES IPEDS campus records by employer EIN. Wage comparisons are calculated: an employer-certified offer or a filed prevailing wage set against a BLS or campus benchmark. They are not verified payrolls: a filing records the employer's stated job, wage, and worker request, and it does not by itself confirm a hire or a paycheck. The flagged count applies a fixed 50% threshold to the campus comparison.

Definitions & methodology ↗

Structural mechanism

Cap-exempt employers can file outside the lottery.

Universities and nonprofit research institutes are exempt from the H-1B cap. For-profit employers compete for 85,000 lottery visas a year; cap-exempt institutions can sponsor without that limit. The comparisons on this page should be read with that structural difference in mind.

INA §214(g)(5) · A filing is not evidence of an actual hire

Open the record by state

State dossiers

Each state dossier combines county wage geography, institution rankings, cap-exempt filings, and enrollment context.

Occupation wage records →BLS method →

Geography · median filed wage vs BLS benchmark

Where filed faculty wages sit furthest below the benchmark.

Counties shaded by how far the median prevailing wage on certified instructional filings sits below the BLS national median for postsecondary teachers. Counties at 40% or more below BLS carry the deepest shade. Counties with fewer than 3 qualifying filings are not shaded.

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How the county comparison is calculated

The map compares the median prevailing wage on certified instructional LCAs in each county with the BLS national median for postsecondary teachers. It is a calculated comparison of filing records and a market benchmark. It does not identify an individual's faculty rank, workload, or confirmed employment.

Calculated · DOL LCA × IPEDS SAL_IS · 1,014 employer records

Filed wages against each campus's own instructional-pay record.

The median filed prevailing wage on each institution's instructional LCA filings, as a share of what the same institution reports paying all instructional staff (IPEDS SAL_IS, all ranks). The filing cohort spans every LCA status and visa class at instructional occupations, so it is broader than certified H-1B filings alone. Junior-rank hiring is one possible reason shares sit below 100%; this comparison cannot test rank, and its denominator mixes all ranks. The flagged count applies a fixed 50% threshold. Each comparison row is one matched employer record; several rows can link to the same campus.

One row per matched employer record. Median prevailing wages cover instructional LCA filings across all outcomes and visa classes, with year-unit prevailing wages from $20,000 to $1,000,000. Several employer records can link to the same campus.
			Campus staff avg
1The University of Texas at TylerTyler · TX · public	90	$42.9K	$203.7K	21%
2Northwestern UniversityEvanston · IL · private	498	$46.8K	$177.3K	26%
3University of ChicagoChicago · IL · private	36	$46.2K	$177K	26%
4Harvard UniversityCambridge · MA · private	829	$62.1K	$229.9K	27%
5California Institute of TechnologyPasadena · CA · private	79	$70.3K	$249.3K	28%
6Princeton UniversityPrinceton · NJ · private	525	$62.6K	$216.2K	29%
7University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia · PA · private	791	$57.1K	$189.7K	30%
8Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore · MD · private	156	$55K	$182.4K	30%

Worst single gap, head to headchart · 8 employer records in view

The University of Texas at Tyler (TX), 21% of campus average

Source records · DOL LCA · 1,500 employer records

Employer records with the largest instructional filing volume.

Ranked by instructional LCA filings across all outcomes and visa classes, with year-unit prevailing wages from $20,000 to $1,000,000. Each row is a matched employer record. Several records can link to one campus.

One row per matched employer record. Median prevailing wages cover instructional LCA filings across all outcomes and visa classes, with year-unit prevailing wages from $20,000 to $1,000,000. Several employer records can link to the same campus.
			Campus staff avg
1The Pennsylvania State University	1,455	$53K	--	--
2University of Michigan	1,426	$61.9K	--	--
3UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA	1,349	$60.8K	--	--
4Purdue University	1,340	$55K	--	--
5Texas A&M University-College StationCollege Station · TX · public	1,100	$53.9K	$133.6K	40%
6The Ohio State University	984	$56.5K	--	--
7University of Washington	958	$59.9K	--	--
8University of Illinois	955	$47.8K	--	--

Enrollment context · IPEDS EF_A · 5,913 institutions

International enrollment is context, not proof of a pipeline.

Institutions ranked by nonresident-alien share of fall enrollment. IPEDS nonresident alien is an enrollment reporting category. It does not identify a specific visa class or CPT work authorization.

IPEDS fall enrollment and directory survey year: 2023. Latest shared year in this archive; one row per institution (UNITID).

Institutions ranked by IPEDS nonresident-alien share of enrollment.
Institution				Linked filings
1Pacific States UniversityLos Angeles · CA · Private NP	100.0%	40	40	--
2South Texas Barber College IncCorpus Christi · TX · Private FP	100.0%	23	23	--
3California Institute of Advanced ManagementAlhambra · CA · Private NP	97.5%	159	163	1
4Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional CampusesAngola · IN · Private NP	94.4%	7,772	8,230	--
5Taylor Business InstituteChicago · IL · Private FP	94.2%	162	172	16
6Minerva UniversitySan Francisco · CA · Private NP	91.5%	600	656	--
7Haven UniversityGarden Grove · CA · Private NP	89.5%	85	95	--
8Washington University of Science and TechnologyVienna · VA · Private FP	88.0%	973	1,105	3

Sources, joins & limits

What each comparison joins.

NCES IPEDS HD · institutional directory (~6,500 Title IV institutions, joined to employer records by EIN)
NCES IPEDS SAL_IS · instructional staff and salary outlays by rank, survey years 2018-2023
NCES IPEDS EF_A · fall enrollment; nonresident-alien count is the international-student proxy
BLS OES · national median wages for postsecondary teacher occupations (25-1011 through 25-1199)
DOL OFLC LCA · wages and certification outcomes as filed by the employer

Limits. Postsecondary institutions only; K-12 districts have no coverage in this vertical. A filing records an offer and an employer assertion, not a payroll. Institution membership comes from the EIN join, so unlinked employers are absent from campus views even when they file.

Data sources & methodology →

Questions about the data & methods

University H-1B FAQ

Do universities sponsor H-1B workers?

Yes. 124,282 certified H-1B filings name 1,221 university employers, per Department of Labor disclosure records; 1,200 are cap-exempt institutions.

What do university H-1B filings pay?

The median offered wage on university filings is $84K per year, against a BLS education-occupation median of $84.3K. Each institution page shows its own distribution.

What does cap-exempt mean?

An institution affiliated with a university or nonprofit research organization can hire H-1B workers outside the annual statutory cap, so its sponsorship is not limited by the lottery. The flag comes from the institution's own record, and the site links each sponsor to its IPEDS profile.

Public source records and site analysis. We do not attest to accuracy. Read the full disclaimer.

Dataset guides and site methods

[1] Dataset documentation · DOL OFLC. LCA public disclosure record layout (FY2026 Q3). Pages 1–4: application, DOL outcome and dates, requested positions, employer, representatives, worksites and pay unitsThis layout covers determinations issued October 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. It documents employer-provided application fields and DOL decisions, not USCIS decisions, payroll verification, legal bills or worker-linked moves. Older layouts can differ.Checked 2026-10-17.
[2] Dataset documentation · BLS. OEWS technical notes (May 2025). Scope of the survey; occupational coding; concepts and estimation methodologyDocuments occupation and geographic wage estimates, not an individual worker’s pay. Use the estimate year and geography stated by the site; older releases can differ.Checked 2026-10-17.
[3] Guidance · NCES. IPEDS: Key Concepts. Institutions, UNITID, enrollment, staff, and glossary
[4] Guidance · NCES. 2024–25 IPEDS Human Resources survey instructions. Part G: full-time, non-medical school instructional staff; salary worksheet and salary outlaysDefines staff coverage, academic ranks, months worked, salary outlays and the equated nine-month average. It does not report an individual professor’s wage.Checked 2026-10-18.
[5] XH1B method or registry · XH1B. Calculation and Matching Methods; Reading Public Records and Derived Indicators. Filing units, annualization, weighting, wage comparisons, and inference limits; Reading records: units, source coverage, wage gaps, entity links, and inference limitsThese are the site's review methods, not validated predictions of wrongdoing. Inspect underlying records and alternative explanations.
[6] Guidance · National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS Survey Methodology. Spring Collection: Fall Enrollment (EF) and Finance (F); finance data edits and accounting-standard differencesFall enrollment is a census measure, not 12-month unduplicated enrollment. Finance reports describe the institution and accounting basis; they do not establish how much money pays H-1B workers.Checked 2026-10-18.
[7] Guidance · NCES. Digest of Education Statistics, 2022: Definitions. Full-time-equivalent enrollment; full-time-equivalent staff; U.S. nonresidentFTE combines full-time units with equivalent part-time units. The nonresident category concerns citizenship and temporary status, not birthplace or H-1B employment.Checked 2026-10-18.