H-1B Salary

H-1B Salary Data

DOL disclosure files record offered wages. Annual and occupation trends include all H-1B outcomes. The occupation ranking includes all LCA visa classes and outcomes with positive year-unit wages. State medians use certified H-1B records. These are offers, not observed payroll. In calendar 2025, the median offer across 538,336 H-1B filings was $120K. Calendar 2026 is partial and updates as DOL publishes filings.

Source import recorded Sep 2, 2026

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) · Bulk disclosure files downloaded quarterly from DOL · Source import recorded Sep 2, 2026

Methodology

What the filings record · DOL LCA disclosures

$120KMedian offered wageAll H-1B outcomes, submitted in calendar 2025 · annualized offer538,336H-1B filingsAll H-1B outcomes, submitted in calendar 2025918,851Workers requestedFilings, not confirmed hires

What XH1B calculates · comparisons, not findings

+61%Median offer since 2016$74K in calendar 2016 to $120K in calendar 2025
Context & calculation notes

Annual medians use recorded annualized offers across all H-1B outcomes, grouped by calendar submission year. Quality-flagged records are excluded.

Change since 2016: (later median − earlier median) ÷ earlier median, computed from the same year table.

Occupation rankings require 1,000 positive year-unit LCA wage records across all visa classes and outcomes. BLS references use the latest national occupation median, or the mean if unavailable.

The current calendar year is partial. Disclosure files publish with a lag. Its median can rise or fall as records arrive.

All H-1B outcomes · calendar submission years

Median H-1B offered wage by year

Recorded annualized offers across all H-1B outcomes, grouped by calendar submission year. Quality-flagged records are excluded.Calendar 2026 is partial; disclosure files publish with a lag.

$0K$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K$120Kpeak $131K (2026)2007: $64K median offer2008: $60K median offer2009: $60K median offer2010: $66K median offer2011: $66K median offer2012: $69K median offer2013: $70K median offer2014: $70K median offer2015: $78K median offer2016: $74K median offer2017: $79K median offer2018: $89K median offer2019: $93K median offer2020: $97K median offer2021: $102K median offer2022: $109K median offer2023: $110K median offer2024: $115K median offer2025: $120K median offer2026: $131K median offer20072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026median offer

Exact values · all years

2026in progress$131K
2025$120K
2024$115K
2023$110K
2022$109K
2021$102K
2020$97K
2019$93K

Worksite state · certified filings

States with the highest H-1B wage offers

Every state or territory with more than 500 certified filings, ranked by median annualized offered wage. 55 states and territories qualify.

State
Washington$120K387,058
California$110K1,584,859
Texas$90K952,543
New York$90K712,417
Oregon$90K67,307
North Carolina$90K262,011
Massachusetts$89K326,181
Colorado$87K89,576

Median of annualized wages offered on certified filings with a worksite in the state, all years on record. States and territories with 500 or fewer certified filings are not listed. Bars scale to the highest median in the list.

Questions about the data & methods

H-1B salary FAQ

What is the average H-1B salary?

There is no single average. The median for calendar 2025 was $120K. The annual series includes all H-1B outcomes. The occupation ranking requires 1,000 positive year-unit LCA records and includes all visa classes and outcomes.

Where does this H-1B salary data come from?

Offers come from DOL LCA disclosure files. BLS supplies the market benchmarks. One application can request several workers. DOL reviews the form and publishes disclosure data. The page calculates medians and excludes flagged records; it does not show actual payroll.

Do H-1B workers get paid less than the market rate?

The comparison this record supports is against the Bureau of Labor Statistics median for the same occupation: the standard benchmark for what the job pays nationally. Where the offered wage sits below that benchmark, the filing documents a below-benchmark offer. The record does not show what any worker was ultimately paid, and a comparison is not a wage-law finding.

Which states pay H-1B workers the most?

The state table above lists every state and territory with more than 500 certified filings (55 states and territories qualify), ranked by median offered wage. High-cost states with heavy technology filing dominate the top of the list.

Can I look up a specific employer's H-1B salaries?

Yes. Every employer that files LCAs has a page here with its wage distribution, filing history, and how its offers compare to BLS medians for its jobs. Search any company from the site search, or start from the employer wage-gap leaderboard.

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

Dataset guides and site methods

  1. [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. [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. [3] XH1B method or registry · XH1B. Reading Public Records and Derived Indicators; Calculation and Matching Methods. Reading records: units, source coverage, wage gaps, entity links, and inference limits; Filing units, annualization, weighting, wage comparisons, and inference limitsThese are the site's review methods, not validated predictions of wrongdoing. Inspect underlying records and alternative explanations.