H-1B salaries in San Diego, CA

Based on 9,256 certified H-1B filings in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Base salary only.

Median salary$131,000
Middle 50%$110.9k–$160k
vs. national median+7%comparison median $122,699
Filings9,256FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $62,400 and $270,855.
PercentileSalary
10th$85,000
25th$110,878
50th (median)$131,000
75th$160,000
90th$185,000

Salary by year

Median salary

$90k $120k $150k FY2020: median $102,501 (4,850 filings) FY2021: median $110,000 (5,698 filings) FY2022: median $115,000 (6,826 filings) FY2023: median $116,000 (6,278 filings) FY2024: median $121,597 (5,252 filings) FY2025: median $128,260 (5,727 filings) FY2026: median $137,985 (3,529 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 4,850 filings FY20 FY2021: 5,698 filings FY21 FY2022: 6,826 filings FY22 FY2023: 6,278 filings FY23 FY2024: 5,252 filings FY24 FY2025: 5,727 filings FY25 FY2026: 3,529 filings FY26 6,826
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$102,501$84,945$125,8004,850
FY2021$110,000$94,977$131,3085,698
FY2022$115,000$100,007$139,7266,826
FY2023$116,000$104,562$143,7266,278
FY2024$121,597$102,550$150,0005,252
FY2025$128,260$109,720$157,0005,727
FY2026$137,985$114,982$166,6803,529

Cost of living

San Diego's median H-1B salary of $131,000 is worth about $117,100 at national average prices.

Fair market rent, 1-bedroom$2,335Per month. Source: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027 (San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA).
Fair market rent, 2-bedroom$2,823Per month. Source: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027 (San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA).
Price level (U.S. = 100)111.9Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.
Price-adjusted median$117,100Median salary ÷ (price level ÷ 100).
State income tax on wagesCA: yesSource: Tax Foundation, State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2025.

Most filed jobs

JobMedianFilings
Software Engineer$152,0272,868
Electronics Engineer$141,0791,338
Data Scientist$116,958472
Systems Engineer / Architect$131,036396
QA Engineer$118,000330
Electrical Engineer$135,788226
Molecular and Cellular Biologist$89,500216
IT Manager$200,000193
Mechanical Engineer$127,026184
Industrial Engineer$111,966182
Biochemist$82,100152
Systems Analyst$120,019152
Research Scientist (Computer Science)$169,320147
Accountant$90,300117
Civil Engineer$102,322104

By job title

Product Manager$152.2k · 90 Systems Engineer$119.4k · 69 Solutions Architect$157.6k · 41 Site Reliability Engineer$151k · 24 DevOps Engineer$135k · 23 Cloud Engineer$139k · 15 SAP Consultant$120k · 13 Full Stack Developer$130.3k · 12 Salesforce Developer$123.5k · 12 Java Developer$101.6k · 11

Job titles with at least 10 filings in San Diego, CA. Figure: median salary · filings.