H-1B prevailing wage vs. actual salary
Published November 10, 2026 · Data through FY2026 Q3
Short answer: the prevailing wage is the Department of Labor's minimum for a job, area and experience level; the actual salary is what the employer offers on the filing, and it can be higher. In certified H-1B filings from FY2025–FY2026, the median offer is 4.6% above the filing's own prevailing wage, and 36.8% of filings are at exactly the prevailing wage.
Every H-1B Labor Condition Application (LCA) shows two wage figures: the prevailing wage and the salary the employer offers. They are related, but they are not the same thing. This guide explains what each one means and compares them across certified filings from FY2025–FY2026.
What the prevailing wage is
The prevailing wage is a Department of Labor (DOL) benchmark for a given occupation in a given area. It is set at four levels, Level I to Level IV. The levels reflect how much experience, education and independent judgment the job requires. Most employers take it from DOL wage tables built on Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey data. Other valid sources, such as a collective bargaining agreement or an approved private survey, can also be used.
The employer must pay at least the higher of two amounts:
- the prevailing wage for the occupation, area and level, and
- the actual wage it pays its other workers with similar experience and qualifications in the same job.
The same job title can therefore have different prevailing wages. Amounts vary by county, even within one metro area, and by wage source. A filing that matches the prevailing wage exactly can still carry a high salary if the benchmark itself is high.
All figures below are annual base salaries from certified LCAs. They do not include bonuses or stock. A certified LCA is one step in the process, not a visa approval. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
The overall picture
| Measure | All certified filings |
|---|---|
| Filings | 931,595 |
| Median offered salary | $122,699 |
| Median prevailing wage | $108,950 |
| Median difference (offer vs. prevailing wage) | +4.6% |
| Filed at exactly the prevailing wage | 36.8% |
| Filed 20% or more above the prevailing wage | 26.0% |
The typical filing offers a little more than its prevailing wage. Just over a third match it exactly, and about a quarter are at least 20% above it. The share of filings below the prevailing wage rounds to 0.0%, so there are essentially none.
The median difference is calculated filing by filing. It is not the gap between the two medians in the table. Comparing the medians directly gives a larger number ($13,749, or about 12.6%), because higher salaries and higher prevailing wages do not always appear in the same filings.
By wage level
| Level | Filings | Median offer | Median prevailing wage | Median difference | Filed at exactly PW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | 168,119 | $83,959 | $72,550 | +8.4% | 31.1% |
| Level II | 349,792 | $109,638 | $100,547 | +2.6% | 40.5% |
| Level III | 176,816 | $138,000 | $125,445 | +5.6% | 33.9% |
| Level IV | 153,169 | $166,052 | $149,240 | +7.2% | 31.8% |
Both offers and prevailing wages rise with each level. Level II is the most common level and has the smallest median difference. It also has the highest share of filings at exactly the prevailing wage. Level I has the largest median difference, at +8.4%. Some filings do not record a wage level, so these four rows add up to fewer filings than the overall total. For more detail, see wage levels explained.
The 20 largest H-1B employers
| Employer | Filings | Median offer | Median PW | Median difference | Exactly PW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 42,644 | $155,000 | $127,712 | +17.2% | 15.1% |
| Cognizant | 16,913 | $109,886 | $108,514 | 0.0% | 93.6% |
| 16,005 | $186,000 | $158,642 | +11.0% | 0.3% | |
| EY | 14,593 | $147,396 | $101,234 | +33.6% | 0.4% |
| Microsoft | 14,273 | $172,759 | $149,240 | +17.1% | 5.3% |
| Apple | 11,810 | $174,304 | $166,962 | 0.0% | 70.0% |
| Meta | 11,568 | $208,000 | $163,862 | +21.1% | 4.1% |
| Deloitte | 11,047 | $127,500 | $110,531 | +1.2% | 49.0% |
| Tata Consultancy Services | 10,673 | $87,589 | $86,798 | 0.0% | 93.7% |
| Infosys | 10,391 | $92,581 | $92,581 | 0.0% | 99.4% |
| JPMorgan Chase | 6,204 | $157,950 | $138,018 | +14.9% | 5.3% |
| Walmart | 6,174 | $145,328 | $113,589 | +24.7% | 26.9% |
| Tesla | 5,171 | $150,000 | $121,992 | +16.8% | 5.0% |
| Fidelity Investments | 4,695 | $125,029 | $122,970 | 0.0% | 84.1% |
| HCLTech | 4,637 | $112,923 | $101,691 | 0.0% | 51.9% |
| Intel | 4,565 | $130,291 | $128,877 | 0.0% | 70.3% |
| Accenture | 4,359 | $134,347 | $118,706 | +10.5% | 27.4% |
| Goldman Sachs | 4,322 | $127,000 | $104,499 | +16.2% | 5.4% |
| NVIDIA | 4,234 | $186,197 | $177,154 | 0.0% | 71.5% |
| Compunnel Software Group | 4,215 | $110,000 | $105,747 | +3.2% | 19.9% |
Wage-level mix (share of each employer's filings that record a level):
| Employer | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 23.4% | 47.7% | 21.7% | 7.1% |
| Cognizant | 0.0% | 29.3% | 50.1% | 20.7% |
| 1.0% | 60.8% | 24.7% | 13.4% | |
| EY | 11.4% | 46.6% | 27.4% | 14.5% |
| Microsoft | 7.2% | 39.3% | 41.0% | 12.5% |
| Apple | 3.3% | 19.5% | 23.2% | 54.0% |
| Meta | 12.7% | 26.6% | 20.0% | 40.7% |
| Deloitte | 19.9% | 43.8% | 9.0% | 27.3% |
| Tata Consultancy Services | 0.0% | 87.1% | 10.8% | 2.1% |
| Infosys | 0.0% | 70.1% | 22.3% | 7.5% |
| JPMorgan Chase | 4.3% | 14.8% | 20.1% | 60.8% |
| Walmart | 8.5% | 32.9% | 52.4% | 6.2% |
| Tesla | 8.7% | 47.1% | 31.4% | 12.7% |
| Fidelity Investments | 6.6% | 54.1% | 12.3% | 27.0% |
| HCLTech | 4.0% | 54.7% | 30.5% | 10.8% |
| Intel | 0.6% | 35.8% | 54.6% | 8.9% |
| Accenture | 0.4% | 17.7% | 39.8% | 42.2% |
| Goldman Sachs | 15.4% | 45.6% | 26.9% | 12.0% |
| NVIDIA | 4.7% | 13.8% | 17.5% | 64.1% |
| Compunnel Software Group | 0.1% | 80.3% | 17.3% | 2.3% |
The employers fall into two broad groups.
- Mostly filed at exactly the prevailing wage. Infosys (99.4%), Tata Consultancy Services (93.7%), Cognizant (93.6%), Fidelity Investments (84.1%), NVIDIA (71.5%), Intel (70.3%) and Apple (70.0%) all have a median difference of 0.0%. HCLTech also has a 0.0% median, with just over half of its filings at exactly the prevailing wage. Deloitte is close to the line, with 49.0% exact and a +1.2% median.
- Mostly filed above the prevailing wage. EY has the largest median difference (+33.6%), followed by Walmart (+24.7%) and Meta (+21.1%). Google files almost nothing at exactly the prevailing wage (0.3%), and EY is close behind at 0.4%. Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase all have medians between about +15% and +17%.
Dollar amounts vary widely within both groups. Infosys and NVIDIA both file most of their LCAs at exactly the prevailing wage. Yet NVIDIA's median offer is about twice Infosys's ($186,197 vs. $92,581). The level mix also differs. Tata Consultancy Services, Compunnel Software Group and Infosys file mostly at Level II. NVIDIA, JPMorgan Chase and Apple file mostly at Level IV. See big tech compared for a closer look at the largest technology employers.
Why filing at exactly the prevailing wage doesn't mean low pay
Apple and NVIDIA show why the exact-match share tells you little about pay on its own. Both file most often at exactly the prevailing wage. Both also have some of the highest medians in the data.
| Apple | NVIDIA | All filings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median offer | $174,304 | $186,197 | $122,699 |
| Median prevailing wage | $166,962 | $177,154 | $108,950 |
| Median difference | 0.0% | 0.0% | +4.6% |
| Filed at exactly PW | 70.0% | 71.5% | 36.8% |
| Share at Level IV | 54.0% | 64.1% | about 18% |
Two factors explain this:
- Senior levels. More than half of Apple's leveled filings and nearly two-thirds of NVIDIA's are at Level IV. Across all filings, fewer than one in five are. Level IV carries the highest prevailing wage.
- High-cost areas. NVIDIA's median Level IV prevailing wage is $201,053, and Apple's is $177,154. The median for all Level IV filings is $149,240, so those figures are about 35% and 19% higher. That gap reflects where the jobs are located and which occupations they fall under.
As a result, Apple's median prevailing wage is about 53% above the median for all filings, and NVIDIA's is about 63% above it. An offer at exactly that benchmark is already a high salary.
By level, the picture is more varied:
| Level | Apple median offer | Apple median diff. | Apple exactly PW | NVIDIA median offer | NVIDIA median diff. | NVIDIA exactly PW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level I | $137,319 | +28.9% | 21.5% | $142,064 | 0.0% | 53.8% |
| Level II | $159,890 | +6.8% | 36.9% | $156,853 | 0.0% | 70.7% |
| Level III | $145,205 | 0.0% | 74.7% | $180,710 | 0.0% | 73.0% |
| Level IV | $184,974 | 0.0% | 65.8% | $212,202 | 0.0% | 59.8% |
Apple's Level III median is below its Level II median because of job mix: about 40% of its Level II filings are management roles (IT Manager, Engineering Director, Production Manager) with medians of $184,300 to $216,590, while Level III is mostly engineering roles; within Software Engineer alone, Level III ($152,027) is above Level II ($139,500).
At Apple, Level I and Level II filings are mostly above the prevailing wage. Level I has a median of +28.9%. Exact matches are concentrated at Levels III and IV. At NVIDIA, the median difference is 0.0% at every level, but 15.4% of its Level IV filings are 20% or more above the prevailing wage. Company pages for Apple and NVIDIA break these numbers down by job and location.
How we calculated this
For each certified filing, we compute the difference as the offered annual salary divided by the prevailing wage, minus one. We then report the median of those differences as a percentage. A filing counts as "exactly at the prevailing wage" when the offer is within 0.1% of it. Prevailing wages are converted to annual amounts with the same unit conversion we use for offered salaries, so hourly, weekly and monthly figures are compared on the same basis. The data covers FY2025 and FY2026 Q1–Q3. Full details are on the methodology page.