H-1B salaries by job: the 25 most common occupations
Published November 10, 2026 · Data through FY2026 Q3
What does an H-1B job pay? It depends heavily on the occupation. This guide lists median base salaries for the 25 occupations with the most certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) filings, then the 25 best-paid occupations, using 931,595 filings from FY2025–FY2026. FY2026 data covers only the first three quarters (Q1–Q3).
All figures are annual base salary from certified LCA filings, not including bonus or stock. A certified LCA is not a visa approval, and one filing can cover more than one worker.
A note on "job title": employers write their own titles on each filing, and those vary endlessly. To make fair comparisons, we group filings by the standard occupation code (SOC) on the LCA and give each group a plain name. "Software Engineer" here therefore covers many titles, from developer to software development engineer.
The 25 most common H-1B occupations
The overall median base salary across all filings in the window was $122,699. The table shows how each of the most common occupations compares.
| # | Occupation | Filings | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Software Engineer | 289,690 | $112,923 | $139,194 | $172,200 |
| 2 | Systems Engineer / Architect | 76,607 | $91,270 | $114,795 | $144,310 |
| 3 | Data Scientist | 58,256 | $96,034 | $123,531 | $158,642 |
| 4 | QA Engineer | 31,444 | $88,088 | $105,602 | $129,022 |
| 5 | Programmer Analyst | 23,865 | $80,000 | $92,207 | $107,432 |
| 6 | IT Manager | 20,864 | $170,616 | $200,304 | $237,300 |
| 7 | Systems Analyst | 20,858 | $92,248 | $106,434 | $129,147 |
| 8 | Industrial Engineer | 18,087 | $91,778 | $108,706 | $133,120 |
| 9 | Mechanical Engineer | 17,305 | $90,000 | $108,000 | $132,720 |
| 10 | Accountant | 15,530 | $76,752 | $94,973 | $121,400 |
| 11 | Financial Analyst | 14,390 | $105,000 | $137,500 | $180,000 |
| 12 | Electronics Engineer | 13,750 | $124,197 | $151,091 | $178,006 |
| 13 | Operations Research Analyst | 12,706 | $88,743 | $118,206 | $155,000 |
| 14 | Electrical Engineer | 12,067 | $98,685 | $123,560 | $152,000 |
| 15 | Management Consultant | 11,405 | $93,350 | $123,000 | $177,200 |
| 16 | Database Administrator | 11,307 | $90,000 | $111,472 | $138,965 |
| 17 | Civil Engineer | 10,534 | $78,811 | $91,377 | $111,628 |
| 18 | Physician | 10,244 | $91,983 | $247,000 | $315,000 |
| 19 | Network Administrator | 9,725 | $85,000 | $98,280 | $119,042 |
| 20 | Market Research Analyst | 9,706 | $66,561 | $85,000 | $125,000 |
| 21 | Data Engineer | 8,324 | $120,000 | $140,000 | $164,000 |
| 22 | Research Scientist (Computer Science) | 8,275 | $162,045 | $185,536 | $214,991 |
| 23 | Medical Scientist | 7,850 | $67,824 | $75,324 | $93,995 |
| 24 | Molecular and Cellular Biologist | 6,891 | $71,760 | $84,406 | $110,037 |
| 25 | Quantitative Analyst | 6,890 | $100,930 | $136,461 | $175,000 |
Software engineering dominates
Software Engineer is by far the largest group, with 289,690 filings, about 31% of all filings in the window. That is more than three times the next-largest group, Systems Engineer / Architect (76,607). Its median of $139,194 is about $16,500 above the overall median.
Tech roles vary widely
Being in tech does not guarantee a high salary. Within the top 25, Research Scientist (Computer Science) has a median of $185,536 and Data Engineer $140,000, while QA Engineer ($105,602), Systems Analyst ($106,434) and Programmer Analyst ($92,207) are below the overall median. The Programmer Analyst median is about $47,000 below the Software Engineer median.
Management pays most among common roles
Excluding physicians, IT Manager has the highest median among the 25 most common occupations, at $200,304. Its 25th percentile ($170,616) is nearly level with the Software Engineer 75th percentile ($172,200).
Science roles are lower
Medical Scientist ($75,324) and Molecular and Cellular Biologist ($84,406) have the lowest medians in this list.
Physician pay is spread out
Physician has the highest median among common occupations ($247,000), but the widest range: the 25th percentile is $91,983 and the 75th is $315,000. A gap that large suggests the group mixes very different kinds of positions, so the median alone says little about any single physician job.
The 25 best-paid occupations
This second list ranks occupations with at least 1,000 filings by median salary, regardless of how common they are.
| # | Occupation | Filings | Median | 25th pct | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Internal Medicine Physician | 2,242 | $249,998 | $205,347 | $290,000 |
| 2 | Physician | 10,244 | $247,000 | $91,983 | $315,000 |
| 3 | Lawyer | 4,051 | $225,000 | $148,100 | $260,000 |
| 4 | IT Manager | 20,864 | $200,304 | $170,616 | $237,300 |
| 5 | Financial Manager | 2,658 | $190,757 | $150,000 | $247,333 |
| 6 | Dentist | 1,928 | $185,976 | $151,002 | $215,000 |
| 7 | Research Scientist (Computer Science) | 8,275 | $185,536 | $162,045 | $214,991 |
| 8 | Engineering Director | 4,103 | $182,728 | $152,974 | $216,902 |
| 9 | Marketing Manager | 3,260 | $174,533 | $138,849 | $215,000 |
| 10 | Computer Hardware Engineer | 2,407 | $171,000 | $144,000 | $200,133 |
| 11 | Electronics Engineer | 13,750 | $151,091 | $124,197 | $178,006 |
| 12 | Sales Engineer | 4,334 | $146,888 | $120,810 | $175,000 |
| 13 | Supply Chain Manager | 2,624 | $142,800 | $116,522 | $157,330 |
| 14 | Network Architect | 3,771 | $140,816 | $117,187 | $166,500 |
| 15 | Business Professor | 2,237 | $140,244 | $106,127 | $186,292 |
| 16 | Medical School Professor | 3,186 | $140,000 | $98,816 | $233,000 |
| 17 | Economist | 1,549 | $140,000 | $100,000 | $180,000 |
| 18 | Production Manager | 1,910 | $140,000 | $112,000 | $168,500 |
| 19 | Data Engineer | 8,324 | $140,000 | $120,000 | $164,000 |
| 20 | Software Engineer | 289,690 | $139,194 | $112,923 | $172,200 |
| 21 | Financial Analyst | 14,390 | $137,500 | $105,000 | $180,000 |
| 22 | Quantitative Analyst | 6,890 | $136,461 | $100,930 | $175,000 |
| 23 | Information Security Analyst | 6,761 | $136,000 | $106,995 | $167,796 |
| 24 | Risk Analyst | 2,554 | $133,551 | $101,000 | $163,100 |
| 25 | Operations Manager | 2,358 | $132,495 | $85,000 | $185,000 |
Medicine, law and management fill most of the top ten. Software Engineer ranks 20th by median, though it has far more filings than any other occupation on the list. Four occupations (Medical School Professor, Economist, Production Manager and Data Engineer) share a median of exactly $140,000.
How to use these numbers
- Match the occupation code, not just the title. Your LCA lists an SOC code; compare yourself with that group.
- Look at the range. The 25th–75th percentile band shows what is typical. Wide bands, as for Physician or Medical School Professor, mean the median is a weaker guide.
- Add location and level. Occupation is only one factor; metro area and prevailing wage level shift pay substantially within every group.
- Base salary only. Bonuses and equity are not in LCA data.
This guide describes public data and is not legal or immigration advice.
How we calculated this
We grouped certified H-1B LCA filings from FY2025–FY2026 (FY2026 through Q3) by SOC occupation code and computed medians and percentiles of annual base salary. The best-paid list includes occupations with at least 1,000 filings. See our methodology.