Architect salary in San Jose, CA

Based on 34 certified H-1B filings in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Mountain View, Palo Alto, Campbell, Sunnyvale, Cupertino.

Also listed as: Project Architect, Architect Non Licensed

Median salary$90,563
Middle 50%$82.7k–$121.2k
vs. national median+14%comparison median $79,330
Filings34FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $66,775 and $181,057.
PercentileSalary
10th$75,682
25th$82,680
50th (median)$90,563
75th$121,222
90th$161,314

Salary by year

Median salary

$70k $90k $110k FY2020: median $87,856 (17 filings) FY2021: median $94,035 (18 filings) FY2022: median $78,000 (19 filings) FY2023: median $83,543 (14 filings) FY2024: median $82,680 (25 filings) FY2025: median $82,680 (17 filings) FY2026: median $102,500 (17 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 17 filings FY20 FY2021: 18 filings FY21 FY2022: 19 filings FY22 FY2023: 14 filings FY23 FY2024: 25 filings FY24 FY2025: 17 filings FY25 FY2026: 17 filings FY26 25
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$87,856$64,270$89,21117
FY2021$94,035$77,355$98,21818
FY2022$78,000$77,355$95,43019
FY2023$83,543$75,005$104,07714
FY2024$82,680$76,710$98,00025
FY2025$82,680$76,460$87,55017
FY2026$102,500$90,563$125,00017

Cost of living

San Jose's median Architect salary of $90,563 is worth about $82,000 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Jose = 110.4).

Compared with all workers here

All Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in the San Jose, CA area earned a median of $129,640 in May 2025 (660 employed). The H-1B median here is $90,563, 30% lower.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
Teslatoo few3
Appletoo few2
Aedistoo few2
AP & I Designtoo few2
Dxutoo few2
FormXtoo few2
Jordan Knighton Architectstoo few2
Livelarge Hometoo few2
Mogul Stonestoo few2
View Operatingtoo few2

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $90,563 15
Mid-level · Level II too few 2
Senior · Level III too few 2
Expert · Level IV too few 2

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$90,563$90,56315

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.