Senior Systems Engineer / Architect salary in Buffalo, NY

Based on 22 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level III in the Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Williamsville, Cheektowaga, Lockport, East Amherst, East Aurora.

Median salary$96,811
Middle 50%$93.6k–$104.2k
vs. all levels here+2%comparison median $95,261
Filings22FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $93,621 and $159,028.
PercentileSalary
10th$93,621
25th$93,621
50th (median)$96,811
75th$104,229
90th$124,627

Salary by year

Median salary

$70k $95k $120k FY2020: median $88,391 (20 filings) FY2021: median $110,240 (17 filings) FY2022: median $97,500 (15 filings) FY2023: median $99,022 (13 filings) FY2024: median $87,000 (19 filings) FY2025: median $93,621 (16 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 20 filings FY20 FY2021: 17 filings FY21 FY2022: 15 filings FY22 FY2023: 13 filings FY23 FY2024: 19 filings FY24 FY2025: 16 filings FY25 FY2026: 6 filings FY26 20
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$88,391$81,744$103,07820
FY2021$110,240$78,354$126,96717
FY2022$97,500$77,409$120,19615
FY2023$99,022$90,000$110,37613
FY2024$87,000$86,965$98,00019
FY2025$93,621$93,621$101,05716
FY2026–––6

Cost of living

Buffalo's median senior Systems Engineer / Architect salary of $96,811 is worth about $101,000 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Buffalo = 95.8).

Compared with all workers here

All Computer Systems Engineers/Architects in the Buffalo, NY area earned a median of $104,700 in May 2025 (730 employed). The H-1B median here is $96,811, 8% lower.

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

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Cognizant$93,62112
Wiprotoo few2
M&T Banktoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I too few 4
Mid-level · Level II $84,968 41
Senior · Level III $96,811 22
Expert · Level IV $123,510 30

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Mid-level · Level II$84,968$84,96841
Senior · Level III$93,621$96,81122
Expert · Level IV$112,507$123,51030

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.