Senior Systems Engineer / Architect salary in Virginia Beach, VA

Based on 69 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level III in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Norfolk, Chesapeake, Newport News, Williamsburg, Portsmouth.

Median salary$111,030
Middle 50%$106k–$111k
vs. all levels here+0%comparison median $111,030
Filings69FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $106,018 and $158,960.
PercentileSalary
10th$106,018
25th$106,018
50th (median)$111,030
75th$111,030
90th$115,616

Salary by year

Median salary

$80k $100k $120k FY2020: median $100,000 (30 filings) FY2021: median $100,825 (20 filings) FY2022: median $98,629 (11 filings) FY2023: median $113,064 (23 filings) FY2024: median $106,018 (36 filings) FY2025: median $106,018 (44 filings) FY2026: median $111,030 (25 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 30 filings FY20 FY2021: 20 filings FY21 FY2022: 11 filings FY22 FY2023: 23 filings FY23 FY2024: 36 filings FY24 FY2025: 44 filings FY25 FY2026: 25 filings FY26 44
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$100,000$90,709$114,89730
FY2021$100,825$92,441$116,08520
FY2022$98,629$94,914$125,25011
FY2023$113,064$96,470$133,47523
FY2024$106,018$99,653$110,64636
FY2025$106,018$106,018$110,25844
FY2026$111,030$111,030$111,03025

Cost of living

Virginia Beach's median senior Systems Engineer / Architect salary of $111,030 is worth about $113,400 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Virginia Beach = 97.9).

Compared with all workers here

All Computer Systems Engineers/Architects in the Virginia Beach, VA area earned a median of $116,920 in May 2025 (3,490 employed). The H-1B median here is $111,030, 5% 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$110,00057
Elevance Healthtoo few3

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I – 0
Mid-level · Level II $95,160 33
Senior · Level III $111,030 69
Expert · Level IV $126,922 35

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$91,749$95,16033
Senior · Level III$106,018$111,03069
Expert · Level IV$120,307$126,92235

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.