Expert Data Engineer salary in Washington, DC

Based on 13 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Arlington, Vienna, Herndon, Mclean, Bethesda.

Also listed as: Database Architect, Data Architect

Median salary$205,504
Middle 50%$191.9k–$212.7k
vs. all levels here+32%comparison median $155,938
Filings13FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $177,320 and $243,763.
PercentileSalary
10th$180,233
25th$191,884
50th (median)$205,504
75th$212,700
90th$225,888

Salary by year

Median salary

$140k $175k $210k FY2022: median $177,046 (12 filings) FY2023: median $162,500 (10 filings) FY2025: median $200,000 (11 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 3 filings FY20 FY2021: 3 filings FY21 FY2022: 12 filings FY22 FY2023: 10 filings FY23 FY2024: 7 filings FY24 FY2025: 11 filings FY25 FY2026: 2 filings FY26 12
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–––3
FY2021–––3
FY2022$177,046$149,186$203,75012
FY2023$162,500$146,933$181,11310
FY2024–––7
FY2025$200,000$191,884$215,04211
FY2026–––2

Cost of living

Washington's median expert Data Engineer salary of $205,504 is worth about $188,700 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Washington = 108.9).

Compared with all workers here

All Database Architects in the Washington, DC area earned a median of $162,870 in May 2025 (4,740 employed). The H-1B median here is $205,504, 26% higher.

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
Slalomtoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $110,000 30
Mid-level · Level II $155,938 58
Senior · Level III $180,000 33
Expert · Level IV $205,504 13

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$105,206$110,00030
Mid-level · Level II$129,251$155,93858
Senior · Level III$153,275$180,00033
Expert · Level IV$177,320$205,50413

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.