Mid-level Data Engineer salary in Washington, DC

Based on 58 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level II 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$155,938
Middle 50%$132.1k–$163.6k
vs. all levels here+0%comparison median $155,938
Filings58FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $129,251 and $180,082.
PercentileSalary
10th$129,251
25th$132,100
50th (median)$155,938
75th$163,603
90th$177,249

Salary by year

Median salary

$80k $125k $170k FY2020: median $98,000 (15 filings) FY2021: median $97,600 (21 filings) FY2022: median $111,436 (14 filings) FY2023: median $108,867 (64 filings) FY2024: median $135,000 (52 filings) FY2025: median $135,338 (43 filings) FY2026: median $155,938 (15 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 15 filings FY20 FY2021: 21 filings FY21 FY2022: 14 filings FY22 FY2023: 64 filings FY23 FY2024: 52 filings FY24 FY2025: 43 filings FY25 FY2026: 15 filings FY26 64
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$98,000$97,094$104,30015
FY2021$97,600$97,406$102,10721
FY2022$111,436$103,250$142,50014
FY2023$108,867$97,000$140,00064
FY2024$135,000$133,307$148,12552
FY2025$135,338$129,376$166,53043
FY2026$155,938$155,938$160,00015

Cost of living

Washington's median mid-level Data Engineer salary of $155,938 is worth about $143,200 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 $155,938, 4% 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
Navy Federal Credit Union$176,07215
Amazon$132,10010
Deloittetoo few5
Ipivottoo few2
Millennium Info Techtoo few2
REI Systemstoo few2
Retail Services and Systemstoo 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.