Economist salary in San Jose, CA

Based on 29 certified H-1B filings in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Stanford, Mountain View, Santa Clara.

Also listed as: Research Economist, Associate Economist

Median salary$177,412
Middle 50%$118.8k–$185k
vs. national median+27%comparison median $140,000
Filings29FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $89,843 and $297,863.
PercentileSalary
10th$99,800
25th$118,810
50th (median)$177,412
75th$185,000
90th$203,076

Salary by year

Median salary

$100k $145k $190k FY2020: median $129,600 (23 filings) FY2021: median $125,549 (14 filings) FY2022: median $148,038 (18 filings) FY2023: median $167,983 (10 filings) FY2024: median $119,657 (14 filings) FY2025: median $164,400 (18 filings) FY2026: median $177,412 (11 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 23 filings FY20 FY2021: 14 filings FY21 FY2022: 18 filings FY22 FY2023: 10 filings FY23 FY2024: 14 filings FY24 FY2025: 18 filings FY25 FY2026: 11 filings FY26 23
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$129,600$78,963$182,90023
FY2021$125,549$82,350$153,40814
FY2022$148,038$104,802$182,02418
FY2023$167,983$122,000$186,10010
FY2024$119,657$95,000$135,04114
FY2025$164,400$124,292$180,62318
FY2026$177,412$114,552$194,25011

Cost of living

San Jose's median Economist salary of $177,412 is worth about $160,700 at national average prices.

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

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
Amazontoo few8
The Leland Stanford, Jr Universitytoo few6
Wells Fargotoo few2

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 $146,616 17
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
Mid-level · Level II$118,810$146,61617

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.