Electrical Engineer salary in Washington, DC

Based on 151 certified H-1B filings in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Herndon, Manassas, Reston, Germantown, Gaithersburg.

Also listed as: Electrical Design Engineer

Median salary$131,969
Middle 50%$108.4k–$155k
vs. national median+7%comparison median $123,560
Filings151FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $87,021 and $213,650.
PercentileSalary
10th$92,282
25th$108,403
50th (median)$131,969
75th$155,000
90th$175,000

Salary by year

Median salary

$90k $115k $140k FY2020: median $100,214 (185 filings) FY2021: median $104,333 (142 filings) FY2022: median $106,850 (122 filings) FY2023: median $106,080 (103 filings) FY2024: median $110,968 (96 filings) FY2025: median $130,500 (100 filings) FY2026: median $132,754 (51 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 185 filings FY20 FY2021: 142 filings FY21 FY2022: 122 filings FY22 FY2023: 103 filings FY23 FY2024: 96 filings FY24 FY2025: 100 filings FY25 FY2026: 51 filings FY26 185
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$100,214$80,600$108,202185
FY2021$104,333$87,000$115,000142
FY2022$106,850$92,107$123,723122
FY2023$106,080$98,802$127,857103
FY2024$110,968$100,014$134,43396
FY2025$130,500$105,000$154,024100
FY2026$132,754$115,000$161,89151

Cost of living

Washington's median Electrical Engineer salary of $131,969 is worth about $121,200 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Electrical Engineers in the Washington, DC area earned a median of $126,420 in May 2025 (4,450 employed). The H-1B median here is $131,969, 4% higher.

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

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
Amazon$138,50014
M.C. Dean$110,01912
T-Mobile$143,19812
Micron$127,32410
Hughes Network Systemstoo few8
Ofinnotoo few7
Googletoo few5
Microsofttoo few5
Automated Precisiontoo few2
Ge Grid Solutionstoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $96,552 43
Mid-level · Level II $130,000 42
Senior · Level III $160,000 19
Expert · Level IV $170,278 28

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$89,440$96,55243
Mid-level · Level II$110,968$130,00042
Senior · Level III$139,630$160,00019
Expert · Level IV$154,024$170,27828

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.