Senior Electrical Engineer salary in Washington, DC

Based on 19 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level III 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$160,000
Middle 50%$140k–$171.2k
vs. all levels here+21%comparison median $131,969
Filings19FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $87,373 and $188,315.
PercentileSalary
10th$125,997
25th$140,000
50th (median)$160,000
75th$171,160
90th$179,680

Salary by year

Median salary

$110k $145k $180k FY2020: median $132,593 (15 filings) FY2021: median $129,180 (11 filings) FY2022: median $142,066 (10 filings) FY2023: median $134,500 (18 filings) FY2024: median $167,857 (16 filings) FY2025: median $167,490 (12 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 15 filings FY20 FY2021: 11 filings FY21 FY2022: 10 filings FY22 FY2023: 18 filings FY23 FY2024: 16 filings FY24 FY2025: 12 filings FY25 FY2026: 7 filings FY26 18
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$132,593$126,889$142,28115
FY2021$129,180$128,086$134,90211
FY2022$142,066$140,000$148,62710
FY2023$134,500$124,694$157,50018
FY2024$167,857$132,650$182,43816
FY2025$167,490$138,124$173,78912
FY2026–––7

Cost of living

Washington's median senior Electrical Engineer salary of $160,000 is worth about $146,900 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 $160,000, 27% 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
Googletoo few2
Ofinnotoo 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.