Mid-level Industrial Designer salary in San Jose, CA

Based on 45 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level II in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Palo Alto, Santa Clara.

Also listed as: Technical Designer

Median salary$147,000
Middle 50%$110.3k–$171k
vs. all levels here−11%comparison median $165,500
Filings45FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $97,947 and $184,785.
PercentileSalary
10th$104,000
25th$110,323
50th (median)$147,000
75th$171,000
90th$176,000

Salary by year

Median salary

$50k $105k $160k FY2020: median $66,539 (20 filings) FY2021: median $80,000 (21 filings) FY2022: median $97,500 (20 filings) FY2023: median $103,000 (11 filings) FY2024: median $135,000 (18 filings) FY2025: median $147,000 (30 filings) FY2026: median $119,301 (15 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 20 filings FY20 FY2021: 21 filings FY21 FY2022: 20 filings FY22 FY2023: 11 filings FY23 FY2024: 18 filings FY24 FY2025: 30 filings FY25 FY2026: 15 filings FY26 30
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$66,539$65,062$81,25020
FY2021$80,000$66,040$121,83021
FY2022$97,500$81,500$150,00020
FY2023$103,000$98,329$161,40011
FY2024$135,000$110,323$154,50018
FY2025$147,000$110,323$171,75030
FY2026$119,301$101,750$169,50015

Cost of living

San Jose's median mid-level Industrial Designer salary of $147,000 is worth about $133,100 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Commercial and Industrial Designers in the San Jose, CA area earned a median of $141,310 in May 2025 (410 employed). The H-1B median here is $147,000, 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.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Google$171,00011
Microsofttoo few8
USTtoo few6
Axon Enterprisetoo few2
Basikwalltoo few2
M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associatestoo few2
Yoh, A Day & Zimmermann Companytoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $85,000 15
Mid-level · Level II $147,000 45
Senior · Level III $160,000 21
Expert · Level IV $179,000 40

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$83,699$85,00015
Mid-level · Level II$110,323$147,00045
Senior · Level III$123,760$160,00021
Expert · Level IV$163,571$179,00040

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.