Senior Network Architect salary in San Jose, CA

Based on 67 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level III in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Cupertino, Milpitas.

Also listed as: Network Engineer, Network Development Engineer

Median salary$198,283
Middle 50%$186.5k–$214.7k
vs. all levels here+15%comparison median $172,000
Filings67FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $186,056 and $300,200.
PercentileSalary
10th$186,056
25th$186,472
50th (median)$198,283
75th$214,724
90th$230,430

Salary by year

Median salary

$130k $175k $220k FY2020: median $150,000 (62 filings) FY2021: median $165,000 (43 filings) FY2022: median $174,500 (30 filings) FY2023: median $182,500 (26 filings) FY2024: median $201,781 (20 filings) FY2025: median $191,400 (35 filings) FY2026: median $203,355 (32 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 62 filings FY20 FY2021: 43 filings FY21 FY2022: 30 filings FY22 FY2023: 26 filings FY23 FY2024: 20 filings FY24 FY2025: 35 filings FY25 FY2026: 32 filings FY26 62
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$150,000$145,725$165,00062
FY2021$165,000$152,402$175,50043
FY2022$174,500$161,949$183,13130
FY2023$182,500$177,320$204,06526
FY2024$201,781$195,291$214,50020
FY2025$191,400$186,472$213,22435
FY2026$203,355$186,056$217,00032

Cost of living

San Jose's median senior Network Architect salary of $198,283 is worth about $179,600 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Computer Network Architects in the San Jose, CA area earned a median of $186,110 in May 2025 (2,730 employed). The H-1B median here is $198,283, 7% 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
Cisco Systems$186,47212
Amazontoo few6
Googletoo few6
Versa Networkstoo few5
Nokia of Americatoo few4
Skylo Technologiestoo few4
Ubertoo few3
Microsofttoo few3
Juniper Networkstoo few2
Klatoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $121,846 39
Mid-level · Level II $162,000 112
Senior · Level III $198,283 67
Expert · Level IV $222,477 44

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$121,846$121,84639
Mid-level · Level II$150,446$162,000112
Senior · Level III$186,056$198,28367
Expert · Level IV$218,171$222,47744

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.