Entry-level QA Engineer salary in Sacramento, CA

Based on 19 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Folsom, West Sacramento, El Dorado Hills, Rancho Cordova, Rocklin.

Also listed as: Software Tester, Test Automation Engineer

Median salary$73,000
Middle 50%$71k–$84.3k
vs. all levels here−33%comparison median $109,097
Filings19FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $70,410 and $100,226.
PercentileSalary
10th$70,990
25th$70,990
50th (median)$73,000
75th$84,260
90th$92,144

Cost of living

Sacramento's median entry-level QA Engineer salary of $73,000 is worth about $68,400 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Sacramento = 106.7).

Compared with all workers here

All Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers in the Sacramento, CA area earned a median of $104,410 in May 2025 (930 employed). The H-1B median here is $73,000, 30% lower.

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
Deloittetoo few4
PYXIS Management Consulting Grouptoo few3
R Systemstoo few2
Techionstoo few2
Western Digital Technologiestoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $73,000 19
Mid-level · Level II $92,144 112
Senior · Level III $119,000 47
Expert · Level IV $135,554 35

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$70,990$73,00019
Mid-level · Level II$92,144$92,144112
Senior · Level III$113,277$119,00047
Expert · Level IV$134,430$135,55435

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.