Senior QA Engineer salary in San Jose, CA
Based on 458 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, Palo Alto.
Also listed as: Software Tester, Test Automation Engineer
Salary range
| Percentile | Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $164,154 |
| 25th | $165,422 |
| 50th (median) | $166,000 |
| 75th | $189,829 |
| 90th | $205,749 |
Salary by year
Median salary
Filings per year
Show as table
| Fiscal year | Median | P25 | P75 | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $145,000 | $136,531 | $150,547 | 92 |
| FY2021 | $145,000 | $137,363 | $152,581 | 86 |
| FY2022 | $150,389 | $142,438 | $160,875 | 194 |
| FY2023 | $148,016 | $138,590 | $178,600 | 269 |
| FY2024 | $183,726 | $183,726 | $198,586 | 160 |
| FY2025 | $167,600 | $164,154 | $190,000 | 257 |
| FY2026 | $166,000 | $165,422 | $189,315 | 201 |
Cost of living
San Jose's median senior QA Engineer salary of $166,000 is worth about $150,300 at national average prices.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; San Jose = 110.4).
Compared with all workers here
All Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers in the San Jose, CA area earned a median of $166,530 in May 2025 (6,480 employed). The H-1B median here is $166,000, 0% 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
| Employer | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | $164,154 | 43 |
| Amazon | $189,315 | 37 |
| $197,450 | 32 | |
| TikTok | $232,000 | 23 |
| Nokia of America | $186,573 | 21 |
| Cisco Systems | $165,422 | 20 |
| ServiceNow | $165,422 | 13 |
| NVIDIA | $164,154 | 11 |
| Cognizant | too few | 9 |
| Tesla | too few | 9 |
Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.
By experience level
| Wage level | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level · Level I | $103,000 | 370 |
| Mid-level · Level II | $133,500 | 889 |
| Senior · Level III | $166,000 | 458 |
| Expert · Level IV | $201,053 | 344 |
Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.
Minimum H-1B salary by level
| Wage level | Prevailing wage (most common) | Median offered salary | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level · Level I | $94,162 | $103,000 | 370 |
| Mid-level · Level II | $129,792 | $133,500 | 889 |
| Senior · Level III | $165,422 | $166,000 | 458 |
| Expert · Level IV | $201,053 | $201,053 | 344 |
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.