Expert Regulatory Affairs Specialist salary in San Jose, CA

Based on 18 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level IV in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Cupertino.

Also listed as: Compliance Specialist

Median salary$151,424
Middle 50%$142.8k–$167.9k
vs. all levels here+26%comparison median $120,000
Filings18FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $140,504 and $231,840.
PercentileSalary
10th$140,504
25th$142,803
50th (median)$151,424
75th$167,900
90th$190,600

Salary by year

Median salary

$100k $140k $180k FY2020: median $113,500 (14 filings) FY2022: median $125,300 (15 filings) FY2024: median $163,000 (13 filings) FY2025: median $142,876 (10 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 14 filings FY20 FY2021: 8 filings FY21 FY2022: 15 filings FY22 FY2023: 9 filings FY23 FY2024: 13 filings FY24 FY2025: 10 filings FY25 FY2026: 8 filings FY26 15
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$113,500$111,363$117,38914
FY2021–––8
FY2022$125,300$115,000$136,08415
FY2023–––9
FY2024$163,000$148,363$176,00013
FY2025$142,876$140,504$151,06810
FY2026–––8

Cost of living

San Jose's median expert Regulatory Affairs Specialist salary of $151,424 is worth about $137,100 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Regulatory Affairs Specialists in the San Jose, CA area earned a median of $123,730 in May 2025 (2,690 employed). The H-1B median here is $151,424, 22% 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
Intuitive Surgical Operationstoo few6
Roche Sequencing Solutionstoo few3

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $75,002 12
Mid-level · Level II $100,000 32
Senior · Level III $130,000 17
Expert · Level IV $151,424 18

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$66,643$75,00212
Mid-level · Level II$99,653$100,00032
Senior · Level III$125,528$130,00017
Expert · Level IV$151,424$151,42418

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.