Entry-level Validation Engineer salary in Boston, MA

Based on 33 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Cambridge, Wilmington, Waltham, Charlestown, Bedford.

Median salary$96,200
Middle 50%$89.4k–$105k
vs. all levels here−33%comparison median $144,612
Filings33FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $74,511 and $132,210.
PercentileSalary
10th$83,450
25th$89,419
50th (median)$96,200
75th$105,000
90th$119,025

Salary by year

Median salary

$60k $85k $110k FY2020: median $72,000 (57 filings) FY2021: median $72,500 (76 filings) FY2022: median $75,000 (81 filings) FY2023: median $90,000 (33 filings) FY2024: median $88,304 (24 filings) FY2025: median $96,000 (19 filings) FY2026: median $100,788 (14 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 57 filings FY20 FY2021: 76 filings FY21 FY2022: 81 filings FY22 FY2023: 33 filings FY23 FY2024: 24 filings FY24 FY2025: 19 filings FY25 FY2026: 14 filings FY26 81
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$72,000$71,219$80,00057
FY2021$72,500$72,363$87,84476
FY2022$75,000$71,822$87,00081
FY2023$90,000$77,667$96,00033
FY2024$88,304$83,188$95,50024
FY2025$96,000$86,710$100,16019
FY2026$100,788$89,580$117,30314

Cost of living

Boston's median entry-level Validation Engineer salary of $96,200 is worth about $88,900 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Boston = 108.3).

Compared with all workers here

All Validation Engineers in the Boston, MA area earned a median of $133,940 in May 2025 (2,490 employed). The H-1B median here is $96,200, 28% 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
Symbotictoo few7
BlueWave Operationstoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $96,200 33
Mid-level · Level II $120,049 64
Senior · Level III $149,247 69
Expert · Level IV $183,872 69

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$83,450$96,20033
Mid-level · Level II$112,819$120,04964
Senior · Level III$125,424$149,24769
Expert · Level IV$159,619$183,87269

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.