How to read H-1B salary data
Use public filings to compare reported base wages, then check the role, location, pay period, and year behind each number.
What does an H-1B salary record represent?
H1B DataPoint displays Labor Condition Application (LCA) disclosure records published by the U.S. Department of Labor. A record describes an employer’s reported job and wage information. It is not a verified pay slip, a job opening, or a complete picture of a worker’s compensation. Source releases and loaded coverage are listed in our data methodology.
Start with the exact employer
Choose a suggested legal employer name in the search box. A profile groups the normalized disclosed name; subsidiaries and earlier legal names have separate profiles. A broad text search can combine multiple employers, so check the “matching companies” suggestions before interpreting the summary.
Compare the same role, city, and reporting period
A company-wide median mixes jobs and worksites. Narrow the job title and location to make the comparison more relevant. Our data covers FY 2016–2026. FY 2026 currently covers Q1–Q3 through June, while earlier years cover complete fiscal years. A smaller partial-year filing count does not by itself indicate declining hiring.
Read the wage unit before comparing amounts
The records table preserves the reported base wage and labels its pay period. Yearly salary charts include only Certified cases with positive wages explicitly reported per Year. Hourly and other units can be annualized in case details, but those estimates are excluded from the yearly salary medians and charts. Bonuses, stock, benefits, and inflation adjustments are not included.
What do median salary and typical range mean?
The median is the middle wage among eligible filings. “Typical range” is the 25th–75th percentile: the middle 50% of reported yearly wages. It is not the employer’s minimum and maximum pay, nor a promise about an offer. Role and city charts show their eligible sample size and require at least 20 eligible records per displayed group.
Does a certified filing mean a visa was approved?
No. LCA certification and visa approval are different outcomes. Our outcome charts describe disclosed LCA statuses. Filing counts represent cases rather than unique people; one case can report more than one worker position.
Use the original case details
Open a salary amount to inspect the case number, status, reported wage, and employment dates. Submission, decision, and employment start dates describe different events. Missing source dates remain missing. You can download a page of records or a chart’s data to inspect the values yourself.
Where does “Trending now” come from?
It ranks decision-date activity in the latest disclosed quarter and compares it with the preceding quarter. It does not measure live searches, current sponsorship availability, or hiring demand.
Begin with H-1B employer profiles, job-title salary data, or salary data by city. For source definitions, visit the official DOL disclosure page.