H1B Report
Salary comparison

Chemists vs Software Developers

Side-by-side H-1B prevailing-wage comparison using the same DOL LCA data that drives every page on H1B Report. Quartiles, hiring geography, top sponsors and yearly wage drift.

Occupation A
Chemists
SOC 19-2031Rank #49
Occupation B
Software Developers
SOC 15-1252Rank #1

Key metrics

Wage figures are offered annual wage; volume is total LCA count.

MetricChemistsSoftware Developers
Median wage$70,000$102,000
P25 wage$55,000$84,000
P75 wage$89,388$130,000
Wage spread (P75 − P25)$34,388$46,000
Total filings18,7982,765,226
Wage samples18,6562,760,334
Rank#49#1

Median wage by year

Year-over-year drift of the typical offered wage.

Chemists
Time series: 17 points from FY2010 to FY2026
Time series
PeriodValue
FY2010$61k
FY2011$56k
FY2012$56k
FY2013$60k
FY2014$60k
FY2015$60k
FY2016$63k
FY2017$65k
FY2018$67k
FY2019$71k
FY2020$76k
FY2021$79k
FY2022$84k
FY2023$85k
FY2024$89k
FY2025$89k
FY2026$101k
Software Developers
Time series: 17 points from FY2010 to FY2026
Time series
PeriodValue
FY2010$80k
FY2011$80k
FY2012$81k
FY2013$82k
FY2014$82k
FY2015$82k
FY2016$84k
FY2017$90k
FY2018$93k
FY2019$96k
FY2020$103k
FY2021$112k
FY2022$115k
FY2023$120k
FY2024$124k
FY2025$133k
FY2026$143k

Top 5 hiring states — Chemists

  • 1NJ3,259$65,000
  • 2NY2,189$63,000
  • 3CA2,166$75,300
  • 4MA1,209$90,000
  • 5PA1,064$68,000

Top 5 hiring states — Software Developers

  • 1CA571,349$130,000
  • 2TX328,305$98,910
  • 3WA175,348$135,000
  • 4NJ152,178$100,000
  • 5NY127,190$110,460
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Chemists vs Software Developers — H-1B Salary Comparison · H1B Report