H1B Report
Salary comparison

Computer Hardware Engineers vs Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

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
Computer Hardware Engineers
SOC 17-2061Rank #57

Key metrics

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

MetricComputer Hardware EngineersSoftware Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Median wage$123,784$81,328
P25 wage$91,104$68,549
P75 wage$156,800$100,000
Wage spread (P75 − P25)$65,696$31,451
Total filings16,393367,097
Wage samples16,375366,392
Rank#57#4

Median wage by year

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

Computer Hardware Engineers
Time series: 17 points from FY2010 to FY2026
Time series
PeriodValue
FY2010$81k
FY2011$79k
FY2012$80k
FY2013$89k
FY2014$90k
FY2015$94k
FY2016$100k
FY2017$104k
FY2018$115k
FY2019$120k
FY2020$133k
FY2021$140k
FY2022$150k
FY2023$153k
FY2024$160k
FY2025$162k
FY2026$175k
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Time series: 17 points from FY2010 to FY2026
Time series
PeriodValue
FY2010$75k
FY2011$70k
FY2012$68k
FY2013$68k
FY2014$69k
FY2015$70k
FY2016$71k
FY2017$74k
FY2018$82k
FY2019$85k
FY2020$88k
FY2021$94k
FY2022$97k
FY2023$98k
FY2024$100k
FY2025$103k
FY2026$110k

Top 5 hiring states — Computer Hardware Engineers

  • 1CA9,682$133,494
  • 2TX1,036$121,014
  • 3WA1,024$141,500
  • 4NC640$104,000
  • 5OR532$123,696

Top 5 hiring states — Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

  • 1CA69,271$96,325
  • 2TX38,277$82,710
  • 3NJ23,266$72,030
  • 4WA19,761$87,942
  • 5IL17,732$74,818

Top 5 sponsors — Computer Hardware Engineers

Top 5 sponsors — Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

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Computer Hardware Engineers vs Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers — H-1B Salary Comparison · H1B Report