H1B Report
Salary comparison

Software Developers vs Economists

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
Software Developers
SOC 15-1252Rank #1
Occupation B
Economists
SOC 19-3011Rank #65

Key metrics

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

MetricSoftware DevelopersEconomists
Median wage$102,000$94,924
P25 wage$84,000$75,000
P75 wage$130,000$129,485
Wage spread (P75 − P25)$46,000$54,485
Total filings2,765,22612,851
Wage samples2,760,33412,796
Rank#1#65

Median wage by year

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

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
Economists
Time series: 17 points from FY2010 to FY2026
Time series
PeriodValue
FY2010$85k
FY2011$81k
FY2012$81k
FY2013$80k
FY2014$80k
FY2015$82k
FY2016$85k
FY2017$85k
FY2018$89k
FY2019$95k
FY2020$94k
FY2021$102k
FY2022$110k
FY2023$114k
FY2024$120k
FY2025$120k
FY2026$150k

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

Top 5 hiring states — Economists

  • 1NY2,601$102,482
  • 2CA1,853$100,000
  • 3DC1,003$125,000
  • 4MA950$95,763
  • 5TX813$90,000
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Software Developers vs Economists — H-1B Salary Comparison · H1B Report