Salary comparison

Software Developers vs Mechanical Engineers

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.

Summary

Mechanical Engineers vs Software Developers: H-1B Sponsorship Comparison

Mechanical Engineers (SOC 17-2141) received 54,681 H-1B filings, with prevailing wages ranging from $80,000 (25th percentile) to $124,800 (75th percentile), and a median of $95,200. Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) significantly outpace mechanical engineers in H-1B demand, with 1,400,940 filings—over 25 times higher. Software Developers command higher wages across all percentiles: $95,160 at the 25th percentile, $116,251 median, and $145,725 at the 75th percentile.

The wage comparison shows Software Developers lead consistently. The median Software Developer wage ($116,251) exceeds the median Mechanical Engineer wage ($95,200) by roughly $21,000 annually. At the 75th percentile, the gap widens to over $20,900. Both occupations show similar wage spread patterns, with roughly $45,000–$50,000 between entry-level and top-quartile prevailing wages.

Mechanical Engineers remain a stable but smaller H-1B occupation, while Software Developers represent one of the largest categories for H-1B sponsorship, reflecting sustained demand for software talent in the U.S. labor market.

Mechanical Engineers vs Software Developers H-1B
H-1B filings comparison
H-1B prevailing wage comparison
Software Developers H-1B salary
Mechanical Engineers H-1B sponsorship
H-1B occupation comparison

Occupation A

Software Developers

SOC 15-1252Rank #1

Occupation B

Mechanical Engineers

SOC 17-2141Rank #10

Key metrics

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

Metric	Software Developers	Mechanical Engineers
Median wage	$116,251▲	$95,200
P25 wage	$95,160▲	$80,000
P75 wage	$145,725▲	$124,800
Wage spread (P75 − P25)	$50,565	$44,800
Total filings	1,400,940▲	54,681
Wage samples	1,399,063	54,596
Rank	#1▲	#10