State comparison

Massachusetts vs Pennsylvania

H-1B filing geography compared side-by-side. Volume, national share, top sponsoring employers and most-filed occupations. Built from the same DOL LCA data that drives every page on H1B Report.

Summary

Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are both significant H-1B sponsorship states, but Massachusetts leads notably in filing volume. Massachusetts has recorded 338,769 total H-1B filings compared to Pennsylvania's 290,872, a difference of nearly 48,000 filings. This reflects Massachusetts' larger concentration of technology, life sciences, and professional services employers, particularly in the Boston metro area.

Pennsylvania remains an active H-1B sponsorship state with substantial filings, driven by employers in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and surrounding regions. The gap between the two states highlights regional differences in visa demand and employer density. Both states maintain significant H-1B programs, making them key destinations for foreign-born skilled workers in engineering, IT, healthcare, and finance roles.

Prospective H-1B workers and employers should consider filing volume as one factor among many—including prevailing wages, industry concentration, and local job markets—when evaluating sponsorship opportunities in each state.

Massachusetts vs Pennsylvania H-1B
H-1B filings by state comparison
Massachusetts H-1B sponsorship
Pennsylvania H-1B statistics
which state has more H-1B visa filings

State A

Massachusetts

MARank #7

State B

Pennsylvania

PARank #10

Key metrics

National share is each state’s portion of total US H-1B filings.

Metric	Massachusetts	Pennsylvania
Total filings	338,769▲	290,872
National share %	3.63%▲	3.12%
Rank nationally	#7▲	#10
Top sponsor	WIPRO LIMITED	Deloitte Consulting LLP
Top sponsor share	2.2%	7.8%
Top occupation	Software Developers	Software Developers

Filings by fiscal year

Year-over-year H-1B demand in each state.

Massachusetts

Time series
Period	Value
FY2010	13,535
FY2011	14,723
FY2012	16,558
FY2013	16,900
FY2014	19,914
FY2015	23,490
FY2016	24,891
FY2017	25,016
FY2018	25,969
FY2019	3,705
FY2020	22,851
FY2021	32,891
FY2022	24,386
FY2023	24,526
FY2024	20,751
FY2025	21,465
FY2026	7,198

Pennsylvania

Time series
Period	Value
FY2010	11,760
FY2011	12,899
FY2012	15,552
FY2013	16,780
FY2014	19,152
FY2015	22,202
FY2016	23,381
FY2017	21,600
FY2018	25,828
FY2019	2,987
FY2020	19,778
FY2021	26,091
FY2022	17,896
FY2023	18,176
FY2024	15,274
FY2025	15,987
FY2026	5,529

Top 5 sponsors — Massachusetts

1WIPRO LIMITED4,5982.2%
2Harvard University3,7651.8%
3The MathWorks, Inc.3,6181.8%
4Massachusetts Institute of Technology2,9931.4%
5General Hospital Corporation2,9881.4%

Top 5 sponsors — Pennsylvania

1Deloitte Consulting LLP14,3507.8%
2TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED5,0112.7%
3INFOSYS LIMITED4,8652.6%
4Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania4,5332.5%
5COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS US CORP3,8862.1%

Top 5 occupations — Massachusetts

115-1252Software Developers83,578
215-1211Computer Systems Analysts22,589
315-1299Computer Occupations, All Other16,313
415-2051Data Scientists14,490
515-1253Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers12,979

Top 5 occupations — Pennsylvania

115-1252Software Developers77,193
215-1211Computer Systems Analysts40,174
315-1299Computer Occupations, All Other17,183
415-1251Computer Programmers11,987
513-1111Management Analysts11,928

Swap an entity

Replace either state above without losing the comparison. 2-way for now; 3+ comparison coming soon.

Swap A: Massachusetts

California Texas New York New Jersey

Swap B: Pennsylvania

California Texas New York New Jersey

Or browse the full state index.

Massachusetts Pennsylvania Browse all