Highest-Paying H-1B Jobs FY2025
SOC occupations ranked by median annual prevailing wage across all H-1B Labor Condition Applications. Different from the “top occupations by volume” list — high-volume roles (Software Developer) often sit mid-pack on wages; specialised medical and finance roles dominate the top.
Ad slot · ranking-top-paying
Top 10 by median wage
The wage ceiling of the H-1B program — specialised medical, legal and management roles.
Cardiologists
$439k · 29-1212
Surgeons, All Other
$350k · 29-1249
Neurologists
$273k · 29-1217
Psychiatrists
$250k · 29-1223
Physicians, All Other
$230k · 29-1229
Family Medicine Physicians
$219k · 29-1215
Pediatricians, General
$210k · 29-1221
General Internal Medicine Physicians
$199k · 29-1216
Chief Executives
$185k · 11-1011
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$168k · 11-9041
Wage distribution
Spread of median wages across the top 100 occupations.
median $100k
#1: $439krank#100: $39k
100 ranked entries
Showing 1–50 of 100 rows
| # | Entity | SOC | Median wage | P25 wage | P75 wage | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiologists | 29-1212 | $438,979 | $300,000 | $550,000 | 2,388 |
| 2 | Surgeons, All Other | 29-1249 | $350,000 | $208,000 | $450,000 | 2,065 |
| 3 | Neurologists | 29-1217 | $273,250 | $207,002 | $335,000 | 2,410 |
| 4 | Psychiatrists | 29-1223 | $250,000 | $208,000 | $290,000 | 2,346 |
| 5 | Physicians, All Other | 29-1229 | $230,000 | $101,358 | $284,000 | 34,008 |
| 6 | Family Medicine Physicians | 29-1215 | $218,500 | $180,000 | $245,000 | 2,684 |
| 7 | Pediatricians, General | 29-1221 | $210,123 | $175,000 | $245,000 | 3,637 |
| 8 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | 29-1216 | $199,000 | $67,358 | $240,000 | 4,819 |
| 9 | Chief Executives | 11-1011 | $185,328 | $122,096 | $250,000 | 6,128 |
| 10 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | 11-9041 | $168,334 | $130,000 | $210,000 | 10,861 |
| 11 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | 11-3021 | $165,000 | $136,000 | $200,000 | 89,718 |
| 12 | Lawyers | 23-1011 | $165,000 | $100,000 | $225,000 | 8,358 |
| 13 | Dentists, General | 29-1021 | $156,000 | $129,875 | $185,000 | 7,011 |
| 14 | Computer and Information Research Scientists | 15-1221 | $155,700 | $113,277 | $184,000 | 15,471 |
| 15 | Financial Managers | 11-3031 | $151,000 | $120,000 | $200,000 | 10,484 |
| 16 | Computer Hardware Engineers | 17-2061 | $150,000 | $120,255 | $173,056 | 8,302 |
| 17 | Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | 25-1071 | $150,000 | $90,196 | $230,500 | 7,561 |
| 18 | Marketing Managers | 11-2021 | $145,040 | $114,130 | $181,100 | 12,547 |
| 19 | Project Management Specialists | 13-1082 | $142,126 | $105,100 | $172,536 | 9,292 |
| 20 | General and Operations Managers | 11-1021 | $138,087 | $104,950 | $170,000 | 19,571 |
| 21 | Sales Managers | 11-2022 | $136,600 | $103,023 | $176,100 | 5,623 |
| 22 | Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | 17-2072 | $128,300 | $107,598 | $154,660 | 43,914 |
| 23 | Financial Specialists, All Other | 13-2099 | $126,000 | $97,037 | $165,000 | 16,573 |
| 24 | Pharmacists | 29-1051 | $124,800 | $111,925 | $140,208 | 2,647 |
| 25 | Veterinarians | 29-1131 | $123,772 | $95,253 | $156,000 | 2,098 |
| 26 | Managers, All Other | 11-9199 | $123,000 | $100,000 | $150,000 | 3,036 |
| 27 | Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | 11-3071 | $121,000 | $95,000 | $143,051 | 7,757 |
| 28 | Information Security Analysts | 15-1212 | $120,000 | $95,784 | $152,000 | 25,873 |
| 29 | Sales Engineers | 41-9031 | $120,000 | $96,307 | $146,385 | 11,650 |
| 30 | Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | 25-1041 | $120,000 | $89,898 | $161,628 | 2,604 |
| 31 | Industrial Production Managers | 11-3051 | $118,000 | $90,064 | $147,716 | 4,251 |
| 32 | Software Developers | 15-1252 | $116,251 | $95,160 | $145,725 | 1,400,940 |
| 33 | Operations Research Analysts | 15-2031 | $115,000 | $88,000 | $148,738 | 38,014 |
| 34 | Actuaries | 15-2011 | $115,000 | $90,425 | $141,818 | 2,794 |
| 35 | Data Scientists | 15-2051 | $114,941 | $90,200 | $145,000 | 213,508 |
| 36 | Database Architects | 15-1243 | $114,758 | $91,062 | $140,758 | 19,296 |
| 37 | Social Science Research Assistants | 19-4061 | $114,100 | $89,320 | $140,000 | 7,055 |
| 38 | Business Teachers, Postsecondary | 25-1011 | $113,300 | $83,000 | $140,020 | 2,746 |
| 39 | Financial Risk Specialists | 13-2054 | $112,243 | $85,000 | $140,179 | 6,791 |
| 40 | Economists | 19-3011 | $110,000 | $85,000 | $145,870 | 5,422 |
| 41 | Medical and Health Services Managers | 11-9111 | $110,000 | $79,040 | $177,821 | 3,984 |
| 42 | Statisticians | 15-2041 | $108,771 | $87,000 | $135,000 | 18,964 |
| 43 | Commercial and Industrial Designers | 27-1021 | $105,000 | $79,628 | $146,677 | 6,322 |
| 44 | Electrical Engineers | 17-2071 | $104,794 | $85,717 | $132,000 | 29,152 |
| 45 | Computer Network Architects | 15-1241 | $102,274 | $85,000 | $126,690 | 16,428 |
| 46 | Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers | 17-2031 | $102,000 | $83,200 | $132,000 | 3,711 |
| 47 | Computer Occupations, All Other | 15-1299 | $101,920 | $80,434 | $132,829 | 289,708 |
| 48 | Engineers, All Other | 17-2199 | $101,562 | $84,261 | $128,566 | 10,460 |
| 49 | Computer Systems Analysts | 15-1211 | $100,000 | $85,509 | $120,000 | 121,469 |
| 50 | Management Analysts | 13-1111 | $100,000 | $81,536 | $125,798 | 56,634 |
| 51 | Financial and Investment Analysts | 13-2051 | $100,000 | $80,000 | $135,000 | 54,243 |
| 52 | Microbiologists | 19-1022 | $99,900 | $79,000 | $121,867 | 3,679 |
| 53 | Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary | 25-1042 | $98,752 | $80,000 | $128,000 | 43,333 |
| 54 | Materials Engineers | 17-2131 | $98,155 | $83,868 | $120,640 | 7,753 |
| 55 | Industrial Engineers | 17-2112 | $97,887 | $81,827 | $122,500 | 59,667 |
| 56 | Database Administrators | 15-1242 | $96,720 | $80,000 | $123,600 | 41,827 |
| 57 | Chemical Engineers | 17-2041 | $96,013 | $83,200 | $115,482 | 8,238 |
| 58 | Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 15-1253 | $96,000 | $80,433 | $116,043 | 134,517 |
| 59 | Mechanical Engineers | 17-2141 | $95,200 | $80,000 | $124,800 | 54,681 |
| 60 | Computer User Support Specialists | 15-1232 | $94,700 | $78,800 | $109,596 | 3,593 |
| 61 | Network and Computer Systems Administrators | 15-1244 | $94,182 | $80,000 | $114,131 | 24,718 |
| 62 | Physicists | 19-2012 | $92,392 | $70,000 | $152,000 | 12,498 |
| 63 | Construction Managers | 11-9021 | $90,000 | $74,339 | $115,000 | 4,879 |
| 64 | Graphic Designers | 27-1024 | $89,814 | $66,290 | $130,894 | 13,192 |
| 65 | Logisticians | 13-1081 | $88,000 | $70,000 | $115,000 | 11,670 |
| 66 | Cost Estimators | 13-1051 | $88,000 | $70,000 | $112,403 | 5,300 |
| 67 | Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary | 25-1021 | $88,000 | $72,800 | $106,100 | 3,175 |
| 68 | Computer Programmers | 15-1251 | $86,965 | $76,731 | $105,000 | 53,885 |
| 69 | Web and Digital Interface Designers | 15-1255 | $86,000 | $70,330 | $108,728 | 5,655 |
| 70 | Compliance Officers | 13-1041 | $85,946 | $70,720 | $111,966 | 5,882 |
| 71 | Speech-Language Pathologists | 29-1127 | $85,176 | $71,614 | $96,782 | 2,581 |
| 72 | Biological Scientists, All Other | 19-1029 | $85,000 | $65,292 | $113,000 | 13,622 |
| 73 | Web Developers | 15-1254 | $85,000 | $70,720 | $107,266 | 3,471 |
| 74 | Accountants and Auditors | 13-2011 | $84,240 | $67,205 | $110,000 | 57,049 |
| 75 | Civil Engineers | 17-2051 | $84,000 | $71,500 | $100,298 | 30,551 |
| 76 | Physical Therapists | 29-1123 | $82,410 | $73,840 | $93,600 | 11,435 |
| 77 | Chemists | 19-2031 | $82,000 | $66,576 | $104,489 | 6,015 |
| 78 | Judicial Law Clerks | 23-1012 | $81,591 | $60,000 | $202,500 | 3,448 |
| 79 | Training and Development Specialists | 13-1151 | $80,100 | $62,088 | $102,400 | 2,199 |
| 80 | Occupational Therapists | 29-1122 | $75,816 | $69,888 | $90,589 | 1,984 |
| 81 | Registered Nurses | 29-1141 | $75,192 | $68,000 | $85,322 | 3,097 |
| 82 | Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | 13-1161 | $75,000 | $60,000 | $110,000 | 29,970 |
| 83 | Natural Sciences Managers | 11-9121 | $75,000 | $60,000 | $115,000 | 2,163 |
| 84 | Human Resources Specialists | 13-1071 | $73,152 | $60,000 | $100,506 | 4,858 |
| 85 | Architects, Except Landscape and Naval | 17-1011 | $72,000 | $63,000 | $85,000 | 8,707 |
| 86 | Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary | 25-9044 | $70,000 | $58,926 | $85,000 | 3,866 |
| 87 | Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | 19-1042 | $67,980 | $57,300 | $88,962 | 41,673 |
| 88 | Interior Designers | 27-1025 | $65,000 | $56,170 | $80,000 | 2,580 |
| 89 | Biological Technicians | 19-4021 | $64,896 | $54,835 | $76,877 | 23,209 |
| 90 | Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | 25-1124 | $64,333 | $54,373 | $75,763 | 4,708 |
| 91 | Biochemists and Biophysicists | 19-1021 | $64,104 | $56,880 | $76,436 | 24,684 |
| 92 | Public Relations Specialists | 27-3031 | $63,814 | $52,500 | $85,000 | 3,125 |
| 93 | Mental Health Counselors | 21-1014 | $59,915 | $49,500 | $72,800 | 2,242 |
| 94 | Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists | 29-2011 | $59,405 | $54,704 | $70,283 | 14,783 |
| 95 | Atmospheric and Space Scientists | 19-2021 | $58,608 | $53,760 | $65,000 | 7,399 |
| 96 | Special Education Teachers, Elementary School | 25-2056 | $56,548 | $49,836 | $66,250 | 2,385 |
| 97 | Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | 25-2021 | $55,000 | $47,273 | $63,242 | 14,592 |
| 98 | Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | 25-2022 | $55,000 | $48,785 | $63,030 | 2,242 |
| 99 | Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | 25-2031 | $54,728 | $48,316 | $63,585 | 10,199 |
| 100 | Rehabilitation Counselors | 21-1015 | $38,605 | $34,590 | $47,840 | 4,151 |
Showing 1–50 of 100 rows
Methodology
Wage values are the offered annual wage, normalised from hour/week/month/year pay units. Outliers (< $20k, > $1M) clipped. SOCs without enough wage data to compute a stable median are excluded.