H-1B salary guideSOC 19-2021Rank #47Updated Jun 2026

Atmospheric and Space Scientists

H-1B prevailing-wage data for Atmospheric and Space Scientists (SOC 19-2021). Based on 20,607 Labor Condition Applications filed with the US Department of Labor.

Median wage

$67,000

P50 · FY2026

P25 wage

$61,842

lower quartile · FY2026

P75 wage

$73,000

upper quartile · FY2026

Filings

491

Rank #47 · FY2026

Summary

Atmospheric and Space Scientists are professionals who study Earth's atmosphere, climate systems, and space environments. In FY2026, H-1B filings for this occupation totaled 491, with a median prevailing wage of $67,000 and a typical range of $61,842 to $73,000 (P25–P75).

Prevailing wages increase significantly across Department of Labor skill levels. At Level I (entry), the median wage is $58,677; Level II reaches $63,000; Level III climbs to $66,560; and Level IV (highest) peaks at $104,662. This progression reflects experience, complexity, and independent judgment required in the role.

Top hiring locations include Texas (3,212 filings, median $48,589), New York (1,937 filings, median $56,000), Maryland (1,858 filings, median $51,000), Georgia (1,502 filings, median $52,896), and Massachusetts (1,499 filings, median $53,460). Northwestern University leads all employers with 1,115 H-1B filings, followed by Harvard University (955), University of Texas at Austin (936), UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (797), and Johns Hopkins University (668). Most hiring is concentrated in academic and research institutions.

atmospheric and space scientists H-1B salary
H-1B prevailing wage atmospheric scientists
atmospheric scientist wage levels DOL
H-1B filings atmospheric research
space scientist H-1B top employers

Wage by DOL prevailing-wage level

P25 / P50 / P75 of offered annual wage at each PW_WAGE_LEVEL. Level I = entry, Level IV = expert — the I-to-IV gap is the career runway.

Level	N	P25	Median	P75
Level I	6,394	$53,893	$58,677	$65,000
Level II	687	$55,632	$63,000	$75,000
Level III	159	$57,221	$66,560	$86,935
Level IV	28	$77,451	$104,662	$115,474

Wage by level (P25 / median / P75)
Level	P25	Median	P75
Level I	$53,893	$58,677	$65,000
Level II	$55,632	$63,000	$75,000
Level III	$57,221	$66,560	$86,935
Level IV	$77,451	$104,662	$115,474

Top hiring states

Worksite states with the most filings for this SOC, with the local median wage.

#	State	Filings	Median
1	TX	3,212	$48,589
2	NY	1,937	$56,000
3	MD	1,858	$51,000
4	GA	1,502	$52,896
5	MA	1,499	$53,460
6	IL	1,413	$47,500
7	CA	1,283	$55,000
8	IN	796	$50,000
9	CO	709	$50,000
10	PA	586	$49,176

3,212

1,937

1,858

1,502

1,499

1,413

1,283

796

709

586

Top sponsoring employers

Who actually files most for this role.

#	Employer	Filings
1	Northwestern University	1,115
2	Harvard University	955
3	The University of Texas at Austin	936
4	THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER	797
5	Johns Hopkins University	668
6	University of Maryland Baltimore	651
7	State University of New York, Upstate Medical University	616
8	Georgia Institute of Technology	456
9	University of Utah	362
10	Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis	326

Northwestern University

1,115

Harvard University

955

The University of Texas at…

936

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS M.…

797

Johns Hopkins University

668

University of Maryland Bal…

651

State University of New Yo…

616

Georgia Institute of Techn…

456

University of Utah

362

Indiana University Purdue …

326

Median wage by fiscal year

How the typical offered wage for this SOC has drifted across fiscal years.

Time series
Period	Value
FY2010	$42k
FY2011	$43k
FY2012	$43k
FY2013	$45k
FY2014	$45k
FY2015	$46k
FY2016	$47k
FY2017	$48k
FY2018	$49k
FY2019	$51k
FY2020	$54k
FY2021	$56k
FY2022	$58k
FY2023	$60k
FY2024	$62k
FY2025	$65k
FY2026	$67k

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Side-by-side view of KPIs, outcomes, top breakdowns and yearly trend.

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Understand the data

Definitions and methodology behind these H-1B figures.

How the prevailing wage works DOL wage levels I–IV, explained Common H-1B salary questions How this data is built