H-1B salary guideSOC 17-2131Rank #66Updated Jun 2026

Materials Engineers

H-1B prevailing-wage data for Materials Engineers (SOC 17-2131). Based on 12,778 Labor Condition Applications filed with the US Department of Labor.

Median wage

$124,090

P50 · FY2026

P25 wage

$95,701

lower quartile · FY2026

P75 wage

$133,432

upper quartile · FY2026

Filings

460

Rank #66 · FY2026

Summary

Materials Engineers (SOC 17-2131) are sought by employers across the semiconductor and materials science sectors under the H-1B program. In FY2026, there were 460 H-1B filings for this occupation, with a median wage of $124,090 and a typical range of $95,701 to $133,432 (P25–P75).

H-1B wages for Materials Engineers follow a clear progression across the Department of Labor wage levels. Entry-level (Level I) positions range from $67,850 to $88,850 with a median of $76,045. Mid-career (Level II) roles span $83,000–$105,394 (median $92,000). Advanced (Level III) positions range from $109,512 to $130,291, and senior (Level IV) roles command $113,947–$155,232 with a median of $131,310. Over 12,778 total filings in the dataset reflect sustained demand.

California leads in filings (2,612) with a median wage of $107,298, followed by Oregon (1,711 filings, $120,640 median), Michigan (996 filings, $84,032 median), Texas (954 filings, $90,000 median), and New York (779 filings, $80,699 median). Intel Corporation is the dominant employer, accounting for 1,914 filings, with GlobalFoundries U.S., Micron Technology, Applied Materials, and Lam Research as other major sponsors.

Materials Engineers H-1B salary
H-1B wage levels Materials Engineers
Materials Engineers prevailing wage
H-1B Materials Engineers by state
Intel H-1B Materials Engineers
Materials Engineers semiconductor H-1B

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	1,387	$67,850	$76,045	$88,850
Level II	2,905	$83,000	$92,000	$105,394
Level III	2,149	$109,512	$120,640	$130,291
Level IV	679	$113,947	$131,310	$155,232

Wage by level (P25 / median / P75)
Level	P25	Median	P75
Level I	$67,850	$76,045	$88,850
Level II	$83,000	$92,000	$105,394
Level III	$109,512	$120,640	$130,291
Level IV	$113,947	$131,310	$155,232

Top hiring states

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

#	State	Filings	Median
1	CA	2,612	$107,298
2	OR	1,711	$120,640
3	MI	996	$84,032
4	TX	954	$90,000
5	NY	779	$80,699
6	AZ	556	$93,550
7	MA	352	$96,471
8	IN	351	$76,918
9	IL	313	$86,100
10	OH	292	$80,000

2,612

1,711

996

954

779

556

352

351

313

292

Top sponsoring employers

Who actually files most for this role.

#	Employer	Filings
1	Intel Corporation	1,914
2	GlobalFoundries U.S., Inc.	283
3	Micron Technology, Inc.	173
4	Applied Materials, Inc.	133
5	Lam Research Corporation	110
6	Western Digital Technologies, Inc.	96
7	The MathWorks, Inc.	87
8	Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (Esri)	80
9	WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY	76
10	Cummins Inc.	72

Intel Corporation

1,914

GlobalFoundries U.S., Inc.

283

Micron Technology, Inc.

173

Applied Materials, Inc.

133

Lam Research Corporation

110

Western Digital Technologi…

The MathWorks, Inc.

Environmental Systems Rese…

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY

Cummins Inc.

Median wage by fiscal year

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

Time series
Period	Value
FY2010	$75k
FY2011	$75k
FY2012	$76k
FY2013	$78k
FY2014	$78k
FY2015	$80k
FY2016	$80k
FY2017	$80k
FY2018	$84k
FY2019	$86k
FY2020	$85k
FY2021	$91k
FY2022	$96k
FY2023	$97k
FY2024	$110k
FY2025	$110k
FY2026	$124k

Compare Materials Engineers with another occupation

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