H-1B salary guideSOC 15-1252Rank #1Updated May 2026

Software Developers

H-1B prevailing-wage data for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252). Based on 1,400,940 Labor Condition Applications filed with the US Department of Labor.

Median wage

$116,251

P50 across filings

P25 wage

$95,160

lower quartile

P75 wage

$145,725

upper quartile

Filings

1,400,940

Rank #1

Summary

Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) represent the largest occupation in the U.S. H-1B program, with over 1.4 million filings. The typical wage range spans $95,160 at the 25th percentile to $145,725 at the 75th percentile, with a median of $116,251.

DOL prevailing wage levels show clear progression: Level I positions (entry/less complex) range from $77,200–$109,000, while Level IV (specialized/highly complex) reach $130,747–$184,080. Level III positions occupy the middle ground with $110,000–$157,477. Most H-1B software developer roles fall into Levels II and III.

California leads with 295,439 filings and a median wage of $152,100, followed by Texas (216,424 filings, $105,997 median) and Washington (111,054 filings, $148,013 median). Major sponsors include Cognizant Technology Solutions (18,711 filings), Google (14,090), Amazon (27,288 combined filings across subsidiaries), and Microsoft (13,684).

software developer H-1B salary
H-1B prevailing wage software
software developer wages by state
H-1B software developer sponsors
DOL wage levels software developer

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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	139,687	$77,200	$87,545	$109,000
Level II	640,115	$91,000	$101,754	$124,800
Level III	313,051	$110,000	$129,189	$157,477
Level IV	214,073	$130,747	$153,306	$184,080

Top hiring states

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

#	State	Filings	Median
1	CA	295,439	$152,100
2	TX	216,424	$105,997
3	WA	111,054	$148,013
4	NJ	75,370	$113,672
5	NY	60,422	$130,000
6	GA	59,240	$104,000
7	NC	58,672	$109,262
8	IL	56,229	$102,690
9	VA	44,827	$109,225
10	FL	42,276	$100,000

295,439

216,424

111,054

75,370

60,422

59,240

58,672

56,229

44,827

42,276

Top sponsoring employers

Who actually files most for this role.

#	Employer	Filings
1	COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS US CORP	18,711
2	Google LLC	14,090
3	AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (WA)	13,959
4	Microsoft Corporation	13,684
5	AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (VA)	13,329
6	Meta Platforms, Inc	8,323
7	Apple Inc.	6,262
8	WAL-MART ASSOCIATES, INC.	6,034
9	Amazon Web Services, Inc.	5,445
10	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	5,316

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUT…

18,711

Google LLC

14,090

AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (WA)

13,959

Microsoft Corporation

13,684

AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (VA)

13,329

Meta Platforms, Inc

8,323

Apple Inc.

6,262

WAL-MART ASSOCIATES, INC.

6,034

Amazon Web Services, Inc.

5,445

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

5,316

Median wage by fiscal year

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

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

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