H-1B salary guideSOC 15-1253Rank #4Updated May 2026

Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

H-1B prevailing-wage data for Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (SOC 15-1253). Based on 134,517 Labor Condition Applications filed with the US Department of Labor.

Median wage

$96,000

P50 across filings

P25 wage

$80,433

lower quartile

P75 wage

$116,043

upper quartile

Filings

134,517

Rank #4

Summary

Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (SOC 15-1253) is the most commonly sponsored H-1B occupation for QA roles, with 134,517 total filings in the program. The typical wage range is $80,433–$116,043 (25th–75th percentile), with a median of $96,000 across all experience and skill levels.

Wage progression by DOL prevailing wage level reflects growing expertise: Level I roles (entry) median at $78,000; Level II at $87,859; Level III at $108,000; and Level IV (expert) at $127,000. This structure incentivizes H-1B sponsorship of increasingly skilled QA professionals, with top-tier roles exceeding $150,000.

California leads all states with 24,239 filings and a median wage of $121,000, reflecting higher cost of living in tech hubs. Texas ranks second (20,135 filings, $93,558 median), followed by New Jersey, North Carolina, and Georgia. Cognizant Technology Solutions is the dominant employer with 4,246 filings, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Amazon, Capgemini, and Infosys.

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H-1B QA engineer
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QA analyst DOL wage levels
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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	11,693	$68,100	$78,000	$92,000
Level II	73,557	$76,981	$87,859	$101,500
Level III	25,850	$95,000	$108,000	$125,528
Level IV	15,791	$113,901	$127,000	$149,989

Top hiring states

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

#	State	Filings	Median
1	CA	24,239	$121,000
2	TX	20,135	$93,558
3	NJ	7,654	$97,053
4	NC	6,536	$93,416
5	GA	6,364	$90,604
6	IL	6,222	$88,000
7	MA	5,562	$102,565
8	PA	4,738	$90,000
9	FL	4,572	$82,950
10	WA	4,415	$108,680

24,239

20,135

7,654

6,536

6,364

6,222

5,562

4,738

4,572

4,415

Top sponsoring employers

Who actually files most for this role.

#	Employer	Filings
1	COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS US CORP	4,246
2	TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED	1,135
3	AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (WA)	1,083
4	CAPGEMINI AMERICA INC	959
5	INFOSYS LIMITED	794
6	AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (VA)	639
7	HCL AMERICA INC	540
8	IBM Corporation	481
9	LTIMindtree Limited	456
10	COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP, INC	404

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUT…

4,246

TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES …

1,135

AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (WA)

1,083

CAPGEMINI AMERICA INC

959

INFOSYS LIMITED

794

AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (VA)

639

HCL AMERICA INC

540

IBM Corporation

481

LTIMindtree Limited

456

COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP, …

404

Median wage by fiscal year

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

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