Occupation leaderboard · FY2026

Top H-1B Occupations FY2026

SOC occupations ranked by H-1B filing volume across FY2010–FY2026. The list is dominated by tech roles (15-xxxx series) and engineering occupations (17-xxxx).

Summary

Software Developers dominate H-1B sponsorship with 2.77 million total filings and a median wage of $102,000, representing more than one-third of all H-1B activity. The next most common roles are Computer Systems Analysts (792K filings, $70K median) and Computer Occupations, All Other (644K filings, $88.5K median), underscoring the concentration of tech talent in the H-1B program.

Beyond software roles, QA analysts and testers (367K filings), data scientists (341K filings), and computer programmers (307K filings) round out the top tier. Management analysts (220K filings) and financial analysts (164K filings) represent the largest non-tech professional roles, while computer and information systems managers earn the highest median wage at $150,000 despite fewer total sponsorships (156K filings).

Engineering occupations including mechanical engineers (136K filings) and industrial engineers (113K filings) also appear in the top 15, alongside database administrators, accountants, and medical scientists. Across all top occupations, median wages range from $59.6K to $150K, with technical roles generally commanding higher compensation than entry-level analysis positions.

top H-1B occupations
most common H-1B roles
H-1B job titles by filings
software developer H-1B
H-1B occupation rankings

Top 10 at a glance

Computer Occupations and Software Developers dwarf the rest of the list.

Software Developers

2,843,747 · 15-1252

Computer Systems Analysts

806,267 · 15-1211

Computer Occupations, All Other

661,886 · 15-1299

Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

375,227 · 15-1253

Data Scientists

357,932 · 15-2051

Computer Programmers

313,856 · 15-1251

Management Analysts

225,988 · 13-1111

Financial and Investment Analysts

169,637 · 13-2051

Computer and Information Systems Managers

160,669 · 11-3021

Accountants and Auditors

159,700 · 13-2011

Distribution

Long-tail spread across 100 SOC codes.

Distribution by rank
Rank	Value
1	2,843,747
2	806,267
3	661,886
4	375,227
5	357,932
6	313,856
7	225,988
8	169,637
9	160,669
10	159,700
11	140,175
12	117,958
13	109,991
14	109,160
15	102,826
16	101,504
17	100,569
18	97,288
19	85,783
20	83,905
21	76,696
22	73,415
23	68,293
24	66,762
25	57,872
26	54,025
27	47,786
28	43,654
29	40,456
30	39,618
31	38,015
32	37,815
33	36,625
34	33,892
35	32,271
36	30,492
37	29,858
38	29,236
39	29,090
40	28,691
41	27,528
42	26,948
43	26,614
44	23,570
45	23,434
46	22,697
47	20,953
48	20,090
49	19,513
50	19,202
51	19,099
52	18,841
53	18,132
54	17,942
55	17,441
56	17,293
57	16,919
58	16,555
59	15,698
60	15,347
61	15,141
62	14,309
63	13,934
64	13,933
65	13,416
66	13,303
67	12,611
68	12,309
69	12,292
70	12,225
71	12,181
72	11,387
73	11,325
74	10,927
75	10,563
76	10,369
77	9,426
78	9,303
79	8,858
80	8,508
81	8,476
82	7,983
83	7,964
84	7,791
85	7,576
86	7,526
87	7,486
88	7,329
89	6,948
90	6,670
91	6,666
92	6,552
93	6,470
94	6,335
95	6,269
96	6,250
97	6,201
98	6,149
99	6,097
100	6,089

median 19,099

#1: 2,843,747rank#100: 6,089

100 ranked entries

Showing 1–50 of 100 rows

#	Entity	SOC	Filings	Median wage
1	Software Developers	15-1252	2,843,747	$102,690
2	Computer Systems Analysts	15-1211	806,267	$70,000
3	Computer Occupations, All Other	15-1299	661,886	$89,352
4	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	15-1253	375,227	$81,600
5	Data Scientists	15-2051	357,932	$103,480
6	Computer Programmers	15-1251	313,856	$68,848
7	Management Analysts	13-1111	225,988	$79,102
8	Financial and Investment Analysts	13-2051	169,637	$86,000
9	Computer and Information Systems Managers	11-3021	160,669	$150,744
10	Accountants and Auditors	13-2011	159,700	$68,000
11	Mechanical Engineers	17-2141	140,175	$84,872
12	Industrial Engineers	17-2112	117,958	$90,000
13	Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	13-1161	109,991	$61,589
14	Database Administrators	15-1242	109,160	$84,261
15	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	19-1042	102,826	$60,000
16	Physicians, All Other	29-1229	101,504	$185,000
17	Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary	25-1042	100,569	$90,000
18	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	17-2072	97,288	$110,000
19	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	15-1244	85,783	$76,316
20	Operations Research Analysts	15-2031	83,905	$96,098
21	Civil Engineers	17-2051	76,696	$76,000
22	Electrical Engineers	17-2071	73,415	$90,000
23	Biological Technicians	19-4021	68,293	$54,018
24	Information Security Analysts	15-1212	66,762	$105,955
25	Biochemists and Biophysicists	19-1021	57,872	$57,456
26	General and Operations Managers	11-1021	54,025	$114,338
27	Physical Therapists	29-1123	47,786	$71,282
28	Statisticians	15-2041	43,654	$91,217
29	Database Architects	15-1243	40,456	$97,000
30	Computer Network Architects	15-1241	39,618	$89,627
31	Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education	25-2021	38,015	$48,647
32	Graphic Designers	27-1024	37,815	$70,429
33	Financial Specialists, All Other	13-2099	36,625	$110,000
34	Marketing Managers	11-2021	33,892	$123,998
35	Architects, Except Landscape and Naval	17-1011	32,271	$65,707
36	Sales Engineers	41-9031	30,492	$100,454
37	Financial Managers	11-3031	29,858	$125,715
38	Biological Scientists, All Other	19-1029	29,236	$75,540
39	Physicists	19-2012	29,090	$82,000
40	Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	25-2031	28,691	$49,702
41	Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	29-2011	27,528	$56,576
42	Computer and Information Research Scientists	15-1221	26,948	$140,670
43	Logisticians	13-1081	26,614	$75,000
44	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	25-1071	23,570	$111,290
45	Lawyers	23-1011	23,434	$145,000
46	Architectural and Engineering Managers	11-9041	22,697	$135,470
47	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	19-2021	20,953	$50,316
48	Engineers, All Other	17-2199	20,090	$93,506
49	Chemists	19-2031	19,513	$70,000
50	Chemical Engineers	17-2041	19,202	$88,000
51	Commercial and Industrial Designers	27-1021	19,099	$75,000
52	Web Developers	15-1254	18,841	$70,000
53	Dentists, General	29-1021	18,132	$144,000
54	Human Resources Specialists	13-1071	17,942	$60,798
55	Pharmacists	29-1051	17,441	$114,920
56	Project Management Specialists	13-1082	17,293	$128,000
57	Computer Hardware Engineers	17-2061	16,919	$124,800
58	Sales Managers	11-2022	16,555	$111,259
59	Social Science Research Assistants	19-4061	15,698	$91,668
60	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	11-3071	15,347	$110,000
61	Chief Executives	11-1011	15,141	$167,773
62	Cost Estimators	13-1051	14,309	$75,000
63	Computer User Support Specialists	15-1232	13,934	$74,110
64	Compliance Officers	13-1041	13,933	$76,000
65	Economists	19-3011	13,416	$95,088
66	Materials Engineers	17-2131	13,303	$92,000
67	Financial Risk Specialists	13-2054	12,611	$100,000
68	Public Relations Specialists	27-3031	12,309	$52,000
69	Web and Digital Interface Designers	15-1255	12,292	$80,000
70	Medical and Health Services Managers	11-9111	12,225	$83,200
71	General Internal Medicine Physicians	29-1216	12,181	$175,000
72	Construction Managers	11-9021	11,387	$82,500
73	Training and Development Specialists	13-1151	11,325	$70,304
74	Industrial Production Managers	11-3051	10,927	$97,510
75	Occupational Therapists	29-1122	10,563	$71,968
76	Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary	25-9044	10,369	$63,000
77	Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers	17-2031	9,426	$89,082
78	Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary	25-1124	9,303	$57,000
79	Pediatricians, General	29-1221	8,858	$180,000
80	Judicial Law Clerks	23-1012	8,508	$65,510
81	Family Medicine Physicians	29-1215	8,476	$182,395
82	Interior Designers	27-1025	7,983	$55,350
83	Registered Nurses	29-1141	7,964	$70,262
84	Microbiologists	19-1022	7,791	$87,360
85	Computer Network Support Specialists	15-1231	7,576	$67,808
86	Actuaries	15-2011	7,526	$94,600
87	Speech-Language Pathologists	29-1127	7,486	$71,989
88	Rehabilitation Counselors	21-1015	7,329	$39,520
89	Business Teachers, Postsecondary	25-1011	6,948	$104,000
90	Budget Analysts	13-2031	6,670	$58,240
91	Psychiatrists	29-1223	6,666	$210,000
92	Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers	15-1199	6,552	$69,264
93	Special Education Teachers, Elementary School	25-2056	6,470	$53,248
94	Business Operations Specialists, All Other	13-1199	6,335	$65,000
95	Art Directors	27-1011	6,269	$96,000
96	Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary	25-1021	6,250	$82,000
97	Veterinarians	29-1131	6,201	$95,000
98	Managers, All Other	11-9199	6,149	$111,592
99	Natural Sciences Managers	11-9121	6,097	$65,000
100	Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary	25-1041	6,089	$105,012

Showing 1–50 of 100 rows

Methodology

Sourced from the SOC classifier’s output on each LCA disclosure. Records that failed automated classification (about 4.7% of the corpus) are excluded from this ranking. Median wage is computed across all certified and pending filings for the SOC, with out-of-band values (< $20k, > $1M) clipped.