The Prevailing Wage: The Legal Floor Under Your H-1B Salary
Every H-1B job has a legal minimum wage attached to it, and almost nobody knows what theirs is. We compared the floor with the actual wage across every occupation in the federal file.
In this guide (7 sections)
Every H-1B job has a legal minimum wage attached to it. Not the federal minimum wage — a specific number, for your occupation, in your metro area, that the employer promised the Department of Labor it would pay.
It is called the prevailing wage, and almost nobody on an H-1B knows what theirs is. That is a problem, because it is simultaneously a floor you cannot be paid below and a benchmark that tells you how generous your offer really is.
We pulled both numbers — the prevailing wage and the wage actually promised — from 363,223 certified filings and compared them.
What the prevailing wage is
When an employer files a labor condition application, it must state the prevailing wage for that occupation in that area, and commit to paying at least that much. The Department of Labor certifies the filing on that basis.
The figure normally comes from the OEWS survey, and it is published at four wage levels — roughly entry, qualified, experienced and fully competent. Which level the employer selects materially changes the floor.
How far above the floor employers actually pay
| Occupation | Median prevailing wage (the legal floor) | Median actual wage on the filing | Difference | Premium | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | $131,997 | $144,936 | $12,939 | +9.8% | 118,662 |
| Data Scientists | $112,904 | $129,709 | $16,805 | +14.9% | 18,263 |
| Information Technology Project Managers | $119,933 | $138,800 | $18,867 | +15.7% | 13,317 |
| Computer Systems Engineers/Architects | $97,718 | $107,640 | $9,922 | +10.2% | 12,843 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | $99,299 | $108,680 | $9,381 | +9.4% | 12,770 |
| Computer Programmers | $85,842 | $95,243 | $9,401 | +11.0% | 10,400 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $191,770 | $208,000 | $16,230 | +8.5% | 8,224 |
| Business Intelligence Analysts | $109,491 | $118,893 | $9,402 | +8.6% | 7,949 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | $103,917 | $110,000 | $6,083 | +5.9% | 7,756 |
| Financial and Investment Analysts | $118,248 | $143,220 | $24,972 | +21.1% | 6,754 |
| Mechanical Engineers | $102,024 | $110,000 | $7,976 | +7.8% | 6,448 |
| Accountants and Auditors | $82,763 | $97,406 | $14,643 | +17.7% | 6,036 |
| Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | $152,048 | $156,853 | $4,805 | +3.2% | 5,902 |
| Operations Research Analysts | $92,394 | $115,000 | $22,606 | +24.5% | 5,202 |
| Electrical Engineers | $114,208 | $126,883 | $12,675 | +11.1% | 5,145 |
| Management Analysts | $101,816 | $130,187 | $28,371 | +27.9% | 5,030 |
Across all 96 occupations with enough filings to measure, the median premium over the prevailing wage is 14.4%.
Now look at the largest group in the entire file. Software Developers: 118,662 filings, a median prevailing wage of $131,997 and a median actual wage of $144,936. That is a premium of just 9.8% — below the overall median.
The occupations paid at the floor
| Occupation | Median prevailing wage (the legal floor) | Median actual wage on the filing | Difference | Premium | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Database Architects | $135,346 | $142,941 | $7,595 | +5.6% | 2,822 |
| Validation Engineers | $98,062 | $103,126 | $5,065 | +5.2% | 1,634 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | $92,581 | $97,000 | $4,419 | +4.8% | 1,137 |
| Web Developers | $81,661 | $85,000 | $3,339 | +4.1% | 638 |
| Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers | $102,673 | $106,774 | $4,102 | +4.0% | 936 |
| Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | $152,048 | $156,853 | $4,805 | +3.2% | 5,902 |
| Physical Therapists | $82,264 | $83,658 | $1,394 | +1.7% | 1,717 |
| Occupational Therapists | $71,968 | $71,968 | $0 | +0.0% | 1,136 |
These are the rows that should change how you read an offer. Occupational Therapists show a premium of 0.0% — the median actual wage equals the median prevailing wage exactly. Physical Therapists sit at +1.7%, Electronics Engineers at +3.2%, Web Developers at +4.1%.
In these occupations the market rate and the legal minimum have effectively converged. If you work in one of them, the prevailing wage is not a floor far beneath your offer — it probably is your offer.
The occupations paid far above it
| Occupation | Median prevailing wage (the legal floor) | Median actual wage on the filing | Difference | Premium | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radiologists | $139,568 | $400,000 | $260,432 | +186.6% | 407 |
| Physicians, All Other | $93,696 | $225,000 | $131,304 | +140.1% | 3,042 |
| Business Teachers, Postsecondary | $60,680 | $144,896 | $84,216 | +138.8% | 902 |
| Cardiologists | $239,200 | $450,000 | $210,800 | +88.1% | 453 |
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | $79,710 | $141,840 | $62,130 | +77.9% | 1,259 |
| Hospitalists | $169,915 | $290,000 | $120,085 | +70.7% | 1,315 |
At the other extreme the prevailing wage stops being a useful benchmark at all. Radiologists are filed at a median 187% above the prevailing wage; Physicians at 140%.
The OEWS survey simply does not capture what specialist physicians earn. For these roles, citing the prevailing wage in a negotiation would be actively harmful to you.
Why this matters beyond the paycheck
- It is a legal floor, not a target. The employer committed to it on a federal filing. Being paid below the stated wage is a compliance problem, not a disagreement.
- It affects your lottery odds. USCIS conducts a weighted selection based generally on the highest OEWS wage level the offered wage equals or exceeds. A higher wage level can improve your position — see our H-1B cap guide.
- It follows you into the green card. PERM requires a prevailing wage determination too. A low wage level early can shape later filings — see our PERM and I-140 guide.
- It tells you which argument to make. If your occupation sits near the floor, the honest argument is market comparison, not the prevailing wage. If it sits far above, never mention the prevailing wage at all.
How to find your own number
- Find the SOC code on your LCA. Your employer must make the certified LCA available to you; it states the occupation, the wage level, the prevailing wage and the wage offered.
- Check the area. Prevailing wage is set per metro area, so a move changes it.
- Check the level. Levels 1 to 4. If you have years of experience and the filing says Level 1, that is worth a conversation.
- Compare with our salary data by role and city, which gives the 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles of actual wages — a better negotiating benchmark than a median.
What this data cannot tell you
These are medians of medians across a quarter of filings. They do not tell you your own prevailing wage, which depends on your exact SOC code, metro area and wage level. We have not published per-level figures, because the file records the wage rather than a clean level for every row, and we are not going to infer one.
Nor is the actual wage total compensation — it excludes bonus and equity. The premium figures here are base-to-floor, which is the comparison that matters legally.
Questions
What is the prevailing wage for an H-1B job?
How much more than the prevailing wage do H-1B employers actually pay?
Which occupations are paid closest to the legal minimum?
Can my employer pay me less than the prevailing wage?
What are the four H-1B wage levels?
Does the wage level affect my H-1B lottery chances?
Should I use the prevailing wage when negotiating?
Does the prevailing wage matter for the green card?
Sources: US Department of Labor — Foreign Labor Certification Performance Data (LCA disclosure files) · US Department of Labor — Prevailing Wage Information and Resources · US Department of Labor — Labor Condition Application (LCA) programme · USCIS — H-1B Specialty Occupations
