Highest Paying H1B Jobs by Role (2026)

The highest-paying H1B role averages $413,787 per year. These 50 job titles (with 10+ applications) command the top wages among H1B visa holders, based on DOL labor certification filings.

#	Role	Avg Wage	Median Wage	Prevailing Wage	Applications	Approval Rate
1	Partner	$413,787	$420,000	$223,737	15	100.0%
2	Principal	$340,481	$300,000	$192,480	19	94.7%
3	Physician	$308,332	$292,500	$154,142	19	100.0%
4	Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine	$299,114	$282,880	$106,907	26	88.5%
5	Senior Engineering Manager	$282,173	$311,000	$233,520	12	100.0%
6	Assistant Professor - Clinical	$278,607	$249,268	$85,182	38	100.0%
7	Physician (Hospitalist)	$271,817	$280,800	$196,242	20	100.0%
8	Attending Physician	$260,105	$260,000	$210,377	17	94.1%
9	Software Engineering Lmts	$239,684	$240,719	$177,768	13	100.0%
10	Clinical Assistant Professor	$227,350	$190,029	$94,647	57	100.0%
11	Project Leader	$225,400	$225,400	$160,638	13	100.0%
12	Law Clerk	$225,000	$225,000	$152,805	19	100.0%
13	Professor	$220,024	$190,000	$97,526	24	87.5%
14	Assistant Professor of Clinical	$217,847	$235,000	$112,341	13	100.0%
15	Software Senior Principal Engineer	$217,775	$204,193	$172,000	13	100.0%
16	Quantitative Researcher	$216,102	$225,000	$113,251	40	100.0%
17	Trader	$215,494	$220,000	$113,681	21	100.0%
18	Staff Machine Learning Engineer	$214,500	$208,000	$196,465	11	100.0%
19	Principal Software Development Engineer	$213,505	$214,300	$199,974	11	100.0%
20	Senior Manager, Engineering	$212,073	$229,190	$189,673	10	90.0%
21	Manager III, Software Development	$210,947	$222,000	$185,065	12	100.0%
22	Senior Machine Learning Engineer	$209,417	$185,000	$162,810	39	100.0%
23	Engineering Manager	$207,383	$207,870	$191,763	70	97.1%
24	Software Development Engineer III	$206,958	$212,100	$162,157	24	100.0%
25	Smts Software Development Eng.	$205,771	$208,000	$195,313	10	100.0%
26	Member of Technical Staff	$205,398	$177,838	$176,512	43	100.0%
27	Software Engineering Smts	$201,107	$201,271	$156,221	11	100.0%
28	Hospitalist	$201,040	$216,320	$128,469	40	92.5%
29	Quantitative Analyst	$200,964	$200,000	$119,393	20	95.0%
30	Staff Data Scientist	$199,935	$204,477	$160,389	13	92.3%
31	Director	$198,610	$196,000	$162,117	50	100.0%
32	Senior Member of Technical Staff	$198,556	$209,558	$195,104	10	100.0%
33	Senior Staff Software Engineer	$197,641	$192,834	$186,883	28	96.4%
34	Senior Staff Engineer	$194,258	$187,074	$175,603	10	100.0%
35	Senior Manager	$193,578	$203,000	$146,394	58	100.0%
36	Associate	$193,234	$185,000	$138,934	227	100.0%
37	Sr Staff Software Engineer	$193,021	$208,993	$188,749	12	100.0%
38	Vice President	$190,212	$180,000	$152,773	108	99.1%
39	Manager, Engineering	$189,939	$197,025	$176,955	25	100.0%
40	Director Software Engineering	$189,528	$191,318	$169,352	25	96.0%
41	Software Engineering Manager	$188,695	$182,300	$171,515	18	100.0%
42	Mts 1, Software Engineer	$187,025	$195,000	$178,082	16	100.0%
43	Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer)	$186,500	$200,000	$161,590	14	100.0%
44	Vice President, Software Engineering	$186,310	$190,000	$147,029	29	100.0%
45	Lead Analytics Consultant	$183,457	$184,200	$105,355	14	100.0%
46	Staff Software Development Engineer	$183,431	$174,622	$170,657	21	100.0%
47	Senior Manager, Software Engineering	$182,768	$175,000	$166,605	36	97.2%
48	Principal Engineer	$182,613	$172,744	$158,821	40	97.5%
49	Senior Product Manager	$181,808	$185,000	$160,900	55	98.2%
50	Staff Software Engineer	$181,250	$172,100	$161,249	178	99.4%

Frequently Asked Questions

Senior engineering, management, and specialized technical roles typically command the highest H1B wages. Titles like Principal Engineer, Engineering Manager, and Director-level positions consistently appear at the top of wage rankings.

The Department of Labor determines prevailing wages using the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. Each role is classified by SOC code, and the prevailing wage depends on the occupation, skill level (I-IV), and geographic location.

Location is the biggest factor, the same role pays significantly more in San Francisco or New York compared to smaller cities. Seniority level, company size, and industry also drive wage variation within the same job title.

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