H-1B Salaries by City: Where Do Visa Holders Earn the Most?
Updated 2026-04-23 · Based on 1.88M+ certified LCA filings across 17,900+ cities
Highest-Paying Cities for H-1B Workers
Cities ranked by average offered wage on H-1B LCA filings (minimum 1,000 filings):
| # | City | Avg Wage | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin, CA | $796,788 | 1,243 |
| 2 | Long Island City, NY | $570,339 | 1,618 |
| 3 | Bothell, WA | $569,333 | 2,194 |
| 4 | Brooklyn, NY | $545,774 | 5,211 |
| 5 | Chantilly, VA | $539,588 | 1,049 |
| 6 | Vienna, VA | $519,383 | 1,022 |
| 7 | HOUSTON, TX | $494,400 | 3,386 |
| 8 | Allen, TX | $492,806 | 1,283 |
| 9 | Boise, ID | $485,939 | 1,524 |
| 10 | Greensboro, NC | $485,111 | 1,597 |
| 11 | Prosper, TX | $484,706 | 1,460 |
| 12 | Albuquerque, NM | $452,012 | 1,155 |
| 13 | Marietta, GA | $451,234 | 1,031 |
| 14 | Suwanee, GA | $445,012 | 1,008 |
| 15 | Duluth, GA | $444,281 | 1,552 |
| 16 | Carrollton, TX | $440,220 | 1,287 |
| 17 | Las Vegas, NV | $436,039 | 2,585 |
| 18 | Scottsdale, AZ | $428,366 | 2,987 |
| 19 | Englewood, CO | $421,894 | 1,672 |
| 20 | Santa Monica, CA | $414,454 | 1,801 |
Most Popular H-1B Cities (by Filing Volume)
| # | City | Filings | Avg Wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY | 88,450 | $348,743 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | 36,868 | $233,791 |
| 3 | Austin, TX | 36,260 | $248,421 |
| 4 | San Francisco, CA | 33,463 | $349,924 |
| 5 | San Jose, CA | 29,408 | $253,915 |
| 6 | Chicago, IL | 27,422 | $186,112 |
| 7 | Sunnyvale, CA | 26,990 | $309,769 |
| 8 | Atlanta, GA | 24,997 | $220,520 |
| 9 | Redmond, WA | 24,057 | $182,666 |
| 10 | Dallas, TX | 23,753 | $197,352 |
| 11 | Houston, TX | 22,913 | $284,620 |
| 12 | Irving, TX | 22,908 | $213,986 |
| 13 | Plano, TX | 22,771 | $232,361 |
| 14 | Bellevue, WA | 19,671 | $223,414 |
| 15 | Charlotte, NC | 19,324 | $251,831 |
Key Insights
- New York City dominates in volume with 88,450 filings — more than double any other city
- San Francisco and Silicon Valley cities lead on wages, reflecting the tech industry's premium compensation
- Texas cities (Austin, Dallas, Plano, Irving, Houston) are increasingly popular H-1B destinations, combining lower cost of living with growing tech hubs
- The wage-volume tradeoff: Cities with the most filings don't always have the highest wages. Consulting-heavy cities (Irving, TX; Charlotte, NC) tend toward lower averages due to staffing firm filings
What This Means for the FY2027 Lottery
Under the new weighted lottery, geography matters more than ever. Workers in high-cost metros like San Francisco naturally file at higher wage levels, giving them more lottery entries. But the prevailing wage thresholds are also higher in these areas — so it's the relative position that counts, not the absolute salary.
Use our Wage Level Calculator to check how your salary compares to the prevailing wage in your specific city.
Explore detailed H-1B data for any city: Browse all cities.