Xcout IntelHow does posted pay compare with H-1B wages?
According to Xcout Intel's Pay Pulse, US job postings for software developers first seen from 1 August 2026 to 31 October 2026 advertised a median $178,500, while the median wage offered on H-1B labor condition applications for the same occupation in fiscal year 2026 (October 2025 to June 2026) was $145,000.
The two are not like-for-like, and the gap is not a measure of what H-1B workers earn: see the caveats below.
| Occupation | Posted median | H-1B median | Postings | H-1B applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | $178,500 | $145,000 | 10,891 | 119,732 |
| Data Scientists | $178,000 | $129,709 | 1,439 | 18,439 |
| Information Technology Project Managers | $182,000 | $139,298 | 990 | 13,533 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts And Testers | $128,075 | $108,680 | 628 | 12,811 |
| Computer And Information Systems Managers | $210,000 | $208,662 | 674 | 8,444 |
| Business Intelligence Analysts | $129,750 | $119,142 | 186 | 8,045 |
How we know
Posted pay is the midpoint of the ranges employers publish on their careers sites. H-1B wages are the wages offered on labor condition applications in the US Department of Labor's disclosure files; the mapping from job titles to occupations is Xcout Intel's.
Full figures: Pay Pulse (frozen edition: 2026-10). How every report is built: methodology.
What this does not show
- This does not show that H-1B workers are underpaid or paid less than anyone, or anything about what H-1B workers earn.
- Posted ranges over-represent pay-transparency states; the H-1B side includes outsourcing firms and every state; an application states an offered wage, not a salary paid; and the two windows differ.
- Posted pay is not pay: these are the ranges employers advertise (midpoints), and bonuses and equity are not in them. Only employers that publish ranges are counted, which over-represents states with pay-transparency laws.
How to cite
Xcout Intel, Pay Pulse, October 2026, intel.xcout.app/answers/posted-pay-vs-h1b-wagesQuote with attribution under the licence. These figures update with each edition of the report; cite the frozen edition for a figure that will not move.