Cato Institute H-1B wage filings
Washington, DC. Filings decided July 2025 to June 2026.
Cato Institute filed 8 wage applications for H-1B and similar visas from July 2025 to June 2026. The median wage it offered was $89,000, 18.1% above the government's prevailing wage for the same jobs.
- Filings
- 8
- Positions covered
- 8
- Certified
- 100.0%
- Job titles
- 6
- Worksite cities
- 1
- Filings since FY2020
- 37
- Median offer change since FY2021
- +42%
Offered wage since 2020
Cato Institute's median H-1B wage offer rose 42%, from $62,483 in fiscal 2021 to $89,000 in fiscal 2026 so far. In fiscal 2026 it was 19.5% above the prevailing wage. Its busiest full year was fiscal 2021, with 9 filings.
Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wageFilings per year
Fiscal years run October to September. Fiscal 2026 is still running: these figures cover October 2025 to June 2026.
Cato Institute by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Filings | Median offered | vs year before | Median prevailing | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Oct to Jun) | 5 | $89,000 | +21.1% | $72,030 | +19.5% |
| 2025 | 5 | $73,466 | +40.9% | $73,466 | +14.9% |
| 2024 | 6 | $52,125 | −31.4% | $44,429 | +17.3% |
| 2023 | 3 | $76,000 | −12.4% | $75,504 | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 5 | $86,800 | +38.9% | $79,394 | +9.3% |
| 2021 | 9 | $62,483 | +20.2% | $51,979 | +6.7% |
| 2020 | 4 | $51,979 | n/a | $51,979 | at the minimum |
Offered wage by job title
Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wage
| Job title | Filings | Median offered | Offered range and prevailing wage | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Fellow | 2 | $152,000 | +17.2% | |
| UX Designer | 2 | $89,000 | +23.6% | |
| Assistant Salesforce Administrator | 1 | $73,466 | at the minimum | |
| Conference Coordinator | 1 | $57,750 | +19.4% | |
| Prospect Research Analyst | 1 | $60,000 | +16.9% | |
| Trade Policy Analyst | 1 | $99,341 | at the minimum | |
No job title on this page matches. Only the most-filed titles are listed.
Where the jobs are
| Worksite | Filings | Median offered |
|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC | 8 | $89,000 |
By visa type: 8 H-1B. By outcome: 8 certified.
Filings by quarter
Across all employers, filings bunch up in the first half of each year around the annual H-1B lottery, so compare a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier, not with the one before it.
Seniority of the jobs filed
The government assigns each job one of four wage levels. A higher level means a higher legal minimum.
What these numbers are
- They are wages Cato Institute attested to on Labor Condition Applications (Form ETA-9035), not paychecks. Bonuses and stock are not included.
- A filing is not a visa or a hire. One filing can cover several positions, and some are later withdrawn. Wage figures use certified filings only.
- The prevailing wage is the minimum the employer must pay for that job in that area, set from government wage surveys.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC disclosure data. How we clean and count it.
Other employers based in Washington, DC
- District of Columbia Public Schools154
- Georgetown University116
- Children's National Medical Center59
- National Railroad Passenger Corporation50
- EAB Global, Inc.46
- Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.42
- Mayer Brown LLP35
- Covington & Burling LLP32
- Exelon Business Services Company LLC32
- Federal National Mortgage Association23