Postdoctoral Scientist H-1B wages
Filings decided July 2025 to June 2026. Most are classified as Biochemists and Biophysicists (SOC 19-1021).
Employers filed 106 wage applications for Postdoctoral Scientist jobs from July 2025 to June 2026, across 7 employers. The median offered wage was $78,786, 15.2% above the government's prevailing wage for the job. Howard Hughes Medical Institute filed the most (77, median $81,000).
- Filings
- 106
- Positions covered
- 114
- Employers
- 7
- Median offered
- $78,786
- Median prevailing wage
- $68,703
- Filings since FY2020
- 313
- Median offer change since FY2020
- +43%
Offered wage since 2020
The median wage offered for Postdoctoral Scientist jobs rose 43%, from $55,000 in fiscal 2020 to $78,786 in fiscal 2026 so far. In fiscal 2026 it was 15.2% above the prevailing wage. Filings peaked in fiscal 2025, with 97 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.
Postdoctoral Scientist by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Filings | Median offered | vs year before | Median prevailing | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Oct to Jun) | 86 | $78,786 | +2.3% | $68,765 | +15.2% |
| 2025 | 97 | $77,000 | +23.4% | $62,962 | +21.3% |
| 2024 | 42 | $62,400 | no change | $57,575 | at the minimum |
| 2023 | 19 | $62,400 | +24.5% | $60,445 | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 28 | $50,107 | −20.8% | $48,942 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 20 | $63,294 | +15.1% | $61,048 | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 21 | $55,000 | n/a | $50,190 | +1.3% |
Employers that file for this title
Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wage
| Employer | Filings | Median offered | Offered range and prevailing wage | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute | 77 | $81,000 | +19.8% | |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | 20 | $70,886 | at the minimum | |
| Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation | 5 | $56,202 | at the minimum | |
| San Diego State University Research Foundation | 1 | $70,886 | at the minimum | |
| Janssen Research & Development, LLC | 1 | $108,000 | +17.4% | |
| TriCom Quest | 1 | $165,000 | +3.7% | |
| Montclair State University | 1 | $63,410 | at the minimum | |
Where Postdoctoral Scientist jobs are filed
| Worksite | Filings | Median offered | Offered range and prevailing wage | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 17 | $70,886 | at the minimum | |
| Ashburn, VA | 12 | $83,513 | +15.2% | |
| Boston, MA | 10 | $78,533 | +5.0% | |
| Dallas, TX | 9 | $78,786 | +42.4% | |
| New York, NY | 7 | $87,641 | +13.8% | |
| Stanford, CA | 7 | $85,384 | +5.0% | |
| Cambridge, MA | 6 | $82,292 | +18.6% | |
| Seattle, WA | 6 | $80,168 | +25.1% | |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 5 | $56,202 | at the minimum | |
| Durham, NC | 3 | $78,000 | +13.6% | |
| West Hollywood, CA | 3 | $62,400 | +17.1% | |
| Worcester, MA | 3 | $82,500 | +21.2% | |
| Berkeley, CA | 2 | $78,746 | +17.7% | |
| Miami, FL | 2 | $85,500 | +49.2% | |
| Baltimore, MD | 1 | $80,500 | +5.2% | |
| Boulder, CO | 1 | $78,000 | +18.5% | |
| Chapel Hill, NC | 1 | $82,500 | +39.2% | |
| Charlottesville, VA | 1 | $76,491 | +9.7% | |
| Chicago, IL | 1 | $83,000 | +28.3% | |
| Lo Jolla, CA | 1 | n/a | ||
| Montclair, NJ | 1 | $63,410 | at the minimum | |
| New Haven, CT | 1 | $83,584 | +13.2% | |
| Pasadena, CA | 1 | $72,100 | +1.7% | |
| Philadelphia, PA | 1 | $82,618 | at the minimum | |
| Princeton, NJ | 1 | $81,228 | +27.7% | |
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 employers 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.
Related job titles
- Scientist$105,000
- Assistant Research Professor$80,014
- Postdoctoral Scholar Employee$76,686
- Associate Scientist$85,300
- Principal Scientist$149,475
- Specialist$102,441
- Associate Specialist$82,100
- Research Associate Senior$77,854
- Project Scientist$82,900
- Senior Associate Scientist$98,931
- Senior Scientist II$125,278
- Assistant Researcher$100,700