Research Specialist H-1B wages
Filings decided July 2025 to June 2026. Most are classified as Biological Technicians (SOC 19-4021).
Employers filed 138 wage applications for Research Specialist jobs from July 2025 to June 2026, across 41 employers. The median offered wage was $68,413, 13.6% above the government's prevailing wage for the job. Howard Hughes Medical Institute filed the most (30, median $87,556).
- Filings
- 138
- Positions covered
- 147
- Employers
- 41
- Median offered
- $68,413
- Median prevailing wage
- $61,162
- Filings since FY2020
- 790
- Median offer change since FY2020
- +8%
Offered wage since 2020
The median wage offered for Research Specialist jobs rose 8%, from $63,000 in fiscal 2020 to $67,795 in fiscal 2026 so far. In fiscal 2026 it was 13.3% above the prevailing wage. Filings peaked in fiscal 2025, with 134 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.
Research Specialist by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Filings | Median offered | vs year before | Median prevailing | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Oct to Jun) | 99 | $67,795 | +6.2% | $59,224 | +13.3% |
| 2025 | 134 | $63,856 | −2.9% | $56,368 | +14.5% |
| 2024 | 132 | $65,782 | +1.2% | $53,446 | +20.1% |
| 2023 | 131 | $65,000 | −3.6% | $54,704 | +19.8% |
| 2022 | 115 | $67,446 | +3.8% | $55,349 | +18.1% |
| 2021 | 85 | $65,000 | +3.2% | $54,330 | +15.7% |
| 2020 | 94 | $63,000 | n/a | $54,059 | +12.2% |
Employers that file for this title
Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wage
Showing the 25 employers with the most filings of 41. Employers with fewer than 5 filings in total are counted but not named.
Where Research Specialist jobs are filed
| Worksite | Filings | Median offered | Offered range and prevailing wage | vs prevailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | 21 | $64,688 | +5.1% | |
| Fargo, ND | 12 | $57,000 | +4.4% | |
| New York, NY | 12 | $83,876 | +17.9% | |
| Atlanta, GA | 8 | $39,874 | +9.8% | |
| Madison, WI | 6 | $51,000 | +18.7% | |
| Boston, MA | 5 | $70,450 | +17.6% | |
| Ashburn, VA | 4 | $76,928 | +17.3% | |
| Baltimore, MD | 4 | $67,619 | +5.2% | |
| Evanston, IL | 4 | $67,004 | +75.6% | |
| Philadelphia, PA | 4 | $60,398 | +6.9% | |
| Urbana, IL | 4 | $61,544 | +26.9% | |
| Austin, TX | 3 | $74,550 | +12.0% | |
| Berkeley, CA | 3 | $89,400 | +18.8% | |
| Ankeny, IA | 2 | $72,460 | +7.4% | |
| Bloomington, IN | 2 | $80,000 | +33.9% | |
| Los Angeles, CA | 2 | $67,267 | +6.3% | |
| New Haven, CT | 2 | $90,653 | +32.5% | |
| Raleigh, NC | 2 | $60,445 | +1.9% | |
| Rochester, NY | 2 | $50,500 | +11.7% | |
| Seattle, WA | 2 | $87,556 | +28.0% | |
| Somerville, MA | 2 | $73,436 | +16.6% | |
| Aliquippa, PA | 1 | $146,268 | +43.1% | |
| Arlington, VA | 1 | $53,040 | +9.5% | |
| Belmont, MA | 1 | $59,224 | at the minimum | |
| Brawley, CA | 1 | $70,308 | +26.6% | |
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.
- 2 filings are for part-time work. Hourly wages are shown as full-time equivalents (2,080 hours a year).
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC disclosure data. How we clean and count it.