Software Engineering Lead H-1B wages

Filings decided July 2025 to June 2026. Most are classified as Software Developers (SOC 15-1252).

Employers filed 36 wage applications for Software Engineering Lead jobs from July 2025 to June 2026, across 13 employers. The median offered wage was $154,832, 12.0% above the government's prevailing wage for the job. RELX, Inc. filed the most (10, median $164,521).

Filings: 36
Positions covered: 35
Employers: 13
Median offered: $154,832
Median prevailing wage: $138,258
Filings since FY2020: 456
Median offer change since FY2020: −15%

Software Engineering Lead, all employers36 filings, July 2025 to June 2026

$154,832Median wage employers told the government they would pay

$142,197 to $177,298Where the middle half of the filings fall

$138,258Prevailing wage: the legal minimum for these jobs

Offered wage since 2020

The median wage offered for Software Engineering Lead jobs fell 15%, from $181,751 in fiscal 2020 to $154,000 in fiscal 2026 so far. In fiscal 2026 it was 10.3% above the prevailing wage. Filings peaked in fiscal 2022, with 130 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.

Software Engineering Lead by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Filings	Median offered	vs year before	Median prevailing	vs prevailing
2026 (Oct to Jun)	28	$154,000	+0.1%	$135,408	+10.3%
2025	41	$153,831	+9.9%	$132,080	+15.3%
2024	33	$139,937	−5.1%	$129,740	+4.5%
2023	64	$147,481	−21.9%	$123,417	+16.1%
2022	130	$188,755	+1.9%	$141,003	+22.4%
2021	91	$185,155	+1.9%	$143,187	+24.5%
2020	69	$181,751	n/a	$134,098	+28.4%

Employers that file for this title

Middle half of offered wagesMedian offered wageMedian prevailing wage

Employer	Filings	Median offered	vs prevailing
RELX, Inc.	10	$164,521	+13.7%
LexisNexis Risk Solutions FL, Inc.	7	$142,197	+14.9%
LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Inc.	6	$136,368	+5.8%
Tulip Interfaces, Inc.	2	$178,750	+8.2%
LNRS Data Services Inc.	2	$175,780	+9.3%
Joby Aero, Inc.	2	$217,000	+25.7%
Nenicel, Inc.	1	$132,000	+0.3%
CHM Services, Inc.	1	$130,707	at the minimum
Elsevier, Inc.	1	$154,832	+14.3%
TMNA Services, LLC	1	$160,504	+2.2%
Philo, Inc.	1	$235,000	+25.3%
Ford Motor Company	1	$193,149	at the minimum
Datadog, Inc.	1	$210,000	+17.9%

Where Software Engineering Lead jobs are filed

Worksite	Filings	Median offered	vs prevailing
Alpharetta, GA	5	$135,000	+14.9%
Raleigh, NC	5	$154,832	+13.7%
Apex, NC	2	$161,929	+10.4%
Cary, NC	2	$175,048	+19.2%
Cumming, GA	2	$136,452	+4.4%
Santa Cruz, CA	2	$217,000	+25.7%
Somerville, MA	2	$178,750	+8.2%
Berkeley Heights, NJ	1	$175,780	+9.3%
Boca Raton, FL	1	$146,292	+5.8%
Boston, MA	1	$210,000	+17.9%
Chicago, IL	1	$171,793	+15.3%
Dawsonville, GA	1	$136,368	+4.3%
Dearborn, MI	1	$193,149	at the minimum
Deerfield Beach, FL	1	$146,292	+5.8%
East Brunswick, NJ	1	$175,780	+9.3%
Evanston, IL	1	$171,793	+15.3%
Huntersville, NC	1	$143,276	+7.3%
Middletown, DE	1	$132,000	+0.3%
Plano, TX	1	$160,504	+2.2%
Sacramento, CA	1	$164,521	+10.3%
San Francisco, CA	1	$235,000	+25.3%
Sandy Springs, GA	1	$135,000	+23.5%
Sunnyvale, CA	1	$164,521	+21.7%

Seniority of the jobs filed

Level I, entry0%

Level II, qualified12%

Level III, experienced59%

Level IV, fully competent29%

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.