Software Engineer H-1B salary at Airbnb — 1,186 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 31
- Filings · FY2025
- $157k
- Median base · FY2025
- $156k–$181k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +58%
- vs market median · all years
Airbnb filed 31 certified H-1B LCAs for Software Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $157k and the middle 50% of offers between $156k and $181k. Across all years its $175k median is 58% above the $111k market median for Software Engineer. It has filed 1,186 Software Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in San Francisco, CA.
How much does Airbnb pay a Software Engineer?
Certified base salary for Software Engineer at Airbnb by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $157k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Airbnb pay Software Engineers above the market?
Airbnb's all-years median against every employer's certified Software Engineer LCAs — 58% above the market. Same cleaned DOL title, same base-salary definition, so the two rows compare like for like.
| Base salary for this title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | 1,186 | $175k |
| All employers · Software Engineer | 301,963 | $111k |
How has Airbnb's Software Engineer hiring changed by year?
108 certified Software Engineer filings in FY2016 → 56 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 56 | +81% | $196k |
| FY2025 | 31 | +55% | $157k |
| FY2024 | 20 | −55% | $153k |
| FY2023 | 44 | −41% | $150k |
| FY2022 | 74 | −40% | $179k |
| FY2021 | 123 | −24% | $194k |
| FY2020 | 162 | −36% | $186k |
| FY2019 | 252 | +55% | $185k |
| FY2018 | 163 | +7% | $160k |
| FY2017 | 153 | +42% | $153k |
| FY2016 | 108 | — | $140k |
Which wage levels does Airbnb file for Software Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 78% of Airbnb's Software Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 1,031 Software Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I2.8%29
- Level II19.2%198
- Level III51.0%526
- Level IV27.0%278
Where does Airbnb hire H-1B Software Engineers?
Worksite states and cities on the certified filings for this title, all years, with the median base salary at each.
| State | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| California | 960 | $173k |
| Washington | 193 | $180k |
| New York | 18 | $160k |
| Oregon | 6 | $112k |
| Texas | 2 | $170k |
| Hawaii | 1 | $210k |
| Iowa | 1 | $185k |
| Illinois | 1 | $158k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 933 | $171k |
| Seattle, WA | 186 | $180k |
| New York, NY | 17 | $162k |
| San Jose, CA | 10 | $190k |
| Portland, OR | 6 | $112k |
| San Francsico, CA | 5 | $184k |
| Culver City, CA | 3 | $165k |
| Redmond, WA | 3 | $150k |
Also filed as
Airbnb's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Software Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Airbnb
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Software Engineer | 275 | $191k |
| Data Scientist | 161 | $170k |
| Engineering Manager | 78 | $227k |
| Staff Software Engineer | 63 | $204k |
| Product Manager | 44 | $200k |
| Experience Designer | 39 | $144k |
| Senior Data Engineer | 37 | $191k |
| Senior Data Scientist | 33 | $200k |
Top Software Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | 29,968 | $142k |
| 27,422 | $170k | |
| Meta Platforms | 12,265 | $200k |
| 7,220 | $167k | |
| Mphasis | 5,479 | $107k |
| Intel | 5,159 | $118k |
| Natsoft | 1,994 | $97k |
| Cisco Systems | 1,899 | $127k |
| Nvidia | 1,830 | $171k |
| Uber Technologies | 1,635 | $140k |
Common questions about Software Engineer H-1B pay at Airbnb
- How much does Airbnb pay a Software Engineer on an H-1B?
- Airbnb's median certified H-1B base salary for Software Engineer is $157k in FY2025, from 31 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $156k and $181k. Across all years the median is $175k.
- How many Software Engineer H-1B LCAs has Airbnb filed?
- Airbnb has 1,186 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Software Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2026), 56 of them in FY2026. That is 47% of its 2,526 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Airbnb pay Software Engineers above the market?
- Airbnb's all-years median of $175k is 58% above the $111k median for Software Engineer across all H-1B employers (301,963 certified filings).
- Where does Airbnb hire H-1B Software Engineers?
- Airbnb's Software Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Washington, New York; the top cities are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, New York, NY.
- Does a certified LCA mean an H-1B visa was approved?
- No. A Labor Condition Application (LCA) is the Department of Labor attestation an employer must have certified before filing an H-1B petition with USCIS. It records the job, worksite and offered wage, but not whether the petition was filed, selected in the lottery, or approved. Filing counts measure intent to sponsor, not headcount.
- What salary do these figures show?
- The base annual wage offered on the certified LCA, converted to a yearly amount. Bonus, equity, overtime and benefits are not included, so total compensation is typically higher. Figures are medians and percentiles over certified filings; wages above $5,000,000 a year are excluded as data-entry errors.
- What do prevailing-wage levels I–IV mean?
- The Department of Labor assigns each LCA an OES wage level from I (entry) to IV (fully competent) for the occupation and area. Under the FY2027 wage-weighted H-1B lottery rule, a higher level earns more selection entries, so an employer's level mix is a proxy for how senior its sponsored roles are.
Keep exploring
Calculate your H-1B lottery odds →orCheck out the insights →
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2016–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →