Software Development Engineer H-1B salary at Apple — 2,447 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 80
- Filings · FY2025
- $189k
- Median base · FY2025
- $158k–$212k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +39%
- vs market median · all years
Apple filed 80 certified H-1B LCAs for Software Development Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $189k and the middle 50% of offers between $158k and $212k. Across all years its $178k median is 39% above the $129k market median for Software Development Engineer. It has filed 2,447 Software Development Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in Cupertino, CA.
How much does Apple pay a Software Development Engineer?
Certified base salary for Software Development Engineer at Apple by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $189k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Apple pay Software Development Engineers above the market?
Apple's all-years median against every employer's certified Software Development Engineer LCAs — 39% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 2,447 | $178k |
| All employers · Software Development Engineer | 13,753 | $129k |
How has Apple's Software Development Engineer hiring changed by year?
2 certified Software Development Engineer filings in FY2016 → 12 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 12 | −85% | $153k |
| FY2025 | 80 | −80% | $189k |
| FY2024 | 396 | −10% | $182k |
| FY2023 | 440 | −17% | $193k |
| FY2022 | 527 | +35% | $181k |
| FY2021 | 391 | +1% | $174k |
| FY2020 | 386 | +164% | $170k |
| FY2019 | 146 | +128% | $165k |
| FY2018 | 64 | +2033% | $150k |
| FY2017 | 3 | +50% | $190k |
| FY2016 | 2 | — | $133k |
Which wage levels does Apple file for Software Development Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 88% of Apple's Software Development Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 1,837 Software Development Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I0.1%1
- Level II11.9%219
- Level III32.9%605
- Level IV55.1%1,012
Where does Apple hire H-1B Software Development 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 | 1,867 | $180k |
| Washington | 340 | $179k |
| Texas | 166 | $155k |
| New York | 36 | $171k |
| Massachusetts | 14 | $137k |
| Oregon | 6 | $134k |
| Pennsylvania | 6 | $111k |
| Colorado | 3 | $122k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Cupertino, CA | 1,504 | $183k |
| Seattle, WA | 336 | $179k |
| Austin, TX | 157 | $158k |
| Sunnyvale, CA | 143 | $182k |
| Santa Clara, CA | 82 | $193k |
| San Diego, CA | 81 | $155k |
| San Francisco, CA | 39 | $188k |
| New York, NY | 35 | $175k |
Also filed as
Apple's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Software Development Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Apple
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Software Development Engineer - Applications | 1,921 | $175k |
| Software Engineering Applications | 1,165 | $181k |
| Machine Learning Engineer | 1,026 | $184k |
| Software Development Engineer - Systems | 1,026 | $175k |
| Software Development Engineering | 985 | $186k |
| Engineering Project Manager | 882 | $164k |
| ASIC Design Engineer | 845 | $149k |
| Software Development Engineer - Test | 741 | $172k |
| Software Engineering Systems | 734 | $179k |
| Hardware Development Engineer | 627 | $160k |
Top Software Development Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe | 2,111 | $163k |
| Expedia | 1,405 | $119k |
| Tesla | 437 | $140k |
| Zillow | 313 | $123k |
| Akvelon | 265 | $90k |
| Environmental Systems Research Institute | 228 | $110k |
| Workday | 225 | $129k |
| Fortinet | 218 | $133k |
| Nokia of America | 190 | $140k |
Common questions about Software Development Engineer H-1B pay at Apple
- How much does Apple pay a Software Development Engineer on an H-1B?
- Apple's median certified H-1B base salary for Software Development Engineer is $189k in FY2025, from 80 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $158k and $212k. Across all years the median is $178k.
- How many Software Development Engineer H-1B LCAs has Apple filed?
- Apple has 2,447 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Software Development Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2026), 12 of them in FY2026. That is 7% of its 36,424 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Apple pay Software Development Engineers above the market?
- Apple's all-years median of $178k is 39% above the $129k median for Software Development Engineer across all H-1B employers (13,753 certified filings).
- Where does Apple hire H-1B Software Development Engineers?
- Apple's Software Development Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Washington, Texas; the top cities are Cupertino, CA, Seattle, WA, Austin, TX.
- 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.
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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 →