Software Engineer H-1B salary at Caterpillar — 134 certified filings (FY2020–FY2026)
- 23
- Filings · FY2025
- $113k
- Median base · FY2025
- $107k–$117k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- −3%
- vs market median · all years
Caterpillar filed 23 certified H-1B LCAs for Software Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $113k and the middle 50% of offers between $107k and $117k. Across all years its $108k median is 3% below the $111k market median for Software Engineer. It has filed 134 Software Engineer LCAs since FY2020, most often in Chicago, IL.
How much does Caterpillar pay a Software Engineer?
Certified base salary for Software Engineer at Caterpillar by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $113k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Caterpillar pay Software Engineers above the market?
Caterpillar's all-years median against every employer's certified Software Engineer LCAs — 3% below 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caterpillar | 134 | $108k |
| All employers · Software Engineer | 301,963 | $111k |
How has Caterpillar's Software Engineer hiring changed by year?
4 certified Software Engineer filings in FY2020 → 22 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 22 | −4% | $108k |
| FY2025 | 23 | −18% | $113k |
| FY2024 | 28 | +47% | $109k |
| FY2023 | 19 | −10% | $103k |
| FY2022 | 21 | +24% | $112k |
| FY2021 | 17 | +325% | $105k |
| FY2020 | 4 | — | $95k |
Which wage levels does Caterpillar file for Software Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 28% of Caterpillar's Software Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 131 Software Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I3.8%5
- Level II67.9%89
- Level III24.4%32
- Level IV3.8%5
Where does Caterpillar 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 91 | $108k |
| Texas | 28 | $113k |
| Colorado | 7 | $117k |
| Arizona | 3 | $105k |
| District of Columbia | 1 | $114k |
| Kansas | 1 | $122k |
| Michigan | 1 | $120k |
| Ohio | 1 | $122k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | 51 | $108k |
| Peoria, IL | 38 | $105k |
| Irving, TX | 22 | $111k |
| Broomfield, CO | 7 | $117k |
| Tucson, AZ | 3 | $105k |
| Austin, TX | 2 | $130k |
| Aurora, OH | 1 | $122k |
| Canton, MI | 1 | $120k |
Also filed as
Caterpillar's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Software Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Caterpillar
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Software Engineer | 82 | $130k |
| Senior Engineer - Design | 65 | $104k |
| Embedded Software Engineer | 63 | $93k |
| Lead Software Engineer | 58 | $145k |
| Senior Engineer | 56 | $100k |
| Embedded Software Senior Engineer | 49 | $113k |
| Control Systems Engineer | 35 | $92k |
| Data Scientist | 34 | $95k |
| Performance / Simulation / Application Engineer | 34 | $96k |
| Control Systems Senior Engineer | 33 | $103k |
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 Caterpillar
- How much does Caterpillar pay a Software Engineer on an H-1B?
- Caterpillar's median certified H-1B base salary for Software Engineer is $113k in FY2025, from 23 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $107k and $117k. Across all years the median is $108k.
- How many Software Engineer H-1B LCAs has Caterpillar filed?
- Caterpillar has 134 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Software Engineer on record (FY2020–FY2026), 22 of them in FY2026. That is 6% of its 2,255 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Caterpillar pay Software Engineers above the market?
- Caterpillar's all-years median of $108k is 3% below the $111k median for Software Engineer across all H-1B employers (301,963 certified filings).
- Where does Caterpillar hire H-1B Software Engineers?
- Caterpillar's Software Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in Illinois, Texas, Colorado; the top cities are Chicago, IL, Peoria, IL, Irving, 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.
Keep exploring
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2020–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →