Research Scientist H-1B salary at Duke University — 42 certified filings (FY2019–FY2026)
- 5
- Filings · FY2025
- $85k
- Median base · FY2025
- $85k–$90k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- −35%
- vs market median · all years
Duke University filed 5 certified H-1B LCAs for Research Scientist in FY2025, with a median base salary of $85k and the middle 50% of offers between $85k and $90k. Across all years its $72k median is 35% below the $110k market median for Research Scientist. It has filed 42 Research Scientist LCAs since FY2019, most often in Durham, NC.
How much does Duke University pay a Research Scientist?
Certified base salary for Research Scientist at Duke University by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $85k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Duke University pay Research Scientists above the market?
Duke University's all-years median against every employer's certified Research Scientist LCAs — 35% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Duke University | 42 | $72k |
| All employers · Research Scientist | 12,917 | $110k |
How has Duke University's Research Scientist hiring changed by year?
1 certified Research Scientist filings in FY2019 → 4 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 4 | −20% | $78k |
| FY2025 | 5 | −55% | $85k |
| FY2024 | 11 | +120% | $80k |
| FY2023 | 5 | −37% | $70k |
| FY2022 | 8 | +167% | $63k |
| FY2021 | 3 | −40% | $64k |
| FY2020 | 5 | +400% | $64k |
| FY2019 | 1 | — | $65k |
Which wage levels does Duke University file for Research Scientist?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 22% of Duke University's Research Scientist filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 41 Research Scientist filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I26.8%11
- Level II51.2%21
- Level III19.5%8
- Level IV2.4%1
Where does Duke University hire H-1B Research Scientists?
Worksite states and cities on the certified filings for this title, all years, with the median base salary at each.
| State | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 42 | $72k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Durham, NC | 41 | $74k |
| Beaufort, NC | 1 | $65k |
Also filed as
Duke University's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Research Scientist LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Duke University
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Postdoctoral Associate | 281 | $58k |
| Assistant Professor | 152 | $144k |
| Research Associate Senior | 113 | $63k |
| Associate in Research | 46 | $59k |
| Research Associate, Sr. | 36 | $68k |
| Research Scholar | 32 | $68k |
Top Research Scientist sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Platforms | 2,093 | $186k |
| 890 | $160k | |
| 685 | $192k | |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 497 | $78k |
| Intel | 409 | $131k |
| Nvidia | 327 | $168k |
| UT Southwestern Medical Center | 156 | $62k |
| Bytedance | 153 | $215k |
| University of Pittsburgh | 142 | $60k |
| The University of Virginia | 135 | $67k |
Common questions about Research Scientist H-1B pay at Duke University
- How much does Duke University pay a Research Scientist on an H-1B?
- Duke University's median certified H-1B base salary for Research Scientist is $85k in FY2025, from 5 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $85k and $90k. Across all years the median is $72k.
- How many Research Scientist H-1B LCAs has Duke University filed?
- Duke University has 42 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Research Scientist on record (FY2019–FY2026), 4 of them in FY2026. That is 3% of its 1,201 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Duke University pay Research Scientists above the market?
- Duke University's all-years median of $72k is 35% below the $110k median for Research Scientist across all H-1B employers (12,917 certified filings).
- Where does Duke University hire H-1B Research Scientists?
- Duke University's Research Scientist LCAs name worksites mostly in North Carolina; the top cities are Durham, NC, Beaufort, NC.
- 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 (FY2019–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →