Software Engineer H-1B salary at Google — 27,422 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 5,268
- Filings · FY2025
- $186k
- Median base · FY2025
- $161k–$196k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +53%
- vs market median · all years
Google filed 5,268 certified H-1B LCAs for Software Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $186k and the middle 50% of offers between $161k and $196k. Across all years its $170k median is 53% above the $111k market median for Software Engineer. It has filed 27,422 Software Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in Mountain View, CA.
How much does Google pay a Software Engineer?
Certified base salary for Software Engineer at Google by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $186k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Google pay Software Engineers above the market?
Google's all-years median against every employer's certified Software Engineer LCAs — 53% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 27,422 | $170k | |
| All employers · Software Engineer | 301,963 | $111k |
How has Google's Software Engineer hiring changed by year?
1,651 certified Software Engineer filings in FY2016 → 4,440 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 4,440 | −16% | $192k |
| FY2025 | 5,268 | −3% | $186k |
| FY2024 | 5,411 | −7% | $181k |
| FY2023 | 5,823 | +38% | $168k |
| FY2022 | 4,230 | +35150% | $156k |
| FY2021 | 12 | −37% | $161k |
| FY2020 | 19 | −90% | $150k |
| FY2019 | 183 | +289% | $121k |
| FY2018 | 47 | −86% | $110k |
| FY2017 | 338 | −80% | $125k |
| FY2016 | 1,651 | — | $130k |
Which wage levels does Google file for Software Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 26% of Google's Software Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 19,389 Software Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I0.5%89
- Level II73.4%14,239
- Level III22.6%4,389
- Level IV3.5%672
Where does Google 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 | 19,843 | $177k |
| Washington | 3,806 | $163k |
| New York | 2,242 | $179k |
| Massachusetts | 380 | $160k |
| Texas | 255 | $155k |
| North Carolina | 211 | $133k |
| Pennsylvania | 207 | $143k |
| Colorado | 106 | $145k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain View, CA | 10,244 | $177k |
| Sunnyvale, CA | 6,484 | $181k |
| New York, NY | 2,222 | $179k |
| Kirkland, WA | 2,067 | $164k |
| Seattle, WA | 1,501 | $160k |
| San Bruno, CA | 1,059 | $167k |
| San Francisco, CA | 603 | $177k |
| Cambridge, MA | 369 | $160k |
Also filed as
Google's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Software Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Google
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Program Manager | 883 | $168k |
| Technical Program Manager | 868 | $176k |
| Product Manager | 862 | $190k |
| Research Scientist | 685 | $192k |
| Data Scientist | 522 | $175k |
| Solutions Consultant | 449 | $147k |
| Senior Software Engineer | 348 | $220k |
| Technical Solutions Consultant | 304 | $164k |
| Customer Engineer | 278 | $161k |
| Hardware Engineer | 275 | $167k |
Top Software Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | 29,968 | $142k |
| 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 Google
- How much does Google pay a Software Engineer on an H-1B?
- Google's median certified H-1B base salary for Software Engineer is $186k in FY2025, from 5,268 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $161k and $196k. Across all years the median is $170k.
- How many Software Engineer H-1B LCAs has Google filed?
- Google has 27,422 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Software Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2026), 4,440 of them in FY2026. That is 33% of its 82,354 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Google pay Software Engineers above the market?
- Google's all-years median of $170k is 53% above the $111k median for Software Engineer across all H-1B employers (301,963 certified filings).
- Where does Google hire H-1B Software Engineers?
- Google's Software Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Washington, New York; the top cities are Mountain View, CA, Sunnyvale, CA, 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
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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 →