Research Associate H-1B salary at Harvard University — 311 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 48
- Filings · FY2025
- $82k
- Median base · FY2025
- $78k–$88k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +21%
- vs market median · all years
Harvard University filed 48 certified H-1B LCAs for Research Associate in FY2025, with a median base salary of $82k and the middle 50% of offers between $78k and $88k. Across all years its $75k median is 21% above the $62k market median for Research Associate. It has filed 311 Research Associate LCAs since FY2016, most often in Cambridge, MA.
How much does Harvard University pay a Research Associate?
Certified base salary for Research Associate at Harvard University by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $82k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Harvard University pay Research Associates above the market?
Harvard University's all-years median against every employer's certified Research Associate LCAs — 21% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | 311 | $75k |
| All employers · Research Associate | 11,374 | $62k |
How has Harvard University's Research Associate hiring changed by year?
15 certified Research Associate filings in FY2016 → 26 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 26 | −46% | $80k |
| FY2025 | 48 | +66% | $82k |
| FY2024 | 29 | +38% | $84k |
| FY2023 | 21 | −12% | $88k |
| FY2022 | 24 | −14% | $67k |
| FY2021 | 28 | −7% | $65k |
| FY2020 | 30 | −39% | $74k |
| FY2019 | 49 | +75% | $62k |
| FY2018 | 28 | +115% | $62k |
| FY2017 | 13 | −13% | $63k |
| FY2016 | 15 | — | $60k |
Which wage levels does Harvard University file for Research Associate?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 11% of Harvard University's Research Associate filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 290 Research Associate filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I46.6%135
- Level II42.8%124
- Level III8.3%24
- Level IV2.4%7
Where does Harvard University hire H-1B Research Associates?
Worksite states and cities on the certified filings for this title, all years, with the median base salary at each.
| State | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 307 | $75k |
| California | 4 | $90k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Cambridge, MA | 168 | $69k |
| Boston, MA | 134 | $82k |
| Allston, MA | 5 | $80k |
| Palo Alto, CA | 2 | $90k |
| San Jose, CA | 1 | $77k |
| Tracy, CA | 1 | $135k |
Also filed as
Harvard University's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Research Associate LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Harvard University
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Research Fellow | 342 | $62k |
| Postdoctoral Fellow | 260 | $62k |
| Assistant Professor | 174 | $131k |
| Postdoctoral Research Fellow | 49 | $68k |
| Instructor | 45 | $110k |
| Lecturer | 31 | $94k |
| Preceptor | 31 | $70k |
Top Research Associate sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Mayo Clinic | 508 | $65k |
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute | 501 | $60k |
| Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania | 340 | $68k |
| Memorial Sloan-kettering Cancer Center | 256 | $72k |
| Case Western Reserve University | 247 | $53k |
| Johns Hopkins University | 247 | $70k |
| Cornell University | 245 | $69k |
| Northwestern University | 237 | $66k |
| The University of Texas at Austin | 231 | $73k |
Common questions about Research Associate H-1B pay at Harvard University
- How much does Harvard University pay a Research Associate on an H-1B?
- Harvard University's median certified H-1B base salary for Research Associate is $82k in FY2025, from 48 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $78k and $88k. Across all years the median is $75k.
- How many Research Associate H-1B LCAs has Harvard University filed?
- Harvard University has 311 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Research Associate on record (FY2016–FY2026), 26 of them in FY2026. That is 21% of its 1,481 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Harvard University pay Research Associates above the market?
- Harvard University's all-years median of $75k is 21% above the $62k median for Research Associate across all H-1B employers (11,374 certified filings).
- Where does Harvard University hire H-1B Research Associates?
- Harvard University's Research Associate LCAs name worksites mostly in Massachusetts, California; the top cities are Cambridge, MA, Boston, MA, Allston, MA.
- 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 →