Staff Scientist H-1B salary at National Institutes of Health Hhs — 404 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 37
- Filings · FY2025
- $124k
- Median base · FY2025
- $120k–$130k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +55%
- vs market median · all years
National Institutes of Health Hhs filed 37 certified H-1B LCAs for Staff Scientist in FY2025, with a median base salary of $124k and the middle 50% of offers between $120k and $130k. Across all years its $114k median is 55% above the $74k market median for Staff Scientist. It has filed 404 Staff Scientist LCAs since FY2016, most often in Bethesda, MD.
How much does National Institutes of Health Hhs pay a Staff Scientist?
Certified base salary for Staff Scientist at National Institutes of Health Hhs by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $124k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does National Institutes of Health Hhs pay Staff Scientists above the market?
National Institutes of Health Hhs's all-years median against every employer's certified Staff Scientist LCAs — 55% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| National Institutes of Health Hhs | 404 | $114k |
| All employers · Staff Scientist | 2,329 | $74k |
How has National Institutes of Health Hhs's Staff Scientist hiring changed by year?
22 certified Staff Scientist filings in FY2016 → 35 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 35 | −5% | $124k |
| FY2025 | 37 | −34% | $124k |
| FY2024 | 56 | +22% | $120k |
| FY2023 | 46 | −16% | $113k |
| FY2022 | 55 | +34% | $108k |
| FY2021 | 41 | +28% | $104k |
| FY2020 | 32 | −22% | $103k |
| FY2019 | 41 | +156% | $101k |
| FY2018 | 16 | −30% | $97k |
| FY2017 | 23 | +5% | $100k |
| FY2016 | 22 | — | $92k |
Which wage levels does National Institutes of Health Hhs file for Staff Scientist?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 20% of National Institutes of Health Hhs's Staff Scientist filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 372 Staff Scientist filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I4.8%18
- Level II74.7%278
- Level III14.2%53
- Level IV6.2%23
Where does National Institutes of Health Hhs hire H-1B Staff 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 380 | $115k |
| North Carolina | 11 | $101k |
| Arizona | 8 | $102k |
| Montana | 4 | $89k |
| Georgia | 1 | $113k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Bethesda, MD | 331 | $116k |
| Rockville, MD | 18 | $115k |
| Frederick, MD | 16 | $107k |
| Baltimore, MD | 14 | $112k |
| Research Triangle Park, NC | 10 | $101k |
| Phoenix, AZ | 8 | $102k |
| Hamilton, MT | 4 | $89k |
| Durham, NC | 1 | $92k |
Also filed as
National Institutes of Health Hhs's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Staff Scientist LCAs. All years.
Other titles at National Institutes of Health Hhs
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Research Fellow | 1,412 | $83k |
| Clinical Fellow | 122 | $85k |
| Investigator Tenure Track | 48 | $145k |
| Staff Clinician | 33 | $170k |
Top Staff Scientist sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Washington University | 442 | $63k |
| Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope | 162 | $73k |
| Washington University in ST Louis | 132 | $53k |
| The University of Chicago | 83 | $70k |
| Baylor College of Medicine | 69 | $68k |
| University of Rochester | 68 | $57k |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | 56 | $65k |
| The Scripps Research Institute | 55 | $78k |
| Albert Einstein College of Medicine | 51 | $75k |
Common questions about Staff Scientist H-1B pay at National Institutes of Health Hhs
- How much does National Institutes of Health Hhs pay a Staff Scientist on an H-1B?
- National Institutes of Health Hhs's median certified H-1B base salary for Staff Scientist is $124k in FY2025, from 37 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $120k and $130k. Across all years the median is $114k.
- How many Staff Scientist H-1B LCAs has National Institutes of Health Hhs filed?
- National Institutes of Health Hhs has 404 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Staff Scientist on record (FY2016–FY2026), 35 of them in FY2026. That is 19% of its 2,081 certified filings across all titles.
- Does National Institutes of Health Hhs pay Staff Scientists above the market?
- National Institutes of Health Hhs's all-years median of $114k is 55% above the $74k median for Staff Scientist across all H-1B employers (2,329 certified filings).
- Where does National Institutes of Health Hhs hire H-1B Staff Scientists?
- National Institutes of Health Hhs's Staff Scientist LCAs name worksites mostly in Maryland, North Carolina, Arizona; the top cities are Bethesda, MD, Rockville, MD, Frederick, MD.
- 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 →