Research Associate H-1B salary at Northwestern University — 237 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 34
- Filings · FY2025
- $70k
- Median base · FY2025
- $67k–$74k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +7%
- vs market median · all years
Northwestern University filed 34 certified H-1B LCAs for Research Associate in FY2025, with a median base salary of $70k and the middle 50% of offers between $67k and $74k. Across all years its $66k median is 7% above the $62k market median for Research Associate. It has filed 237 Research Associate LCAs since FY2016, most often in Chicago, IL.
How much does Northwestern University pay a Research Associate?
Certified base salary for Research Associate at Northwestern University by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $70k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Northwestern University pay Research Associates above the market?
Northwestern University's all-years median against every employer's certified Research Associate LCAs — 7% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Northwestern University | 237 | $66k |
| All employers · Research Associate | 11,374 | $62k |
How has Northwestern University's Research Associate hiring changed by year?
17 certified Research Associate filings in FY2016 → 44 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 44 | +29% | $70k |
| FY2025 | 34 | +21% | $70k |
| FY2024 | 28 | +56% | $69k |
| FY2023 | 18 | 0% | $64k |
| FY2022 | 18 | +6% | $61k |
| FY2021 | 17 | +21% | $64k |
| FY2020 | 14 | −30% | $58k |
| FY2019 | 20 | +43% | $58k |
| FY2018 | 14 | +8% | $53k |
| FY2017 | 13 | −24% | $50k |
| FY2016 | 17 | — | $53k |
Which wage levels does Northwestern University file for Research Associate?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 26% of Northwestern University's Research Associate filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 201 Research Associate filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I68.7%138
- Level II5.0%10
- Level III25.4%51
- Level IV1.0%2
Where does Northwestern 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 235 | $66k |
| Florida | 2 | $70k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | 138 | $66k |
| Evanston, IL | 96 | $68k |
| Miami, FL | 2 | $70k |
| Eavnston, IL | 1 | $80k |
Also filed as
Northwestern University's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Research Associate LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Northwestern University
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Postdoctoral Fellow | 380 | $52k |
| Postdoctoral Scholar | 240 | $63k |
| Research Assistant Professor | 177 | $80k |
| Assistant Professor | 153 | $136k |
| Assistant Professor of Instruction | 51 | $72k |
| Clinical Research Associate | 45 | $63k |
| Research Technologist 2 | 34 | $45k |
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 |
| Harvard University | 311 | $75k |
| Memorial Sloan-kettering Cancer Center | 256 | $72k |
| Case Western Reserve University | 247 | $53k |
| Johns Hopkins University | 247 | $70k |
| Cornell University | 245 | $69k |
| The University of Texas at Austin | 231 | $73k |
Common questions about Research Associate H-1B pay at Northwestern University
- How much does Northwestern University pay a Research Associate on an H-1B?
- Northwestern University's median certified H-1B base salary for Research Associate is $70k in FY2025, from 34 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $67k and $74k. Across all years the median is $66k.
- How many Research Associate H-1B LCAs has Northwestern University filed?
- Northwestern University has 237 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Research Associate on record (FY2016–FY2026), 44 of them in FY2026. That is 14% of its 1,730 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Northwestern University pay Research Associates above the market?
- Northwestern University's all-years median of $66k is 7% above the $62k median for Research Associate across all H-1B employers (11,374 certified filings).
- Where does Northwestern University hire H-1B Research Associates?
- Northwestern University's Research Associate LCAs name worksites mostly in Illinois, Florida; the top cities are Chicago, IL, Evanston, IL, Miami, FL.
- 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 →