Data Scientist H-1B salary at Paypal — 92 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 7
- Filings · FY2025
- $160k
- Median base · FY2025
- $155k–$170k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +23%
- vs market median · all years
Paypal filed 7 certified H-1B LCAs for Data Scientist in FY2025, with a median base salary of $160k and the middle 50% of offers between $155k and $170k. Across all years its $140k median is 23% above the $114k market median for Data Scientist. It has filed 92 Data Scientist LCAs since FY2016, most often in San Jose, CA.
How much does Paypal pay a Data Scientist?
Certified base salary for Data Scientist at Paypal by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $160k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Paypal pay Data Scientists above the market?
Paypal's all-years median against every employer's certified Data Scientist LCAs — 23% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Paypal | 92 | $140k |
| All employers · Data Scientist | 24,001 | $114k |
How has Paypal's Data Scientist hiring changed by year?
4 certified Data Scientist filings in FY2016 → 11 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 11 | +57% | $129k |
| FY2025 | 7 | +75% | $160k |
| FY2024 | 4 | 0% | $135k |
| FY2023 | 4 | 0% | $152k |
| FY2022 | 4 | −85% | $139k |
| FY2021 | 27 | +170% | $140k |
| FY2020 | 10 | −9% | $145k |
| FY2019 | 11 | +57% | $145k |
| FY2018 | 7 | +133% | $125k |
| FY2017 | 3 | −25% | $140k |
| FY2016 | 4 | — | $120k |
Which wage levels does Paypal file for Data Scientist?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 56% of Paypal's Data Scientist filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 78 Data Scientist filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I5.1%4
- Level II38.5%30
- Level III41.0%32
- Level IV15.4%12
Where does Paypal hire H-1B Data 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 |
|---|---|---|
| California | 73 | $144k |
| Illinois | 15 | $125k |
| New Jersey | 2 | $150k |
| New York | 1 | $140k |
| Texas | 1 | $120k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 71 | $144k |
| Chicago, IL | 15 | $125k |
| Hoboken, NJ | 2 | $150k |
| Los Angeles, CA | 2 | $110k |
| Austin, TX | 1 | $120k |
| New York, NY | 1 | $140k |
Also filed as
Paypal's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Data Scientist LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Paypal
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer 3 | 1,374 | $141k |
| MTS 1, Software Engineer | 1,018 | $162k |
| Software Engineer 2 | 950 | $120k |
| MTS 2, Software Engineer | 402 | $188k |
| Software Engineer | 288 | $130k |
| Sr Software Engineer | 141 | $170k |
| Senior Software Engineer | 140 | $166k |
| Manager, Software Development 2 | 138 | $191k |
| Data Scientist 1 | 110 | $140k |
| Staff Software Engineer | 100 | $208k |
Top Data Scientist sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Platforms | 1,194 | $189k |
| 813 | $155k | |
| 522 | $175k | |
| Apple | 513 | $168k |
| Intel | 424 | $97k |
| Walmart Associates | 383 | $130k |
| Microsoft | 332 | $127k |
| Uber Technologies | 284 | $116k |
| IBM | 269 | $111k |
| Aetna Resources | 227 | $127k |
Common questions about Data Scientist H-1B pay at Paypal
- How much does Paypal pay a Data Scientist on an H-1B?
- Paypal's median certified H-1B base salary for Data Scientist is $160k in FY2025, from 7 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $155k and $170k. Across all years the median is $140k.
- How many Data Scientist H-1B LCAs has Paypal filed?
- Paypal has 92 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Data Scientist on record (FY2016–FY2026), 11 of them in FY2026. That is 1% of its 9,295 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Paypal pay Data Scientists above the market?
- Paypal's all-years median of $140k is 23% above the $114k median for Data Scientist across all H-1B employers (24,001 certified filings).
- Where does Paypal hire H-1B Data Scientists?
- Paypal's Data Scientist LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Illinois, New Jersey; the top cities are San Jose, CA, Chicago, IL, Hoboken, NJ.
- 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 →