Software Engineer 3 H-1B salary at Paypal — 1,374 certified filings (FY2016–FY2025)
- 137
- Filings · FY2025
- $160k
- Median base · FY2025
- $148k–$169k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +3%
- vs market median · all years
Paypal filed 137 certified H-1B LCAs for Software Engineer 3 in FY2025 (up 41% from the year before), with a median base salary of $160k and the middle 50% of offers between $148k and $169k. Across all years its $141k median is 3% above the $137k market median for Software Engineer 3. It has filed 1,374 Software Engineer 3 LCAs since FY2016, most often in San Jose, CA.
How much does Paypal pay a Software Engineer 3?
Certified base salary for Software Engineer 3 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 Software Engineer 3s above the market?
Paypal's all-years median against every employer's certified Software Engineer 3 LCAs — 3% 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 | 1,374 | $141k |
| All employers · Software Engineer 3 | 4,633 | $137k |
How has Paypal's Software Engineer 3 hiring changed by year?
106 certified Software Engineer 3 filings in FY2016 → 137 in FY2025. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 137 | +41% | $160k |
| FY2024 | 97 | −12% | $157k |
| FY2023 | 110 | −33% | $156k |
| FY2022 | 165 | −5% | $145k |
| FY2021 | 173 | +5% | $143k |
| FY2020 | 165 | +19% | $144k |
| FY2019 | 139 | −17% | $140k |
| FY2018 | 167 | +45% | $135k |
| FY2017 | 115 | +8% | $134k |
| FY2016 | 106 | — | $130k |
Which wage levels does Paypal file for Software Engineer 3?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 89% of Paypal's Software Engineer 3 filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 754 Software Engineer 3 filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II10.7%81
- Level III86.6%653
- Level IV2.7%20
Where does Paypal hire H-1B Software Engineer 3s?
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 | 1,058 | $144k |
| Texas | 83 | $135k |
| Arizona | 76 | $114k |
| Nebraska | 37 | $100k |
| New York | 25 | $142k |
| Illinois | 23 | $140k |
| Massachusetts | 18 | $118k |
| Washington | 15 | $155k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 1,014 | $144k |
| Scottsdale, AZ | 75 | $114k |
| Austin, TX | 67 | $135k |
| San Francisco, CA | 30 | $142k |
| La Vista, NE | 25 | $98k |
| New York, NY | 24 | $142k |
| Chicago, IL | 22 | $138k |
| Omaha, NE | 11 | $103k |
Also filed as
Paypal's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Software Engineer 3 LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Paypal
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Data Scientist | 92 | $140k |
Top Software Engineer 3 sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| eBay | 1,358 | $148k |
| Capgemini America | 905 | $107k |
| Asurion | 178 | $139k |
| Asml US | 98 | $119k |
| Paypal Data Services | 79 | $125k |
| Stubhub | 58 | $137k |
| Comcast Cable Communications | 55 | $76k |
| Bill ME Later | 44 | $120k |
| Ciena | 34 | $134k |
Common questions about Software Engineer 3 H-1B pay at Paypal
- How much does Paypal pay a Software Engineer 3 on an H-1B?
- Paypal's median certified H-1B base salary for Software Engineer 3 is $160k in FY2025, from 137 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $148k and $169k. Across all years the median is $141k.
- How many Software Engineer 3 H-1B LCAs has Paypal filed?
- Paypal has 1,374 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Software Engineer 3 on record (FY2016–FY2025), 137 of them in FY2025. That is 15% of its 9,295 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Paypal pay Software Engineer 3s above the market?
- Paypal's all-years median of $141k is 3% above the $137k median for Software Engineer 3 across all H-1B employers (4,633 certified filings).
- Where does Paypal hire H-1B Software Engineer 3s?
- Paypal's Software Engineer 3 LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Texas, Arizona; the top cities are San Jose, CA, Scottsdale, AZ, Austin, TX.
- 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–FY2025). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →