Sr Software Engineer H-1B salary at Paypal — 141 certified filings (FY2023–FY2026)
- 21
- Filings · FY2025
- $190k
- Median base · FY2025
- $170k–$195k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +41%
- vs market median · all years
Paypal filed 21 certified H-1B LCAs for Sr Software Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $190k and the middle 50% of offers between $170k and $195k. Across all years its $170k median is 41% above the $120k market median for Sr Software Engineer. It has filed 141 Sr Software Engineer LCAs since FY2023, most often in San Jose, CA.
How much does Paypal pay a Sr Software Engineer?
Certified base salary for Sr Software Engineer at Paypal by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $190k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Paypal pay Sr Software Engineers above the market?
Paypal's all-years median against every employer's certified Sr Software Engineer LCAs — 41% 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 | 141 | $170k |
| All employers · Sr Software Engineer | 13,510 | $120k |
How has Paypal's Sr Software Engineer hiring changed by year?
2 certified Sr Software Engineer filings in FY2023 → 117 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 117 | +457% | $167k |
| FY2025 | 21 | +2000% | $190k |
| FY2024 | 1 | −50% | $130k |
| FY2023 | 2 | — | $140k |
Which wage levels does Paypal file for Sr Software Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 88% of Paypal's Sr Software Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 50 Sr Software Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level II12.0%6
- Level III80.0%40
- Level IV8.0%4
Where does Paypal hire H-1B Sr Software Engineers?
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 | 92 | $180k |
| Texas | 24 | $148k |
| Arizona | 11 | $136k |
| Illinois | 6 | $158k |
| North Carolina | 2 | $124k |
| Washington | 2 | $161k |
| Kentucky | 1 | $124k |
| Michigan | 1 | $133k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | 92 | $180k |
| Austin, TX | 18 | $145k |
| Scottsdale, AZ | 11 | $136k |
| Chicago, IL | 6 | $158k |
| Aubrey, TX | 1 | $144k |
| Bellevue, WA | 1 | $166k |
| Bonney Lake, WA | 1 | $161k |
| Celina, TX | 1 | $158k |
Also filed as
Paypal's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Sr Software Engineer 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 |
| 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 Sr Software Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| 364 | $156k | |
| HCL Global Systems | 273 | $108k |
| Home Depot Product Authority | 230 | $120k |
| Home Depot Management | 208 | $135k |
| Docusign | 202 | $190k |
| 175 | $184k | |
| Scepter Technologies | 157 | $97k |
| Rockwell Collins | 138 | $100k |
| Databricks | 124 | $190k |
| Xoriant | 121 | $110k |
Common questions about Sr Software Engineer H-1B pay at Paypal
- How much does Paypal pay a Sr Software Engineer on an H-1B?
- Paypal's median certified H-1B base salary for Sr Software Engineer is $190k in FY2025, from 21 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $170k and $195k. Across all years the median is $170k.
- How many Sr Software Engineer H-1B LCAs has Paypal filed?
- Paypal has 141 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Sr Software Engineer on record (FY2023–FY2026), 117 of them in FY2026. That is 2% of its 9,295 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Paypal pay Sr Software Engineers above the market?
- Paypal's all-years median of $170k is 41% above the $120k median for Sr Software Engineer across all H-1B employers (13,510 certified filings).
- Where does Paypal hire H-1B Sr Software Engineers?
- Paypal's Sr Software Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Texas, Arizona; the top cities are San Jose, CA, Austin, TX, Scottsdale, AZ.
- 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 (FY2023–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →