Software Engineer H-1B salary at Populus Group — 211 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 20
- Filings · FY2025
- $127k
- Median base · FY2025
- $98k–$139k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +6%
- vs market median · all years
Populus Group filed 20 certified H-1B LCAs for Software Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $127k and the middle 50% of offers between $98k and $139k. Across all years its $117k median is 6% above the $111k market median for Software Engineer. It has filed 211 Software Engineer LCAs since FY2016, most often in Seattle, WA.
How much does Populus Group pay a Software Engineer?
Certified base salary for Software Engineer at Populus Group by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $127k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Populus Group pay Software Engineers above the market?
Populus Group's all-years median against every employer's certified Software Engineer LCAs — 6% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Populus Group | 211 | $117k |
| All employers · Software Engineer | 301,963 | $111k |
How has Populus Group's Software Engineer hiring changed by year?
23 certified Software Engineer filings in FY2016 → 9 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 9 | −55% | $132k |
| FY2025 | 20 | +54% | $127k |
| FY2024 | 13 | −7% | $125k |
| FY2023 | 14 | +56% | $130k |
| FY2022 | 9 | −65% | $114k |
| FY2021 | 26 | −21% | $136k |
| FY2020 | 33 | +38% | $110k |
| FY2019 | 24 | +20% | $113k |
| FY2018 | 20 | 0% | $103k |
| FY2017 | 20 | −13% | $108k |
| FY2016 | 23 | — | $102k |
Which wage levels does Populus Group file for Software Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 39% of Populus Group's Software Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 184 Software Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I13.0%24
- Level II47.8%88
- Level III30.4%56
- Level IV8.7%16
Where does Populus Group hire H-1B 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 | 35 | $125k |
| Michigan | 25 | $109k |
| Texas | 16 | $125k |
| Washington | 16 | $125k |
| Pennsylvania | 14 | $96k |
| North Carolina | 13 | $127k |
| Illinois | 10 | $119k |
| Maryland | 10 | $104k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | 15 | $125k |
| Philadelphia, PA | 11 | $96k |
| San Diego, CA | 9 | $104k |
| Rockville, MD | 8 | $98k |
| San Francisco, CA | 8 | $137k |
| Warren, MI | 8 | $101k |
| Washington, DC | 8 | $134k |
| Charlotte, NC | 6 | $120k |
Also filed as
Populus Group's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Software Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Populus Group
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| JAVA Developer | 299 | $108k |
| Software Developer | 258 | $110k |
| Business Analyst | 131 | $100k |
| Data Analyst | 102 | $94k |
| Application Developer | 85 | $100k |
| Mechanical Engineer | 71 | $87k |
| Data Engineer | 70 | $125k |
| QA Tester | 68 | $94k |
| Business Systems Analyst | 62 | $110k |
| Project Manager | 58 | $121k |
Top Software Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | 29,968 | $142k |
| 27,422 | $170k | |
| Meta Platforms | 12,265 | $200k |
| 7,220 | $167k | |
| Mphasis | 5,479 | $107k |
| Intel | 5,159 | $118k |
| Natsoft | 1,994 | $97k |
| Cisco Systems | 1,899 | $127k |
| Nvidia | 1,830 | $171k |
| Uber Technologies | 1,635 | $140k |
Common questions about Software Engineer H-1B pay at Populus Group
- How much does Populus Group pay a Software Engineer on an H-1B?
- Populus Group's median certified H-1B base salary for Software Engineer is $127k in FY2025, from 20 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $98k and $139k. Across all years the median is $117k.
- How many Software Engineer H-1B LCAs has Populus Group filed?
- Populus Group has 211 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Software Engineer on record (FY2016–FY2026), 9 of them in FY2026. That is 3% of its 6,139 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Populus Group pay Software Engineers above the market?
- Populus Group's all-years median of $117k is 6% above the $111k median for Software Engineer across all H-1B employers (301,963 certified filings).
- Where does Populus Group hire H-1B Software Engineers?
- Populus Group's Software Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Michigan, Texas; the top cities are Seattle, WA, Philadelphia, PA, San Diego, CA.
- 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 →