Southwest Airlines — 637 certified H-1B filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 122
- Filings · FY2025
- $150k
- Median base · FY2025
- Sr. Software Engineer
- Top role · 103 all-time
- TX
- Top state · 636 all-time
Southwest Airlines filed 122 certified H-1B LCAs in FY2025 (up 20% from the year before), with a median base salary of $150k and the middle 50% of offers between $136k and $150k. That is 8% above the market median for the same job titles. Across all years it has 637 certified filings since FY2016, most often for Sr. Software Engineer in Texas.
How much does Southwest Airlines pay H-1B workers?
Certified base salary by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $150k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
How has Southwest Airlines's H-1B hiring changed by year?
9 certified filings in FY2016 → 39 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 39 | −68% | $153k |
| FY2025 | 122 | +20% | $150k |
| FY2024 | 102 | +26% | $136k |
| FY2023 | 81 | −46% | $135k |
| FY2022 | 149 | +381% | $128k |
| FY2021 | 31 | +24% | $127k |
| FY2020 | 25 | −47% | $113k |
| FY2019 | 47 | +114% | $115k |
| FY2018 | 22 | +120% | $123k |
| FY2017 | 10 | +11% | $65k |
| FY2016 | 9 | — | $110k |
Which wage levels does Southwest Airlines file?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 90% of Southwest Airlines's filings sit at Level III–IV. A heavy I–II skew reads as entry-level or contractor-style hiring; a heavy IV skew as senior in-house roles — and higher levels earn more lottery entries.
Share of 576 filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I1.2%7
- Level II9.0%52
- Level III6.9%40
- Level IV82.8%477
What jobs does Southwest Airlines sponsor for H-1B?
The most-filed job titles across all years (DOL titles, employer pay-grade codes stripped), with base-salary percentiles. Open a title for Southwest Airlines's pay on that role by year, wage level and worksite.
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Sr. Software Engineer | 103 | $139k |
| Sr. System Engineer | 60 | $135k |
| Senior Software Engineer | 50 | $128k |
| Software Engineer | 44 | $106k |
| Sr Software Engineer | 34 | $123k |
| Tech Lead Software Engineer | 27 | $150k |
| System Engineer | 23 | $113k |
| Sr. Technology Analyst | 22 | $125k |
| Sr System Engineer | 18 | $135k |
| Solutions Architect | 16 | $141k |
Where does Southwest Airlines hire H-1B workers?
Worksite states on the certified filings, all years. Deeper pink = more filings; hover a state for its figures.
| State | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| TX | 636 | $128k |
| IL | 1 | $144k |
What has Southwest Airlines filed recently?
The 50 most recent of 637 certified LCAs: job title, worksite, prevailing-wage level and the offered base salary.
Common questions about Southwest Airlines's H-1B filings
- How much does Southwest Airlines pay H-1B workers?
- Southwest Airlines's median certified H-1B base salary is $150k (FY2025), from 122 filings. See the full salary distribution and percentiles above.
- How many H-1B workers does Southwest Airlines sponsor?
- Southwest Airlines has 637 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications on record (FY2016–FY2026).
- What jobs does Southwest Airlines sponsor for H-1B?
- Southwest Airlines's most-sponsored H-1B roles include Sr. Software Engineer, Sr. System Engineer, Senior Software Engineer, Software Engineer.
- Where does Southwest Airlines hire H-1B workers?
- Southwest Airlines's top H-1B worksite states are TX, IL.
- 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 →