Staff Scientist H-1B salary at The University of Chicago — 83 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 10
- Filings · FY2025
- $75k
- Median base · FY2025
- $71k–$80k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- −5%
- vs market median · all years
The University of Chicago filed 10 certified H-1B LCAs for Staff Scientist in FY2025, with a median base salary of $75k and the middle 50% of offers between $71k and $80k. Across all years its $70k median is 5% below the $74k market median for Staff Scientist. It has filed 83 Staff Scientist LCAs since FY2016, most often in Chicago, IL.
How much does The University of Chicago pay a Staff Scientist?
Certified base salary for Staff Scientist at The University of Chicago by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $75k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does The University of Chicago pay Staff Scientists above the market?
The University of Chicago's all-years median against every employer's certified Staff Scientist LCAs — 5% below 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 |
|---|---|---|
| The University of Chicago | 83 | $70k |
| All employers · Staff Scientist | 2,329 | $74k |
How has The University of Chicago's Staff Scientist hiring changed by year?
5 certified Staff Scientist filings in FY2016 → 16 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 16 | +60% | $80k |
| FY2025 | 10 | −9% | $75k |
| FY2024 | 11 | +175% | $80k |
| FY2023 | 4 | −20% | $68k |
| FY2022 | 5 | +67% | $69k |
| FY2021 | 3 | −40% | $80k |
| FY2020 | 5 | −29% | $63k |
| FY2019 | 7 | −36% | $58k |
| FY2018 | 11 | +83% | $60k |
| FY2017 | 6 | +20% | $55k |
| FY2016 | 5 | — | $55k |
Which wage levels does The University of Chicago file for Staff Scientist?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 19% of The University of Chicago's Staff Scientist filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 77 Staff Scientist filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I18.2%14
- Level II62.3%48
- Level III9.1%7
- Level IV10.4%8
Where does The University of Chicago hire H-1B Staff 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 83 | $70k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | 83 | $70k |
Also filed as
The University of Chicago's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Staff Scientist LCAs. All years.
Other titles at The University of Chicago
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Postdoctoral Scholar | 409 | $58k |
| Assistant Professor | 207 | $120k |
| Research Professional | 85 | $62k |
| Assistant Instructional Professor | 42 | $64k |
| L.e. Dickson Instructor | 42 | $46k |
Top Staff Scientist sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Washington University | 442 | $63k |
| National Institutes of Health Hhs | 404 | $114k |
| Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope | 162 | $73k |
| Washington University in ST Louis | 132 | $53k |
| Baylor College of Medicine | 69 | $68k |
| University of Rochester | 68 | $57k |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | 56 | $65k |
| The Scripps Research Institute | 55 | $78k |
| Albert Einstein College of Medicine | 51 | $75k |
Common questions about Staff Scientist H-1B pay at The University of Chicago
- How much does The University of Chicago pay a Staff Scientist on an H-1B?
- The University of Chicago's median certified H-1B base salary for Staff Scientist is $75k in FY2025, from 10 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $71k and $80k. Across all years the median is $70k.
- How many Staff Scientist H-1B LCAs has The University of Chicago filed?
- The University of Chicago has 83 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Staff Scientist on record (FY2016–FY2026), 16 of them in FY2026. That is 5% of its 1,838 certified filings across all titles.
- Does The University of Chicago pay Staff Scientists above the market?
- The University of Chicago's all-years median of $70k is 5% below the $74k median for Staff Scientist across all H-1B employers (2,329 certified filings).
- Where does The University of Chicago hire H-1B Staff Scientists?
- The University of Chicago's Staff Scientist LCAs name worksites mostly in Illinois; the top cities are Chicago, 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.
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 →