Research Associate H-1B salary at The University of Southern California — 198 certified filings (FY2016–FY2026)
- 19
- Filings · FY2025
- $69k
- Median base · FY2025
- $53k–$72k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- −2%
- vs market median · all years
The University of Southern California filed 19 certified H-1B LCAs for Research Associate in FY2025, with a median base salary of $69k and the middle 50% of offers between $53k and $72k. Across all years its $61k median is 2% below the $62k market median for Research Associate. It has filed 198 Research Associate LCAs since FY2016, most often in Los Angeles, CA.
How much does The University of Southern California pay a Research Associate?
Certified base salary for Research Associate at The University of Southern California by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $69k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does The University of Southern California pay Research Associates above the market?
The University of Southern California's all-years median against every employer's certified Research Associate LCAs — 2% 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 Southern California | 198 | $61k |
| All employers · Research Associate | 11,374 | $62k |
How has The University of Southern California's Research Associate hiring changed by year?
10 certified Research Associate filings in FY2016 → 10 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 10 | −47% | $71k |
| FY2025 | 19 | −34% | $69k |
| FY2024 | 29 | +142% | $68k |
| FY2023 | 12 | −29% | $64k |
| FY2022 | 17 | −15% | $71k |
| FY2021 | 20 | −13% | $63k |
| FY2020 | 23 | −12% | $56k |
| FY2019 | 26 | +100% | $53k |
| FY2018 | 13 | −32% | $55k |
| FY2017 | 19 | +90% | $57k |
| FY2016 | 10 | — | $54k |
Which wage levels does The University of Southern California file for Research Associate?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 14% of The University of Southern California's Research Associate filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 178 Research Associate filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I60.7%108
- Level II25.3%45
- Level III14.0%25
Where does The University of Southern California hire H-1B Research Associates?
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 | 198 | $61k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 191 | $61k |
| Playa Vista, CA | 4 | $63k |
| San Diego, CA | 2 | $60k |
| California, CA | 1 | $80k |
Also filed as
The University of Southern California's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Research Associate LCAs. All years.
Other titles at The University of Southern California
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate | 180 | $60k |
| Assistant Professor | 172 | $101k |
| Lecturer | 56 | $60k |
| Research Assistant Professor | 33 | $85k |
| Assistant Professor of Research | 32 | $61k |
| Programmer Analyst II | 31 | $72k |
Top Research Associate sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Mayo Clinic | 508 | $65k |
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute | 501 | $60k |
| Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania | 340 | $68k |
| Harvard University | 311 | $75k |
| Memorial Sloan-kettering Cancer Center | 256 | $72k |
| Case Western Reserve University | 247 | $53k |
| Johns Hopkins University | 247 | $70k |
| Cornell University | 245 | $69k |
| Northwestern University | 237 | $66k |
| The University of Texas at Austin | 231 | $73k |
Common questions about Research Associate H-1B pay at The University of Southern California
- How much does The University of Southern California pay a Research Associate on an H-1B?
- The University of Southern California's median certified H-1B base salary for Research Associate is $69k in FY2025, from 19 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $53k and $72k. Across all years the median is $61k.
- How many Research Associate H-1B LCAs has The University of Southern California filed?
- The University of Southern California has 198 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Research Associate on record (FY2016–FY2026), 10 of them in FY2026. That is 11% of its 1,794 certified filings across all titles.
- Does The University of Southern California pay Research Associates above the market?
- The University of Southern California's all-years median of $61k is 2% below the $62k median for Research Associate across all H-1B employers (11,374 certified filings).
- Where does The University of Southern California hire H-1B Research Associates?
- The University of Southern California's Research Associate LCAs name worksites mostly in California; the top cities are Los Angeles, CA, Playa Vista, CA, 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.
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–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →