Postdoctoral Scholar H-1B salary at University of California at Santa Barbara — 116 certified filings (FY2017–FY2026)
- 24
- Filings · FY2025
- $74k
- Median base · FY2025
- $72k–$75k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +15%
- vs market median · all years
University of California at Santa Barbara filed 24 certified H-1B LCAs for Postdoctoral Scholar in FY2025, with a median base salary of $74k and the middle 50% of offers between $72k and $75k. Across all years its $69k median is 15% above the $60k market median for Postdoctoral Scholar. It has filed 116 Postdoctoral Scholar LCAs since FY2017, most often in Santa Barbara, CA.
How much does University of California at Santa Barbara pay a Postdoctoral Scholar?
Certified base salary for Postdoctoral Scholar at University of California at Santa Barbara by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $74k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does University of California at Santa Barbara pay Postdoctoral Scholars above the market?
University of California at Santa Barbara's all-years median against every employer's certified Postdoctoral Scholar LCAs — 15% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| University of California at Santa Barbara | 116 | $69k |
| All employers · Postdoctoral Scholar | 4,441 | $60k |
How has University of California at Santa Barbara's Postdoctoral Scholar hiring changed by year?
1 certified Postdoctoral Scholar filings in FY2017 → 25 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 25 | +4% | $77k |
| FY2025 | 24 | +200% | $74k |
| FY2024 | 8 | +700% | $70k |
| FY2023 | 1 | −83% | $73k |
| FY2022 | 6 | −71% | $65k |
| FY2021 | 21 | −30% | $63k |
| FY2020 | 30 | +2900% | $61k |
| FY2017 | 1 | — | $56k |
Which wage levels does University of California at Santa Barbara file for Postdoctoral Scholar?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 0% of University of California at Santa Barbara's Postdoctoral Scholar filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 3 Postdoctoral Scholar filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I66.7%2
- Level II33.3%1
Where does University of California at Santa Barbara hire H-1B Postdoctoral Scholars?
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 | 116 | $69k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara, CA | 116 | $69k |
Also filed as
University of California at Santa Barbara's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Postdoctoral Scholar LCAs. All years.
Other titles at University of California at Santa Barbara
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant Professor | 130 | $109k |
| Postdoctoral Scholar- Employee | 98 | $65k |
| Lecturer | 56 | $71k |
| Assistant Project Scientist | 47 | $65k |
| Project Scientist | 44 | $77k |
Top Postdoctoral Scholar sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| University of California San Francisco | 856 | $64k |
| University of California Davis | 428 | $60k |
| The University of Chicago | 409 | $58k |
| University of California Los Angeles | 347 | $64k |
| The Pennsylvania State University | 322 | $56k |
| University of Washington | 277 | $66k |
| Northwestern University | 240 | $63k |
| Case Western Reserve University | 149 | $55k |
| Oregon Health Science University | 140 | $60k |
Common questions about Postdoctoral Scholar H-1B pay at University of California at Santa Barbara
- How much does University of California at Santa Barbara pay a Postdoctoral Scholar on an H-1B?
- University of California at Santa Barbara's median certified H-1B base salary for Postdoctoral Scholar is $74k in FY2025, from 24 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $72k and $75k. Across all years the median is $69k.
- How many Postdoctoral Scholar H-1B LCAs has University of California at Santa Barbara filed?
- University of California at Santa Barbara has 116 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Postdoctoral Scholar on record (FY2017–FY2026), 25 of them in FY2026. That is 16% of its 742 certified filings across all titles.
- Does University of California at Santa Barbara pay Postdoctoral Scholars above the market?
- University of California at Santa Barbara's all-years median of $69k is 15% above the $60k median for Postdoctoral Scholar across all H-1B employers (4,441 certified filings).
- Where does University of California at Santa Barbara hire H-1B Postdoctoral Scholars?
- University of California at Santa Barbara's Postdoctoral Scholar LCAs name worksites mostly in California; the top cities are Santa Barbara, 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
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2017–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →