Occupation · SOC 17-1011

Architects, Except Landscape and Naval: H-1B salaries and wage levels

Level IV starts anywhere from $134,701 to $157,061 depending on the city. The median offer is $82,507.

1,573certified H-1B LCAs, Jul 2025 to Jun 2026

$82,507median offer

$73k to $94kmiddle half of offers

2%of new-employment offers reach Level IV for their area

Source U.S. Dept. of Labor, OFLC disclosure files Covers decisions Jul 2025 to Jun 2026 Release FY2026 Q3, published Aug 7, 2026 Wage levels OFLC 2026-27

Wage levels by city

same scale for every row · black mark: median offer in that city

New York, NY

IV $135k

San Francisco, CA

IV $157k

under Level ILevel IIIIIIIV and upmedian offerscale $65k to $165k

City	LCAs	Median	Level I	Level II	Level III	Level IV
New York, NY	317	$88,899	$71,968	$92,872	$113,797	$134,701
San Francisco, CA	106	$90,000	$78,998	$105,019	$131,040	$157,061

What employers offer

1,573 certified LCAs, coloured by the level each salary reaches in its own area

$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k

Level IIIIIIIVunder Level I = 20 LCAs = 20 LCAs

Lottery entries

561 new-employment LCAs

Architects, Except Landscape and Naval 29%51%14% 561

All employers 12%28%25%18%16% 149,984

1 entry · Level I2 · Level II3 · Level III4 · Level IVunder Level I, still 1 entry

How this is calculated

New-employment H-1B LCAs only, the filings behind most cap petitions; extensions, transfers and amendments do not go through the lottery, and cap-exempt universities and nonprofit research organizations are left out. Each offered salary (low end of the range) is compared with the OFLC Level I to IV wages for its occupation and worksite area, wage year 2026-27; a filing with several worksites counts at its lowest level, as the rule requires. Numbers on the right are LCAs. Full methodology.

Over time

fiscal years, October to September · hatched: year to date

Certified H-1B LCAs

1,305 FY2026 to date

1.4kFY23

1.5kFY24

1.8kFY25

1.3kFY26

Median offer

$82,500 FY2026

$74kFY23

$75kFY24

$76kFY25

$83kFY26

Top employers

Jul 2025 to Jun 2026

#	Employer	Certified LCAs	Median salary
1	Perkins & Will, Inc.	48	$75,020
2	Cannon Design, Inc.	31	$87,000
3	Corgan Associates, Inc.	31	$74,700
4	Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC	31	$83,000
5	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP	29	$88,899
6	Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc.	27	$88,899
7	HDR Architecture, Inc.	23	$98,509
8	Stantec Architecture Inc.	23	$85,259
9	SmithGroup, Inc., subsidiary of SmithGroup Co., Inc.	22	$80,000
10	HKS, Inc.	20	$81,000
11	M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates, Inc.	19	$92,000
12	Perkins Eastman Architects DPC	18	$75,105
13	Arcadis Inc.	16	$80,000
14	STV Incorporated	16	$83,692
15	Solomon Cordwell Buenz	15	$78,333
16	W.G. Yates and Sons Construction Co.	13	$89,000
17	Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP	13	$75,900
18	Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.	12	$102,560
19	Core Tech Construction Corporation	11	$80,000
20	Populous Group, LLC	11	$100,506
21	Rockwell Architecture, Planning and Design, P.C.	11	$100,000
22	B.I.G. Architecture D.P.C.	9	$81,500
23	Elicc Americas Corporation	9	$88,899
24	VIATechnik LLC	9	$106,800
25	WRA Architects Inc.	9	$73,154
	All other employers	1,097	–