Research Scientist, H-1B salary
What 14,435 H-1B filings report for “Research Scientist” (LCA, FY2017–2026): pay percentiles, the states paying most, and who files.
What is the H-1B salary for a Research Scientist?
$103k median H-1B base salary for a Research Scientist, typically $59k to $206k, across 14,435 H-1B LCA filings with the U.S. Department of Labor (FY2017 to FY2026). Highest in California at $179k median.
Median pay & filings over time · H-1B · FY2017–2026*
Top-paying states
Median for this title · ≥20 filings
- 1California4,145$179k+$76k
- 2Washington1,150$173k+$70k
- 3Oregon259$129k+$26k
- 4Tennessee50$109k+$6k
- 5Indiana216$105k+$2k
- 6Minnesota59$100k−$3k
- 7Arizona84$100k−$3k
- 8New York1,704$99k−$4k
- 9Iowa25$94k−$9k
- 10Delaware64$91k−$12k
- 11Maryland171$90k−$13k
- 12Wisconsin42$90k−$13k
Where the pay sits state by state, against the national $103kfor the same title. States with at least 20 filings, so a median is not built on a handful of rows.
Which companies sponsor H-1B for a Research Scientist?
The employers that file the most H-1B labor condition applications for Research Scientist roles are Meta, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Google, Intel, and Nvidia, based on their U.S. Department of Labor (LCA) filings. Open any for its full Research Scientist filing history, pay, and open roles.
Top employers for this title
Most H-1B filings · with each employer’s median for the role
- 1Meta3,081 filings$183k
- 2Massachusetts Institute of Technology789 filings$78k
- 3Google710 filings$192k
- 4Intel410 filings$133k
- 5Nvidia331 filings$169k
- 6Research Foundation for SUNY291 filings$65k
- 7University of Virginia287 filings$63k
- 8UT Southwestern Medical Center244 filings$62k
- 9The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center218 filings$65k
- 10Ohio State University167 filings$75k
- 11ByteDance164 filings$215k
- 12University of Pittsburgh153 filings$60k
- 13Brigham and Women's Hospital152 filings$69k
- 14New York University150 filings$68k
- 15KLA148 filings$130k
- 16NYU Langone Health123 filings$83k
- 17Boston University123 filings$68k
- 18University of Illinois105 filings$72k
- 19Duke University105 filings$68k
- 20Eli Lilly102 filings$121k
- 21Massachusetts General Hospital95 filings$65k
- 22Bay Area Environmental Research Institute86 filings$91k
- 23University of Texas Medical Branch85 filings$57k
- 24Virginia Tech80 filings$75k
- 25University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio78 filings$58k
- 26Van Andel Research Institute73 filings$74k
- 27IBM72 filings$203k
- 28Nationwide Children's Hospital72 filings$70k
- 29Purdue University67 filings$90k
- 30Cleveland Clinic Foundation66 filings$67k
- 31University of Oklahoma65 filings$75k
- 32The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston61 filings$65k
- 33University of Texas at Dallas59 filings$65k
- 34Lawrence Livermore National Security58 filings$176k
- 35Trustees of Dartmouth College57 filings$64k
- 36Rice University56 filings$70k
- 37Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene54 filings$73k
- 38Case Western Reserve University53 filings$60k
- 39University of Missouri52 filings$51k
- 40Howard Hughes51 filings$65k
- 41California Institute of Technology49 filings$75k
- 42Cleveland Clinic48 filings$64k
- 43The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research48 filings$75k
- 44Cedars-Sinai47 filings$99k
- 45Harvard University45 filings$99k
- 46JD.com44 filings$175k
- 47Waymo43 filings$185k
- 48Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute42 filings$70k
- 49Mayo Clinic42 filings$99k
- 50Qps39 filings$89k
Related titles in this family
32,656 filings carry “Research Scientist” in the title, across 2,316 variants. Pay differs by variant, so each is listed with its own median.
- 1Associate Research Scientist2,743 filings$71k
- 2Assistant Research Scientist1,682 filings$67k
- 3Senior Research Scientist1,639 filings$98k
- 4Research Scientist II1,376 filings$119k
- 5Research Scientist I997 filings$82k
- 6Postdoctoral Research Scientist772 filings$63k
- 7Basic Life Research Scientist641 filings$75k
- 8Research Scientist III400 filings$110k
- 9Staff Research Scientist223 filings$169k
- 10Research Scientist/Engineer222 filings$181k
- 11Computer and Information Research Scientist201 filings$116k
- 12Assistant Academic Research Scientist183 filings$63k
Figures are for the exact title “Research Scientist”; for a rare title we widen to the closest related titles (flagged above when that happens). To benchmark a specific offer by employer and state, use Salary Check.