H-1B Wage Level & Prevailing Wage Checker (US)
The wage level an H-1B offer reaches — and how many times it enters the selection.
Try before you buy.
- Free preview: the OFLC wage for each level at your worksites (the first rows of each table), with your registration level, its entries and every comparison hidden.
- Locked until you unlock it: download and print.
- Unlock: Pro pass, ₹179 for 30 days, a one-time payment that never renews. Sold only in rupees.
Ways to unlock shows how to get the full result.
Printing this result is locked in the free preview.
Loading the area and occupation lists…
Choose an occupation, a worksite and the offered wage.
Prevailing wages by level
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For general information only, not legal advice. Templates are generic starting points — have a qualified lawyer review anything you rely on.
About the H-1B Wage Level & Prevailing Wage Checker (US)
Find the prevailing wage level (I to IV) that a US job offer reaches for an occupation and worksite, from the Department of Labor’s OFLC wage tables for all industries, and what it means for the weighted H-1B cap selection: a registration enters the selection pool four times at level IV, three times at level III, twice at level II and once at level I. Search a job title or SOC code, choose each worksite’s state and county or town, and enter the offered wage with its pay period.
You see the four level wages for each area (per hour and per year), the level the offer reaches there and how far the next level is. A job in several places is registered at the lowest level the wage meets across them, so the headline is that level. The wage tables are DOL’s public files, shipped with this page; nothing you type is uploaded. The free preview shows OFLC’s wage for each level at your worksites (the first rows of each table), with your registration level and every comparison hidden; a Pro pass unlocks them, the rest of each table, the CSV and the print.
How to use it
- Type a job title or an SOC code and choose the occupation whose description matches the job’s duties.
- Choose the state and the county or town of the worksite. Add a worksite for every other place the person will work.
- Enter the offered wage and how often it is paid; for a range, enter the lowest amount.
- Read the registration level and how many times it enters the selection pool, then each area’s four levels and the gap to the next level. Without a pass each table shows its first rows with your level hidden; a Pro pass unlocks them in full with the CSV and the print.
Examples
Software Developers (15-1252), Santa Clara County, California, $190,000 a year
Level II. The area’s levels: I $152,796.80, II $187,075.20, III $221,374.40, IV $255,652.80 a year; $31,374.40 more reaches level III.
Software Developers, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, $190,000 a year
Level IV (level IV there is $186,160 a year).
Worksites in Santa Clara County, CA and Middlesex County, MA, $190,000 a year
Registered at level II, the lower of the two levels: entered into the selection pool twice.
Software Developers, Santa Clara County, CA, $150,000 a year
Below level I ($152,796.80). It does not meet the OEWS prevailing wage there; a registration resting on another legitimate wage source counts as level I.
Common uses
- Checking which wage level an H-1B offer reaches before the registration period.
- Seeing how much more salary would move a registration to the next level.
- Comparing the level of the same offer across several worksites or cities.
How the weighted selection works
When USCIS receives more registrations than it needs for the 65,000 regular cap and the 20,000 advanced-degree exemption, it runs a weighted random selection among unique beneficiaries (Federal Register: weighted selection rule, USCIS: registration process):
- The registration names the highest OEWS level the offered wage equals or exceeds for the SOC code in the area of intended employment.
- Several worksites: the lowest of those levels. A wage range: the level its lowest wage meets.
- Below level I with a prevailing wage from another legitimate source: wage level I.
- No OEWS levels for the job: the level that matches the job’s requirements under DOL’s prevailing wage guidance.
- Each beneficiary is entered 4 times at level IV, 3 at level III, 2 at level II and once at level I, and counts once towards the cap. If several employers register the same person, USCIS uses the lowest level among those registrations.
DHS’s own analysis in the rule estimated selection chances of about 15% at level I, 31% at level II, 46% at level III and 61% at level IV, against about 30% for everyone under the old random selection; the real odds depend on how many people register at each level.
What the four levels mean
DOL’s guidance describes level I as entry level (a basic understanding of the occupation, routine tasks, close supervision), level II as qualified (a good understanding, moderately complex tasks), level III as experienced (special skills, judgement, possibly supervising others) and level IV as fully competent (advanced skills, independent judgement, often management) (DOL prevailing wage guidance). OFLC computes level II and level III a third and two thirds of the way from level I to level IV. The wage level of the registration follows the salary; the level on the Labor Condition Application follows the job’s requirements.
Where the wages come from
The tables are OFLC’s prevailing wages for all industries, built from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ OEWS survey and published once a year for a wage year that runs from July to June (DOL: OFLC wage data downloads). Yearly figures are the hourly wage × 2,080 hours, as DOL converts them. Some occupations, such as teachers, have yearly wages only. Where OEWS wages are at or above the top of its range ($115.00 an hour or $239,200 a year), OFLC publishes no levels and the page says so. Employers must also pay at least the actual wage they pay similar workers when that is higher (DOL: prevailing wages).
Limitations
- Not legal advice: the employer and its attorney choose the SOC code and the wage source, and USCIS and DOL decide.
- All-industries wages only: OFLC’s separate ACWIA higher-education wages are not included, and neither are private wage surveys, collective bargaining agreements or prevailing wage determinations from the NPWC.
- One wage year at a time: wages change every July, and the page warns when a newer wage year has started.
Privacy
Everything is looked up in your browser from DOL’s public wage tables, which this page downloads from MySmartCoPilot; your occupation, places and salary are never sent or stored.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, H-1B Wage Level & Prevailing Wage Checker (US) shows the OFLC wage for each level at your worksites (the first rows of each table), with your registration level, its entries and every comparison hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or printed. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
Which wage level will my H-1B registration be?
The highest OEWS level your offered wage equals or exceeds for the job’s SOC code in the area of employment, and with several worksites the lowest of those levels. The employer picks the SOC code from the job’s duties, so check the occupation description shown here against the job.
Does level IV guarantee selection?
No. Level IV only means four entries in a random selection instead of one. DHS estimated about a 61% chance at level IV against about 15% at level I, but the real odds depend on how many people register at each level.
What if my salary is below level I?
Then it does not meet the OEWS prevailing wage for that area, and the employer would need another legitimate wage source, such as a qualifying private survey, to file the Labor Condition Application. Such a registration is entered once, as level I.
Why do I see “No OEWS level”?
In some areas OEWS publishes no levelled wages for an occupation, usually because they are at or above the top of its published range (physicians, for example). The registration level then follows the job’s requirements under DOL’s prevailing wage guidance rather than the salary. With other worksites that do have levels, the calculator also shows the most the registration can be: it takes the lowest level across the worksites.
Is the prevailing wage the only minimum?
No. An H-1B employer must pay the higher of the prevailing wage and the actual wage it pays workers with similar skills and qualifications for the job.