H-1B Wage Levels Explained: How Prevailing Wage Determinations Affect Your Job Offer
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026
The Department of Labor sorts H-1B jobs into four prevailing wage levels based on experience and complexity. Most new graduates get filed at Level 1, the lowest of the four, which sets the legal minimum salary an employer must pay.
💵 The four levels correspond to the 17th, 34th, 50th, and 67th percentile of local wage data
🎓 Level 1 covers entry-level roles with basic duties, typical for new graduate hires
📩 Employers file a Labor Condition Application certifying they will pay at least the prevailing wage for the level they choose
⏱️ The wage level sets a floor, not your actual salary, an employer can pay more
What a prevailing wage level is
Before filing an H-1B petition, an employer must file a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor. The LCA states the wage the employer will pay and confirms that wage meets or beats the prevailing wage for that job, in that location, at that skill level.
The prevailing wage comes from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey run by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or from an approved private wage survey. Employers look up the standard figures for a given job title and metro area through the DOL's FLAG system or wage lookup tools such as flcdatacenter.com .
The four wage levels
| Level | Percentile | Typical role |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 17th | Entry-level, basic duties, close supervision |
| Level 2 | 34th | Some independent judgment, moderate experience |
| Level 3 | 50th | Experienced worker, independent judgment |
| Level 4 | 67th | Fully competent, supervisory or highly specialized |
Each level maps to a fixed percentile of the wage distribution for that occupation and location. A software engineering role in a high-cost metro area at Level 1 often pays more in dollars than a Level 4 role in a lower-cost area, since the percentile is calculated locally.
Why most new graduates land at Level 1
Level 1 is meant for entry-level positions requiring a basic understanding of the job's duties, with close supervision and limited independent decision-making.
Recent graduates hired straight out of a bachelor's or master's program typically fit this description on paper, even when the actual job is demanding, because the wage level reflects job requirements as described in the position, not your personal skill.
Some employers file Level 2 for graduate hires with research experience, publications, or a directly relevant graduate degree tied to the role. The level an employer chooses affects the minimum salary they are legally required to pay, so it matters even though it is a DOL classification rather than a description of you personally.
How this connects to your actual offer
The wage level sets a floor.
Your employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the level and location on the LCA, or the wage the employer normally pays for that role, whichever is higher. Nothing stops an employer from offering more. If a job offer looks low compared to market pay you have researched elsewhere, ask what wage level the LCA lists and check that figure against the DOL's public wage library for the same occupation and metro area.
Search certified LCAs by employer and job title in the DOL's public disclosure data, which shows the wage level and offered wage for H-1B filings going back several years. This is a useful check before accepting an offer or comparing employers.
Level 1 does not mean unskilled
Being filed at Level 1 says nothing about your qualifications.
It describes how the specific job listing is written, including the years of experience and degree of independent judgment stated in the position. Two people with identical degrees can be filed at different levels because their job descriptions differ, not because one candidate is stronger than the other.
What the employer must post
Employers must post notice of the LCA at the worksite, or notify the union representing similar workers, before filing an H-1B petition.
This notice states the wage level and offered wage, and it stays available to any employee who wants to see it. This posting requirement exists so coworkers can flag it if the certified wage does not match market pay for the role.
Checking your own offer
Ask your employer or immigration attorney directly for the wage level listed on your LCA. Compare that figure against the OES wage data for your occupation code and metro area, available through the DOL's wage tools.
A gap between your offer and the certified prevailing wage for your level is worth raising before you sign.
The same system applies at the green card stage
If your employer later files a PERM labor certification for your green card, the DOL issues a separate Prevailing Wage Determination using the same four-level structure. Employers sometimes file PERM at a higher level than the original H-1B LCA if your role or responsibilities grew, which affects the wage they must offer during the required recruitment process.
H-1B1 and E-3 use the same system
The same four-level wage structure applies to the H-1B1 visa for Chilean and Singaporean nationals and the E-3 visa for Australian nationals, since both rely on the same certified Labor Condition Application process as H-1B. If you hold one of these visa categories, the same percentile table and the same Level 1 through Level 4 logic apply to your case.
A change to watch
The Department of Labor proposed a rule in March 2026 that would raise the wage percentiles behind all four levels, which would push required salaries higher across the board.
As of August 2026 this remains a proposed rule rather than final regulation. Check the Federal Register listing for its current status before assuming today's numbers will hold.