Source DOL OFLC LCA disclosure FY2026 Q3 releaseCompared with BLS OEWS May 2025Status certified filings only
Occupation SOC 17-2141 across the United States
Mechanical Engineers as filed, SOC 17-2141
7,221 certified H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 Labor Condition Applications for Mechanical Engineers (SOC 17-2141) offered a national median annual wage of $110,512. Half fall between $93,642 and $137,248, and the 10th to 90th percentile range runs from $81,432 to $170,000. Source: Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification disclosure data, FY2026 Q3 release.
- Median wage filed
- $110,512per year
- Middle half
- $93,642
to$137,248 - 10th to 90th percentile
- $81,432
to$170,000 - Certified filings
- 7,221
The ledger
National spread of filed wages for SOC 17-2141
Read it carefully. The BLS OEWS national median for Mechanical Engineers is $104,110. The median filing wage is 6% above the benchmark: 106% of it. The two measure different things: the filings state what employers offered on certified applications, and OEWS reports what employers paid across all workers.
By metro area
Median filed wage in each metro
129 metro areas with at least 5 certified filings for this job. Select a column heading to sort. Metros with their own page link to the percentiles and employers there.
| Metro area | Median filed wage | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $109,660 | 1,047 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $164,509 | 671 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $150,654 | 439 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $135,662 | 392 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $111,280 | 218 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $110,000 | 217 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $106,974 | 198 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $106,870 | 197 |
| Columbus, IN | $99,286 | 187 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $98,140 | 160 |
| Columbus, OH | $97,573 | 155 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $115,360 | 147 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $132,100 | 146 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $105,000 | 114 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $102,600 | 99 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $140,000 | 85 |
| Peoria, IL | $95,680 | 84 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $109,933 | 66 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $129,663 | 66 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | $113,381 | 64 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $110,115 | 59 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $98,000 | 57 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | $103,097 | 56 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $107,016 | 55 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $92,000 | 53 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $109,000 | 52 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $95,909 | 46 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $107,071 | 40 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $100,000 | 39 |
| Bloomington, IL | $120,622 | 36 |
| Cleveland, OH | $88,816 | 36 |
| Reno, NV | $117,957 | 36 |
| Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH | $84,178 | 34 |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC | $123,302 | 34 |
| Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | $93,450 | 34 |
| Akron, OH | $92,560 | 33 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | $93,475 | 30 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | $99,548 | 29 |
| Tucson, AZ | $102,128 | 28 |
| Boise City, ID | $112,570 | 27 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | $92,808 | 26 |
| Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | $88,737 | 26 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $135,200 | 25 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $97,240 | 25 |
| South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | $93,325 | 24 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $87,901 | 23 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $114,000 | 23 |
| Wichita, KS | $87,500 | 23 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $111,175 | 22 |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $90,584 | 22 |
| Savannah, GA | $150,895 | 21 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $93,371 | 21 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $97,714 | 20 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $90,000 | 20 |
| Kankakee, IL | $115,000 | 19 |
| Madison, WI | $102,877 | 19 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $120,640 | 19 |
| York-Hanover, PA | $105,061 | 19 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $90,000 | 17 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $168,500 | 17 |
| Columbia, SC | $109,922 | 14 |
| Rochester, NY | $112,668 | 14 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $89,750 | 14 |
| Winston-Salem, NC | $105,558 | 14 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $128,000 | 13 |
| New Haven, CT | $108,181 | 13 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $126,422 | 13 |
| Toledo, OH | $109,512 | 13 |
| Boulder, CO | $110,996 | 12 |
| Champaign-Urbana, IL | $96,106 | 12 |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC | $109,290 | 12 |
| Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | $83,054 | 12 |
| Richmond, VA | $105,685 | 12 |
| Spartanburg, SC | $95,419 | 12 |
| Decatur, IL | $83,200 | 11 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $122,500 | 11 |
| Youngstown-Warren, OH | $72,842 | 11 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $120,524 | 10 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | $82,500 | 10 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | $91,046 | 10 |
| Tallahassee, FL | $102,585 | 10 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | $96,782 | 9 |
| Gainesville, FL | $79,000 | 9 |
| Lancaster, PA | $86,463 | 9 |
| Manchester-Nashua, NH | $97,000 | 9 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $120,931 | 9 |
| Rocky Mount, NC | $99,286 | 9 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | $94,713 | 9 |
| Birmingham, AL | $87,978 | 8 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | $115,124 | 8 |
| Kokomo, IN | $109,928 | 8 |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | $60,736 | 8 |
| Rockford, IL | $96,000 | 8 |
| Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $88,502 | 8 |
| Tulsa, OK | $122,500 | 8 |
| Asheville, NC | $97,868 | 7 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $155,931 | 7 |
| Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | $89,000 | 7 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | $102,000 | 7 |
| Fort Smith, AR-OK | $92,000 | 7 |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $91,148 | 7 |
| Mankato, MN | $93,600 | 7 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | $87,547 | 7 |
| Montgomery, AL | $94,800 | 7 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | $111,833 | 7 |
| Syracuse, NY | $110,302 | 7 |
| Worcester, MA | $111,987 | 7 |
| Bloomington, IN | $104,122 | 6 |
| Erie, PA | $87,931 | 6 |
| Knoxville, TN | $109,500 | 6 |
| Ogden, UT | $122,508 | 6 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $116,683 | 6 |
| Reading, PA | $129,870 | 6 |
| Appleton, WI | $95,000 | 5 |
| Auburn-Opelika, AL | $91,000 | 5 |
| Corpus Christi, TX | $145,600 | 5 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | $95,014 | 5 |
| Elkhart-Goshen, IN | $121,000 | 5 |
| Florence, SC | $95,000 | 5 |
| Gulfport-Biloxi, MS | $86,164 | 5 |
| Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | $85,000 | 5 |
| Huntsville, AL | $101,645 | 5 |
| Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | $101,899 | 5 |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA | $108,000 | 5 |
| Midland, TX | $105,000 | 5 |
| Monroe, MI | $96,450 | 5 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA | $102,000 | 5 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | $81,000 | 5 |
| Roanoke, VA | $86,232 | 5 |
By state
States with the most filings
| State | Median filed wage | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| California | $150,654 | 1,651 |
| Michigan | $109,512 | 1,169 |
| Texas | $111,289 | 594 |
| Illinois | $102,654 | 392 |
| Indiana | $97,600 | 367 |
| Ohio | $95,000 | 355 |
| Arizona | $104,853 | 236 |
| New York | $116,219 | 202 |
| North Carolina | $105,810 | 178 |
| Massachusetts | $115,877 | 163 |
By employer
Employers with the most filings
| Employer | Filings |
|---|---|
| Tesla | 243 |
| Cummins Inc. | 221 |
| Apple | 173 |
| Rivian Automotive, LLC | 156 |
| Ford Motor Company | 145 |
| General Motors | 116 |
| Lucid USA, Inc. | 103 |
| L&T Technology Services Limited | 78 |
| Asml US, LP | 77 |
| Intellectt, Inc. | 72 |
About the record
What a filed wage is, and is not
A Labor Condition Application states the wage an employer offers for a job and where the work will be done. Certification means the Department of Labor accepted that the filing met its requirements. It does not mean a worker was hired, or was paid that amount. Wages here are annualized from the stated rate, and groups with fewer than 5 filings are not published. This page reports public data and is not advice.
Method
How these numbers are made
Clerk's note. Wages are the bottom of each filing's offered range (WAGE_RATE_OF_PAY_FROM), so medians run low against OEWS. Percentiles are unweighted: each certified filing counts once regardless of the number of worker positions requested. Hourly OEWS-only occupations are annualized at 2,080 hours, which BLS does not publish.
Full method notes
- Only applications with case status exactly "Certified" are counted. Withdrawn, denied and certified-then-withdrawn cases are dropped.
- A Labor Condition Application covers H-1B, H-1B1 (Chile and Singapore) and E-3 (Australia) workers. Certification means the Department of Labor accepted the filing; it does not mean anyone was hired or paid that amount.
- Each wage is annualized from the stated rate: hourly times 2,080, weekly times 52, bi-weekly times 26, monthly times 12. Likely entry errors are dropped: wages with a missing or unrecognized pay unit, annualized values under $15,000, hourly rates over $1,000, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly amounts that look like annual salaries, and annualized values over $1,000,000 (yearly salaries up to $3,000,000 are kept for physicians and chief or general executives).
- Percentiles use linear interpolation. Groups with fewer than 5 filings are not published.
- The BLS comparison uses the OEWS median for the same 6-digit SOC occupation in the worksite metro area, or the worksite state when no metro figure exists. The matched ratio is each filing's wage over that median, then the median across filings.
Open data
Download the dataset
Download the dataset on GitHub. Free CSV files of the wage percentiles on these pages by occupation and metro, employer and state, released under CC0 from DOL OFLC LCA disclosure data.