Methodology
H1BScope provides transparent, accurate H-1B salary data. Here's how we collect, process, and present the data.
Data Source
All data comes from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Labor Condition Application (LCA) disclosure files, publicly available at dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/performance .
The DOL releases these files quarterly. We process each release and update our database accordingly.
What is an LCA?
A Labor Condition Application (LCA) is a document that an employer must file with the Department of Labor before petitioning for an H-1B worker. The LCA certifies that the employer will pay the prevailing wage and meet other labor condition requirements.
Important Distinction: LCA vs H-1B Petition
LCA data represents intended positions, not actual H-1B approvals. An employer may file multiple LCAs for a single position, or an LCA may not result in an H-1B petition. USCIS H-1B approval data (which is separate) shows actual petition outcomes.
Data Coverage
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Fiscal Years | FY 2020 - FY 2026 |
| Total Records | 3.3+ million |
| Certified Filings | 3.2+ million |
| Unique Employers | 163,000+ |
| Cities | 2,600+ |
| Update Frequency | Quarterly |
Data Processing
1. Wage Normalization
LCA filings report wages in various units (hourly, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, yearly). We normalize all wages to annual salaries using standard conversion factors:
- Hourly × 2,080 hours (40 hrs/week × 52 weeks)
- Weekly × 52 weeks
- Bi-weekly × 26 pay periods
- Monthly × 12 months
2. Employer Name Cleaning
Employer names are standardized to handle variations in punctuation, capitalization, and legal suffixes (Inc., LLC, Corp., etc.). This ensures consistent grouping.
3. Parent Company Grouping
We maintain a mapping of subsidiaries to parent companies. For example:
- Google, Waymo, YouTube → GOOGLE
- Meta Platforms, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp → META
- Amazon.com Services, AWS, Whole Foods → AMAZON
This allows you to see consolidated data for corporate families. Individual subsidiary data is also preserved and searchable.
4. Location Standardization
Work locations are parsed into city and state components. We clean common variations and typos to ensure accurate geographic grouping.
5. Outlier Handling
We apply sanity checks to filter obvious data entry errors:
- Minimum salary: $20,000/year (excludes clear errors)
- Maximum salary: $1,000,000/year (excludes outliers)
- Records outside this range are excluded from statistics
Statistics Calculated
Salary Metrics
- Median: The middle value when all salaries are sorted
- Percentiles: 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentile salaries
- Min/Max: Lowest and highest salaries (within sanity bounds)
Denial Rate
Calculated as: Denied / Total Filings × 100
This represents LCA denials at the DOL level, not H-1B petition denials at USCIS.
Wage Levels
DOL assigns wage levels (I through IV) based on how the offered wage compares to the prevailing wage for that occupation and area:
- Level I: Entry-level (17th percentile of prevailing wage)
- Level II: Qualified (34th percentile)
- Level III: Experienced (50th percentile)
- Level IV: Fully competent (67th percentile)
Limitations
- Intent vs Reality: LCA data shows intended wages and positions, not actual employment outcomes.
- Multiple Filings: Employers may file multiple LCAs for the same position or worker.
- Historical Comparisons: Earlier years may have different filing patterns or data quality.
- Parent Company Mapping: Some subsidiaries may not be mapped to their parent companies.
Contact
Questions about our methodology? Found an error? Contact us.