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Official DOL & USCIS Data: Current as of FY 2026 (Verified & Audited)
H1BIndex » Cities » NC

Durham, NC

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State Income Tax: 5.0%
Region: NC
Top Sponsor: Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity Investments
Top Paying Role: Assistant Professor ($175,000)
H1BIndex City Grade i
C
FY 2026
2023 C
2024 C
2025 A
City Visa Volume i
530
Filings in FY 2026
Median City Pay i
$124,084
Typical yearly salary
True Purchasing Power i
$117,880
Adjusted for Cost of Living
Top Local Sponsor i
Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity Investments
225 Filings

City Data Overview

An automated review of Durham's tech ecosystem, salaries, and residency sponsorship.

Active Local Market: C

Finding a sponsored role in Durham is a realistic goal. Backed by 530 formal applications, the city achieves an H1B Index Rating of C.

High Remote Work

Working remotely for out-of-state companies is common here. Exactly 79.6% of sponsored workers living in Durham work for employers in other states.

Core Internal Teams

Most businesses in Durham hire directly for their own daily needs. Around 82.5% of sponsored workers focus entirely on internal tasks.

High Salary Growth

Gaining experience pays off well in Durham. Moving from an entry-level job to a senior role multiplies your base pay by 2.2x.

Fast Visa Sponsorship

The Durham market processes permanent visas with ease. The average professional background needed to get approved is just 24 months.

Maximum Job Safety

Sponsors in Durham report exactly 0% staff reductions. At the same time, authorities process a small 2.7% visa denial rate.

Cost of Living Adjusted Salary

Adjusting the median salary for local cost of living.
True Power: $117,880
Tax: -$6,204
Earning $124,084 in Durham equates to $117,880 in national true purchasing power.

City Hiring Metadata

Market Timing: Most of the visa activity here happens around November, which drove 47.9% of the local market's filings.

Primary Sector: The Finance & Insurance sector completely leads the hiring in Durham, making up 49.2% of the overall verified sponsorships.

Academic Baseline: Employers in Durham happily accept undergraduate degrees for all of their local Green Card filings.

Hiring & Green Card Data

How companies acquire and retain talent.

Talent Origin Pipeline

Fresh Hires (38.1%)Transfers/Poached (61.9%)

Green Card (PERM) Conversion i

12.10% of active filings transition to residency.

10-Year Salary Trends

Tracking the 10-year salary growth for tech workers in Durham.

Most Common Job Titles

The most frequently sponsored positions.

O*NET Wage Level Distribution

Experience requirements matched against pay tiers.
Experience LevelTotal FilingsMedian Salary
Entry Level (Level I)36$73,702
Qualified (Level II)218$116,709
Experienced (Level III)65$135,000
Fully Competent (Level IV)103$161,741

Top Local Industries

The top sectors operating in Durham.
Economic SectorTotal Filings
Finance & Insurance261
Professional, Scientific, and Tech Services155
Manufacturing48
Educational Services44
Other/Corporate Services10

Highest Density Zip Codes

The most active areas for talent.
Zip Code: 27709
Local Median: $124,237
338
Zip Code: 27703
Local Median: $125,029
77
Zip Code: 27713
Local Median: $134,888
36
Zip Code: 27710
Local Median: $77,135
17
Zip Code: 27701
Local Median: $110,365
16

Noticing a difference in dates? Salary metrics reflect real-time DOL filings, while approval metrics rely on finalized USCIS historical data. View timelines

Local EmployerTotal FilingsMaximum SalaryMedian SalaryMinimum Salary
Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity Investments225$195,000$124,084$92,310
Duke University38$285,000$74,759$53,539
Compunnel Software Group, Inc18$161,700$127,000$111,000
Ibm Corporation17$256,200$129,979$88,358
Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings9$176,074$139,214$92,310
Cognizant Technology Solutions Us Corp8$143,374$109,440$96,054
Nvidia Corporation8$396,750$168,000$119,184
National Charitable Services Llc D/B/A Fidelity Investments7$171,725$124,084$116,709
Kforce Inc.7$187,200$125,029$115,939
Fidelity Brokerage Services Llc D/B/A Fidelity Investments7$182,500$137,696$79,851
Fortrea Inc.6$168,345$121,451$112,965
Analog Devices, Inc.5$180,000$176,109$116,804
Fidelity Workplace Investing Llc D/B/A Fidelity Investments5$169,938$125,119$114,402
Netapp, Inc.5$229,000$153,712$125,119
Digipulse Technologies, Inc.4$150,000$140,000$130,000
Capgemini America Inc4$161,741$133,250$122,000
Fmr Llc D/B/A Fidelity Investments4$176,675$144,778$125,979
Fujifilm Healthcare Americas Corporation3$170,114$161,023$93,995
Elevance Health, Inc.3$145,980$125,630$116,699
Hcl Global Systems Inc3$139,214$116,709$112,466
Cgi Technologies And Solutions Inc.3$171,054$96,054$88,026
Eliassen Group, Llc3$147,867$145,600$133,120
Research Triangle Institute (U.S.)3$75,405$75,405$65,395
Pmg Global Corporation3$176,800$176,800$176,800
Tata Consultancy Services Limited3$138,900$92,206$79,851
Ernst & Young U.S. Llp3$220,958$118,264$118,264
Google Llc3$177,000$175,000$150,000
Dumac, Inc.2$150,000$129,570$109,140
Duke University Health System2$85,272$77,195$69,118
Guidehouse Digital Llc2$90,176$90,176$90,176
Novartis Gene Therapies, Inc.2$98,218$86,954$75,691
Kbi Biopharma, Inc.2$219,000$153,500$103,000
Nc Health Affiliates, Llc2$138,000$132,036$126,072
Mastech Digital Technologies, Inc.2$118,667$95,846$88,026
Rti Health Solutions, Llc2$118,729$118,729$118,729
Smart Wires Inc2$125,000$122,500$120,000
Syngenta Crop Protection Llc2$187,200$145,163$135,096
Medpharm Manufacturing Services Llc2$124,663$110,529$96,395
Cisco Systems, Inc.2$270,000$157,800$149,100
Aurolife Pharma Llc2$190,000$137,500$85,000
Tech Mahindra (Americas), Inc2$115,815$113,090$110,365
Wellnecity, Llc2$93,000$83,000$83,000
Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, Inc.2$150,000$128,794$128,794
Unlimited.Ai, Inc.2$160,000$150,000$150,000
Wsp Usa Inc.2$85,654$85,654$85,654
Randstad Digital, Llc2$139,219$138,480$137,740
Blue Cross And Blue Shield Of North Carolina2$157,369$149,041$140,713
Atlas Securitized Products Partners, L.P.2$220,000$179,796$170,000
Asensus Surgical Us, Inc.2$121,139$121,094$121,048
Dpr Construction, A General Partnership2$195,000$117,904$92,435
Local Job TitleTotal FilingsMaximum SalaryMedian SalaryMinimum Salary
Senior Full Stack Engineer35$161,741$116,709$100,261
Senior Software Engineer/Developer31$161,741$116,709$116,709
Principal Software Engineer/Developer29$173,800$131,120$122,583
Software Developer21$222,600$132,000$101,421
Principal Full Stack Engineer16$170,125$131,950$125,119
Senior Data Engineer14$187,200$116,709$103,667
Postdoctoral Associate12$72,821$67,710$64,170
Software Engineer10$287,500$143,607$116,709
Senior Software Engineer8$161,741$123,896$116,709
Principal Data Engineer7$162,150$136,644$124,084
Principal, Full Stack Engineer7$168,725$132,781$124,084
Principal, Data Engineer6$161,425$128,950$116,709
Data Engineer6$133,337$108,970$92,539
Director, Software Engineering6$178,450$161,741$161,741
Senior Software Developer5$166,400$125,029$116,709
Senior Front End Developer4$150,758$116,709$116,709
Research Associate Senior4$127,926$77,854$64,471
Senior Software Engineer In Test4$139,214$104,510$92,310
Full Stack Engineer4$133,120$107,091$94,182
Principal Database Administrator4$149,000$130,784$124,072
Director, Data Engineering4$179,750$161,741$161,741
Director, Full Stack Engineering4$190,900$161,741$161,741
Director, Architecture4$185,100$161,741$161,741
Director, Advanced Data Analytics And Insights4$182,500$137,696$137,696
Principal Cloud Engineer3$163,000$143,709$132,781
Mgr. Jc50 - Software Quality Assurance Analysts And Testers3$108,410$108,410$108,410
Engineer Senior Verification3$310,500$168,000$168,000
Senior Systems Analyst3$161,741$100,261$97,246
Senior Cloud Engineer3$161,741$116,709$116,709
Principal, Cloud Engineer3$171,475$157,248$157,248
Research Health Outcomes Scientist 23$118,729$118,729$118,729
Director, Cloud Engineering3$188,450$161,741$149,504
Principal Architect3$396,750$157,248$134,658
Principal Statistical Programmer3$209,193$130,000$128,627
Package Consultant3$168,000$100,589$88,358
Business Analyst3$211,400$112,466$79,851
Assistant Professor3$285,000$175,000$110,000
Staff Engineer, Systems Design/Architecture2$180,000$180,000$180,000
Vice President2$220,000$179,796$170,000
Systems Analyst/ Scrum Master2$150,000$119,500$111,000
Software Engineer (Full Stack)2$176,800$176,800$176,800
Software Development Engineer In Test2$139,200$115,375$114,000
Senior Mechanical Engineer2$125,000$122,500$120,000
Lead Consultant2$132,870$128,435$124,000
Manager Jc50 - Computer Systems Engineers/Architects2$119,704$119,704$119,704
Principal Software Engineer2$158,000$121,032$117,981
Principal Site Reliability Engineer2$166,825$128,432$124,084
Principal Data Modeler2$157,369$145,075$132,781
Principal Database Developer2$166,075$124,602$124,084
Principal Systems Engineer2$154,025$132,781$132,781
Fiscal YearMaximumMedianAverageMinimum
2026$285,000$121,985$120,035$25
2025$367,315$117,832$116,886$19
2024$400,000$110,365$110,222$20
2023$450,000$107,033$105,872$19
2022$324,450$100,000$100,087$18
2021$350,000$94,991$95,839$19
2020$304,450$91,000$90,984$18
2019$324,200$87,859$87,244$29
2018$350,000$85,000$86,988$24
2017$511,200$79,331$80,224$16
2016$588,812$76,465$78,126$18
Decision DateEmployerJob TitleBase PayWage LevelStatus
Dec 30, 2025Duke UniversityBiostatistician Ii$99,280Level ICertified
Dec 30, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Full Stack Engineer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 30, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal Site Reliability Engineer$124,084N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsDirector, Software Engineering$161,741Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Ibm CorporationFront End Developer$161,760Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Genesys Cloud Services, IncTeam Lead, Lead Software Engineer$173,646Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal Software Engineer/Developer$131,120N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Fidelity Brokerage Services Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsDirector, Advanced Data Analytics And Insights$153,962Level IVCertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal, Full Stack Engineer$132,781N/ACertified
Dec 29, 2025Capgemini America IncApplications Consultant 4$161,741Level IVCertified
Dec 29, 2025Ernst & Young U.S. LlpSoftware Developers - Kbgfjg46379-15$220,958Level IIICertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Software Engineer/Developer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal Cloud Engineer$132,781N/ACertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsDirector, Data Engineering$161,741Level IVCertified
Dec 29, 2025Tata Consultancy Services LimitedArchitect$119,704Level IIICertified
Dec 29, 2025National Charitable Services Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Software Engineer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal, Data Engineer$132,781N/ACertified
Dec 29, 2025Digitalis IncVmware Vsan Engineer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal Software Engineer/Developer$141,766N/ACertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Software Engineer/Developer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal Software Engineer$124,084N/ACertified
Dec 29, 2025Digipulse Technologies, Inc.Data Engineer$130,000Level IIICertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Software Engineer/Developer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal Data Modeler$132,781N/ACertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Full Stack Engineer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 29, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal, Full Stack Engineer$132,781N/ACertified
Dec 29, 2025Duke UniversityBiostatistician, Senior$128,763Level IICertified - Withdrawn
Dec 26, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Systems Analyst$97,246N/ACertified
Dec 26, 2025Compunnel Software Group, IncSoftware Developer$132,000Level IICertified
Dec 26, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal, Mobile Developer$125,119N/ACertified
Dec 26, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Full Stack Engineer$100,261N/ACertified
Dec 26, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal, Data Engineer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 26, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsDirector, Technology Management - Software Engineering$157,248N/ACertified
Dec 26, 2025Compunnel Software Group, IncSoftware Developer$132,000Level IICertified
Dec 26, 2025Duke UniversityPostdoctoral Associate$64,170Level ICertified
Dec 26, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsDirector, Full Stack Engineering$161,741Level IVCertified
Dec 26, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal Full Stack Engineer$131,120N/ACertified
Dec 26, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Software Engineer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 26, 2025Netapp, Inc.Business Systems Analyst$134,364N/ACertified
Dec 24, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Full Stack Engineer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 24, 2025Kforce Inc.Senior Software Developer$125,029Level IICertified
Dec 24, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Full Stack Engineer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 24, 2025Ibm CorporationProduct Manager$129,979Level IVCertified
Dec 24, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal Software Engineer/Developer$132,781N/ACertified
Dec 24, 2025Ibm CorporationBusiness Analyst$129,979Level IVCertified
Dec 24, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsDirector, Data Engineering$161,741Level IVCertified
Dec 24, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Software Engineer/Developer$116,709Level IICertified
Dec 24, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal, Full Stack Engineer$124,084N/ACertified
Dec 24, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsPrincipal Software Engineer/Developer$125,119N/ACertified
Dec 24, 2025Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity InvestmentsSenior Full Stack Engineer$116,709Level IICertified

City Specific Intelligence (FAQ)

Common questions and insights about Durham.

What is the tax rate on a professional salary in Durham?
The state income tax is estimated at 5.0%, meaning an average earner will pay roughly $6,204 in local state deductions.

What is the actual spending power of a professional in Durham?
Adjusting for the local cost of living and specific state taxes brings the true purchasing power of the median wage to about $117,880.

Who is the top employer for foreign talent in Durham, NC?
Our database shows that Fidelity Technology Group, Llc D/B/A Fidelity Investments submits the highest volume of visa sponsorships in the city, with 225 recent approvals.