Santa Clara, CA
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H1BIndex City Grade
i
A
FY 2026
2023
A+
2024
A+
2025
A+
City Visa Volume i
1,308
Filings in FY 2026
Median City Pay i
$186,472
Typical yearly salary
True Purchasing Power i
$122,914
Adjusted for Cost of Living
Green Card Rate i
24.20%
Transition to Residency
City Data Overview
An automated review of Santa Clara's tech ecosystem, salaries, and residency sponsorship.Massive Visa Demand: "A"
Professionals in the city enter a highly active job market. We tracked 1,308 corporate sponsorships, resulting in an H1B Index Rating of "A".
High Remote Work
Working remotely for out-of-state companies is common here. Exactly 21.0% of sponsored workers based in Santa Clara work for employers in other states.
Core Internal Teams
Most businesses in this area hire directly for their own daily needs. Around 95.3% of sponsored workers focus entirely on internal tasks.
Seniority Wage Growth
Companies in the local area offer strong salary growth. Reaching senior-level status typically increases your starting pay by 1.4x.
Early Career Sponsorship
Employers in this city are willing to sponsor junior workers for the long term. The average experience needed is exactly 24 months.
Good Company Health
A small 7.6% of local sponsors reported layoffs. The government denies just 0.1% of work visas in the region.
Layoff Radar & Risk Indicators
Minor Displacement Notice
Low Market Risk: Only 7.6% of Green Card applications in Santa Clara involved firing local U.S. workers.
Top Companies
The leading companies driving the foreign talent market in Santa Clara.Nvidia Corporation
317 Local Filings
$201,094
+7.8% City Avg
Apple Inc.
79 Local Filings
$171,138
-8.2% City Avg
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
69 Local Filings
$195,779
Market Rate
Servicenow, Inc.
65 Local Filings
$173,361
-7.0% City Avg
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
58 Local Filings
$186,472
Market Rate
Amazon.com Services LLC
56 Local Filings
$187,100
Market Rate
Intel Corporation
38 Local Filings
$168,972
-9.4% City Avg
Meta Platforms, Inc.
33 Local Filings
$186,000
Market Rate
Hiring & Green Card Data
How companies acquire and retain talent.Talent Origin Pipeline
Fresh Hires (51.3%)Transfers/Poached (48.7%)
Green Card (PERM) Conversion i
24.20% of active filings transition to residency.
Top Startup Employer in Santa Clara
There is currently one recently founded company taking the lead on international hiring in the Santa Clara area.
10-Year Salary Trends
Tracking the 10-year salary growth for tech workers in Santa Clara. Decade Hub Rising: +84.6%. Historical census tracking demonstrates clean wage trajectory growth within this metropolitan employment sector.
Lower Permanent Wage Baseline: -$28,846. Local data reveals current permanent residency filings match a 15.5% reduction compared to temporary contractor price values.
Most Common Job Titles i
The most frequently sponsored positions.Job Title & Market DataTotal Approvals
6.0% Share
78
3.0% Share
39
2.0% Share
26
1.8% Share
24
1.8% Share
23
O*NET Wage Level Distribution
Experience requirements matched against pay tiers.| Experience Level | Total Filings | Cohort Size | Minimum Base | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry Level (Level I) | 68 | 5.2% | $60,320 | $149,365 |
| Qualified (Level II) | 244 | 18.7% | $72,488 | $164,403 |
| Experienced (Level III) | 169 | 12.9% | $113,277 | $186,472 |
| Fully Competent (Level IV) | 256 | 19.6% | $131,996 | $216,091 |
| Not Disclosed (Blank) | 571 | 43.7% | $97,674 | $174,015 |
Top Local Industries
The top sectors operating in Santa Clara.| Economic Sector | Total Filings | Market Share | Median Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 671 | 51.3% | $186,472 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Tech Services | 390 | 29.8% | $180,000 |
| Information & Tech | 132 | 10.1% | $185,726 |
| Retail Trade | 62 | 4.7% | $189,120 |
| Finance & Insurance | 29 | 2.2% | $187,574 |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 7 | 0.5% | $131,997 |
| Unspecified / Blank | 6 | 0.5% | $110,966 |
| Wholesale Trade | 5 | 0.4% | $252,494 |
| Educational Services | 4 | 0.3% | $135,052 |
| Construction | 2 | 0.2% | $150,000 |
Law Firms & Third-Party Work i
Leading legal counsel for visas.Law Firm & Market DataTotal Approvals
62.9% Share
727
5.5% Share
64
3.3% Share
38
2.9% Share
34
2.7% Share
31
Top Third-Party End Clients i
Where consultants are deployed.End Client & Placement DataTotal Approvals
8.2% Share
5
6.6% Share
4
4.9% Share
3
4.9% Share
3
4.9% Share
3
Highest Density Zip Codes i
The most active areas for talent.Zip Code & Hub DemographicsTotal Approvals
55.8% Hub Share
730
41.3% Hub Share
540
2.1% Hub Share
28
0.2% Hub Share
2
0.2% Hub Share
2
Historical Visa Volume
10-Year Labor Condition Application history for Santa Clara.💡 Click on the legend labels below to filter data.
Historical Green Card Data
10-Year Permanent Residency sponsorship volume.💡 Click on the legend labels below to filter data.
Noticing a difference in dates? Salary metrics reflect real-time DOL filings, while approval metrics rely on finalized USCIS historical data. View timelines
Complete Employer List
A detailed ledger of all employers operating in Santa Clara.| Local Employer | Total Filings | Market Share | Maximum Salary | Median Salary | Minimum Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia Corporation | 317 | 24.2% | $471,500 | $201,094 | $127,712 |
| Apple Inc. | 79 | 6.0% | $342,800 | $171,138 | $147,400 |
| Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | 69 | 5.3% | $320,750 | $195,779 | $123,761 |
| Servicenow, Inc. | 65 | 5.0% | $368,750 | $173,361 | $97,674 |
| Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. | 58 | 4.4% | $374,400 | $186,472 | $123,600 |
| Amazon.com Services LLC | 56 | 4.3% | $300,300 | $187,100 | $114,088 |
| Intel Corporation | 38 | 2.9% | $315,920 | $168,972 | $125,158 |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. | 33 | 2.5% | $278,000 | $186,000 | $149,000 |
| Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. | 28 | 2.1% | $290,000 | $178,360 | $121,000 |
| Pure Storage, Inc. | 28 | 2.1% | $300,000 | $200,000 | $150,000 |
| Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 26 | 2.0% | $367,900 | $186,472 | $132,317 |
| Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc. | 24 | 1.8% | $273,570 | $166,969 | $91,042 |
| First Citizens Bank And Trust Co. | 24 | 1.8% | $279,539 | $183,440 | $118,772 |
| Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. | 24 | 1.8% | $317,800 | $166,249 | $117,075 |
| Amazon Web Services, Inc. | 20 | 1.5% | $251,600 | $193,870 | $142,663 |
| Applied Materials, Inc. | 15 | 1.1% | $245,000 | $170,248 | $154,061 |
| Fortinet, Inc. | 13 | 1.0% | $285,200 | $205,362 | $140,000 |
| Auris Health, Inc. | 10 | 0.8% | $320,000 | $185,250 | $136,254 |
| Amazon Data Services, Inc. | 9 | 0.7% | $258,600 | $181,700 | $139,495 |
| Netskope, Inc. | 9 | 0.7% | $245,000 | $200,000 | $140,000 |
| D-Matrix, Inc. (Fka D-Matrix Corporation) | 9 | 0.7% | $292,938 | $187,741 | $139,443 |
| Arista Networks, Inc. | 8 | 0.6% | $202,174 | $146,766 | $122,317 |
| Applied Materials, Inc. | 8 | 0.6% | $221,100 | $168,242 | $140,474 |
| Xmotors.Ai, Inc. | 7 | 0.5% | $360,000 | $330,000 | $220,000 |
| Rivos Inc. | 6 | 0.5% | $214,230 | $202,115 | $170,300 |
| Ernst & Young U.S. LLP | 6 | 0.5% | $286,212 | $126,848 | $100,000 |
| Tenstorrent USA Inc. | 6 | 0.5% | $346,500 | $216,860 | $201,323 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 5 | 0.4% | $253,000 | $226,700 | $179,500 |
| Persistent Systems Limited | 5 | 0.4% | $175,608 | $132,000 | $120,000 |
| Nexthop Systems Inc. | 5 | 0.4% | $250,000 | $240,000 | $225,000 |
| Blue River Technology | 5 | 0.4% | $220,000 | $200,000 | $140,000 |
| Gp Technologies LLC | 5 | 0.4% | $186,830 | $130,860 | $102,890 |
| Versa Networks, Inc. | 5 | 0.4% | $329,618 | $201,053 | $165,422 |
| Oracle America, Inc. | 5 | 0.4% | $285,354 | $219,536 | $185,453 |
| Gigamon, Inc. | 4 | 0.3% | $210,000 | $196,370 | $154,000 |
| Agilent Technologies, Inc. | 4 | 0.3% | $231,393 | $204,981 | $174,924 |
| Hcl America Inc. | 4 | 0.3% | $223,142 | $221,571 | $139,443 |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions Us Corp. | 4 | 0.3% | $201,053 | $147,712 | $139,443 |
| Cohesity, Inc. | 4 | 0.3% | $294,000 | $232,784 | $187,741 |
| Texas Instruments Incorporated | 4 | 0.3% | $219,500 | $183,030 | $160,160 |
| Siemens Industry Software Inc. | 4 | 0.3% | $223,800 | $156,853 | $141,168 |
| Vibrant America LLC | 4 | 0.3% | $158,000 | $114,380 | $105,269 |
| I Machines Inc. | 3 | 0.2% | $210,000 | $190,000 | $190,000 |
| Deloitte Consulting LLP | 3 | 0.2% | $209,100 | $209,100 | $103,646 |
| Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions, Inc. | 3 | 0.2% | $342,000 | $164,000 | $138,000 |
| Wipro Limited | 3 | 0.2% | $186,472 | $172,931 | $151,091 |
| Seemas Inc. | 3 | 0.2% | $190,000 | $190,000 | $190,000 |
| Telenav, Inc. | 3 | 0.2% | $201,053 | $160,064 | $118,976 |
| Tetrixsoft LLC | 3 | 0.2% | $278,000 | $230,100 | $190,000 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc. | 3 | 0.2% | $169,000 | $154,035 | $145,000 |
Complete Salary Matrix by Job Title
Salary breakdown across all job titles in this city.| Local Job Title | Total Filings | Salary Variance | Maximum Salary | Median Salary | Minimum Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | 78 | $262,338 | $356,500 | $183,956 | $94,162 |
| Engineer Senior Systems Software | 39 | $183,271 | $356,500 | $204,134 | $173,229 |
| Engineer Senior Asic | 26 | $146,575 | $310,500 | $197,118 | $163,925 |
| Silicon Engineer | 24 | $129,000 | $278,000 | $186,000 | $149,000 |
| Senior Software Engineer | 23 | $149,295 | $287,500 | $173,361 | $138,205 |
| Component Design Engineer | 21 | $167,682 | $292,840 | $166,504 | $125,158 |
| Software Development Engineer Ii | 19 | $87,399 | $223,600 | $187,741 | $136,201 |
| Staff Software Engineer | 18 | $170,239 | $294,000 | $204,181 | $123,761 |
| Architect Senior | 12 | $198,643 | $356,500 | $216,091 | $157,857 |
| Engineer Senior Verification | 12 | $145,927 | $310,500 | $196,679 | $164,573 |
| Design Verification | 11 | $171,000 | $318,400 | $165,422 | $147,400 |
| Hardware Engineer, Electronics | 11 | $170,710 | $310,500 | $186,472 | $139,790 |
| Principal Software Engineer | 10 | $210,018 | $391,000 | $219,794 | $180,982 |
| Architect | 10 | $224,483 | $356,500 | $187,204 | $132,017 |
| Senior Staff Software Engineer | 10 | $152,274 | $305,000 | $197,396 | $152,726 |
| Member Of Technical Staff (Software Engineer) | 10 | $150,000 | $300,000 | $204,996 | $150,000 |
| Machine Learning | 9 | $159,237 | $312,200 | $174,462 | $152,963 |
| Engineer Systems Software | 9 | $46,367 | $189,750 | $143,383 | $143,383 |
| Fe Engineering | 9 | $160,598 | $318,400 | $171,138 | $157,802 |
| Product Manager | 9 | $229,300 | $379,500 | $210,076 | $150,200 |
| Asic Engineer | 9 | $100,575 | $264,500 | $196,679 | $163,925 |
| Computer Programmer | 8 | $83,940 | $186,830 | $130,950 | $102,890 |
| Solutions Architect | 8 | $217,265 | $356,500 | $198,702 | $139,235 |
| Member Of Technical Staff | 8 | $65,597 | $230,000 | $188,910 | $164,403 |
| Research Scientist | 8 | $228,788 | $356,500 | $164,403 | $127,712 |
| Software Dev Engineer Iii | 7 | $43,500 | $258,600 | $243,100 | $215,100 |
| Software Dev Engineer Ii | 7 | $40,700 | $218,300 | $187,100 | $177,600 |
| Digital Circuit Design Engineer | 7 | $98,047 | $258,600 | $167,485 | $160,553 |
| Hardware Engineer | 7 | $91,600 | $226,600 | $183,000 | $135,000 |
| Software Development Engineer I | 7 | $30,946 | $157,090 | $149,365 | $126,144 |
| Principal Engineer Software | 6 | $50,167 | $237,500 | $220,895 | $187,333 |
| Cpu Implementation Engineering | 6 | $160,598 | $318,400 | $160,553 | $157,802 |
| Ic Packaging Engineering | 6 | $120,667 | $272,100 | $166,266 | $151,433 |
| Software Development Engineering | 6 | $111,547 | $272,100 | $202,088 | $160,553 |
| Verification Engineer | 6 | $145,927 | $310,500 | $201,282 | $164,573 |
| Project Manager | 5 | $36,165 | $175,608 | $163,000 | $139,443 |
| Software Development Engineer Iii | 5 | $36,500 | $251,600 | $233,090 | $215,100 |
| Program Manager | 5 | $143,716 | $304,750 | $190,713 | $161,034 |
| Test Engineer | 5 | $137,250 | $247,250 | $142,298 | $110,000 |
| Software Developer | 5 | $99,901 | $285,354 | $219,536 | $185,453 |
| Staff Systems Engineer | 5 | $61,551 | $227,800 | $186,472 | $166,249 |
| Business Intelligence Engineer Ii | 5 | $64,112 | $178,200 | $141,700 | $114,088 |
| Applied Scientist Ii | 5 | $41,000 | $206,000 | $171,600 | $165,000 |
| System Development Engineer Ii | 5 | $48,246 | $187,741 | $181,700 | $139,495 |
| Staff Software Quality Engineer | 4 | $37,579 | $210,000 | $172,421 | $172,421 |
| Applied Scientist I | 4 | $22,662 | $185,000 | $162,338 | $162,338 |
| Senior Product Manager | 4 | $52,759 | $240,500 | $195,437 | $187,741 |
| Senior Modem Technologies Engineer | 4 | $83,505 | $223,000 | $156,853 | $139,495 |
| Engineer Senior Physical Design | 4 | $72,419 | $264,500 | $204,086 | $192,081 |
| Engineer Senior Network Infrastructure | 4 | $144,742 | $322,000 | $177,258 | $177,258 |
Historical Compensation Averages
Year-over-year salary data comparing historical averages.| Fiscal Year | YoY Growth | Maximum | Median | Average | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | In Progress | $387,497 | $186,472 | $184,998 | $60,320 |
| 2025 | +7.5% | $655,500 | $172,994 | $172,991 | $56,160 |
| 2024 | +6.0% | $380,040 | $160,999 | $162,713 | $56,160 |
| 2023 | +2.6% | $415,979 | $151,902 | $155,552 | $58,240 |
| 2022 | +6.4% | $505,000 | $148,041 | $148,538 | $56,160 |
| 2021 | +7.0% | $340,000 | $139,115 | $138,940 | $41,600 |
| 2020 | +4.8% | $345,050 | $130,000 | $130,915 | $41,600 |
| 2019 | +7.8% | $276,924 | $124,000 | $126,525 | $79,040 |
| 2018 | +5.7% | $400,000 | $115,000 | $116,600 | $45,760 |
| 2017 | +7.7% | $400,000 | $108,805 | $107,722 | $35,360 |
| 2016 | - | $475,000 | $101,000 | $103,317 | $41,600 |
Recent Visa Applications (FY 2026)
Raw, unedited federal disclosures showing individual labor applications filed in this city.City Specific Intelligence (FAQ)
Common questions and insights about Santa Clara.Is the cost of living in Santa Clara affordable for sponsored workers?
After calculating state taxes and local living costs, the true purchasing power for an average professional here adjusts to about $122,914.
What is a good salary for a sponsored professional in Santa Clara, CA?
Sponsored workers in Santa Clara earn a median salary of $186,472. Compensation for highly experienced talent can easily exceed $216,091.
Where are the most sponsored jobs in Santa Clara?
With 317 recent visa approvals, Nvidia Corporation is the primary employer acquiring foreign talent in this metro area.
How much is the state income tax in Santa Clara, CA?
Local state income tax is approximately 9.3%. A professional earning the median wage here pays an estimated $17,342 to the state.