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

Santa Clara, CA

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State Income Tax: 9.3%
Region: CA
Top Sponsor: Nvidia Corporation
Top Paying Role: Pmts Software Development Eng. ($249,792)
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
Top Local Sponsor i
Nvidia Corporation
317 Filings

City Data Overview

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

Strong Local Demand: A

Businesses here hire international talent at a large scale. With 1,308 verified job filings, Santa Clara earns an H1B Index Score of A.

Out-of-State Jobs

Official data shows that 21.0% of the workforce living in Santa Clara is employed by companies located completely outside the state.

In-House Projects

External client work is rare in this area. Roughly 95.3% of the workforce works strictly on their employer’s own internal products.

High Salary Growth

Gaining experience pays off well in Santa Clara. Moving from an entry-level job to a senior role multiplies your base pay by 1.4x.

Moderate Experience Base

Local companies usually start permanent residency paperwork early. You only need a short 24 months of prior work history to qualify.

Good Company Health

A small 7.6% of local sponsors reported layoffs. The government denies just 3.2% of work visas in this area.

Cost of Living Adjusted Salary

Adjusting the median salary for local cost of living.
True Power: $122,914
CoL: -$46,216
Tax: -$17,342
Earning $186,472 in Santa Clara equates to $122,914 in national true purchasing power.

City Hiring Metadata

Market Timing: Most of the visa activity here happens around November, which drove 49.2% of the local market's filings.

Economic Driver: Corporate operations in Santa Clara focus heavily on the Manufacturing industry, which brings in 51.3% of all the foreign workers.

Academic Baseline: Employers in Santa Clara 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 (51.3%)Transfers/Poached (48.7%)

Green Card (PERM) Conversion i

24.20% of active filings transition to residency.

10-Year Salary Trends

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

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)68$149,365
Qualified (Level II)244$164,403
Experienced (Level III)169$186,472
Fully Competent (Level IV)256$216,091

Top Local Industries

The top sectors operating in Santa Clara.
Economic SectorTotal Filings
Manufacturing671
Professional, Scientific, and Tech Services390
Information & Tech132
Retail Trade62
Finance & Insurance29

Highest Density Zip Codes

The most active areas for talent.
Zip Code: 95054
Local Median: $185,158
730
Zip Code: 95051
Local Median: $187,850
540
Zip Code: 95050
Local Median: $172,931
28
Zip Code: 95014
Local Median: $203,668
2
Zip Code: 95053
Local Median: $161,597
2

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
Nvidia Corporation317$471,500$201,094$127,712
Apple Inc.79$342,800$171,138$147,400
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.69$320,750$195,779$123,761
Servicenow, Inc.65$368,750$173,361$97,674
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.58$374,400$186,472$123,600
Amazon.Com Services Llc56$300,300$187,100$114,088
Intel Corporation38$315,920$168,972$125,158
Meta Platforms, Inc33$278,000$186,000$149,000
Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.28$290,000$178,360$121,000
Pure Storage, Inc.28$300,000$200,000$150,000
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.26$367,900$186,472$132,317
Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc.24$273,570$166,969$91,042
First Citizens Bank And Trust Co.24$279,539$183,440$118,772
Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.24$317,800$166,249$117,075
Amazon Web Services, Inc.20$251,600$193,870$142,663
Applied Materials, Inc15$245,000$170,248$154,061
Fortinet, Inc.13$285,200$205,362$140,000
Auris Health, Inc.10$320,000$185,250$136,254
Amazon Data Services, Inc9$258,600$181,700$139,495
Netskope, Inc.9$245,000$200,000$140,000
D-Matrix, Inc. (Fka D-Matrix Corporation)9$292,938$187,741$139,443
Arista Networks, Inc.8$202,174$146,766$122,317
Applied Materials, Inc.8$221,100$168,242$140,474
Xmotors.Ai, Inc.7$360,000$330,000$220,000
Rivos Inc.6$214,230$202,115$170,300
Ernst & Young U.S. Llp6$286,212$126,848$100,000
Tenstorrent Usa Inc.6$346,500$216,860$201,323
Microsoft Corporation5$253,000$226,700$179,500
Persistent Systems Limited5$175,608$132,000$120,000
Nexthop Systems Inc5$250,000$240,000$225,000
Blue River Technology5$220,000$200,000$140,000
Gp Technologies Llc5$186,830$130,860$102,890
Versa Networks, Inc.5$329,618$201,053$165,422
Oracle America, Inc.5$285,354$219,536$185,453
Gigamon, Inc.4$210,000$196,370$154,000
Agilent Technologies, Inc.4$231,393$204,981$174,924
Hcl America Inc4$223,142$221,571$139,443
Cognizant Technology Solutions Us Corp4$201,053$147,712$139,443
Cohesity, Inc.4$294,000$232,784$187,741
Texas Instruments Incorporated4$219,500$183,030$160,160
Siemens Industry Software Inc.4$223,800$156,853$141,168
Vibrant America Llc4$158,000$114,380$105,269
I Machines Inc.3$210,000$190,000$190,000
Deloitte Consulting Llp3$209,100$209,100$103,646
Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions, Inc.3$342,000$164,000$138,000
Wipro Limited3$186,472$172,931$151,091
Seemas Inc3$190,000$190,000$190,000
Telenav, Inc.3$201,053$160,064$118,976
Tetrixsoft Llc3$278,000$230,100$190,000
Shockwave Medical, Inc.3$169,000$154,035$145,000
Local Job TitleTotal FilingsMaximum SalaryMedian SalaryMinimum Salary
Software Engineer78$356,500$183,956$94,162
Engineer Senior Systems Software39$356,500$204,134$173,229
Engineer Senior Asic26$310,500$197,118$163,925
Silicon Engineer24$278,000$186,000$149,000
Senior Software Engineer23$287,500$173,361$138,205
Component Design Engineer21$292,840$166,504$125,158
Software Development Engineer Ii19$223,600$187,741$136,201
Staff Software Engineer18$294,000$204,181$123,761
Architect Senior12$356,500$216,091$157,857
Engineer Senior Verification12$310,500$196,679$164,573
Design Verification11$318,400$165,422$147,400
Hardware Engineer, Electronics11$310,500$186,472$139,790
Principal Software Engineer10$391,000$219,794$180,982
Architect10$356,500$187,204$132,017
Senior Staff Software Engineer10$305,000$197,396$152,726
Member Of Technical Staff (Software Engineer)10$300,000$204,996$150,000
Machine Learning9$312,200$174,462$152,963
Engineer Systems Software9$189,750$143,383$143,383
Fe Engineering9$318,400$171,138$157,802
Product Manager9$379,500$210,076$150,200
Asic Engineer9$264,500$196,679$163,925
Computer Programmer8$186,830$130,950$102,890
Solutions Architect8$356,500$198,702$139,235
Member Of Technical Staff8$230,000$188,910$164,403
Research Scientist8$356,500$164,403$127,712
Software Dev Engineer Iii7$258,600$243,100$215,100
Software Dev Engineer Ii7$218,300$187,100$177,600
Digital Circuit Design Engineer7$258,600$167,485$160,553
Hardware Engineer7$226,600$183,000$135,000
Software Development Engineer I7$157,090$149,365$126,144
Principal Engineer Software6$237,500$220,895$187,333
Cpu Implementation Engineering6$318,400$160,553$157,802
Ic Packaging Engineering6$272,100$166,266$151,433
Software Development Engineering6$272,100$202,088$160,553
Verification Engineer6$310,500$201,282$164,573
Project Manager5$175,608$163,000$139,443
Software Development Engineer Iii5$251,600$233,090$215,100
Program Manager5$304,750$190,713$161,034
Test Engineer5$247,250$142,298$110,000
Software Developer5$285,354$219,536$185,453
Staff Systems Engineer5$227,800$186,472$166,249
Business Intelligence Engineer Ii5$178,200$141,700$114,088
Applied Scientist Ii5$206,000$171,600$165,000
System Development Engineer Ii5$187,741$181,700$139,495
Staff Software Quality Engineer4$210,000$172,421$172,421
Applied Scientist I4$185,000$162,338$162,338
Senior Product Manager4$240,500$195,437$187,741
Senior Modem Technologies Engineer4$223,000$156,853$139,495
Engineer Senior Physical Design4$264,500$204,086$192,081
Engineer Senior Network Infrastructure4$322,000$177,258$177,258
Fiscal YearMaximumMedianAverageMinimum
2026$387,497$186,472$185,111$29
2025$655,500$173,000$173,084$27
2024$380,040$161,000$162,725$27
2023$415,979$151,902$155,597$28
2022$505,000$148,082$148,527$27
2021$340,000$139,077$138,939$20
2020$345,050$130,000$130,927$20
2019$276,924$124,953$126,616$38
2018$400,000$115,000$116,601$22
2017$400,000$108,805$107,735$17
2016$475,000$101,031$103,334$20
Decision DateEmployerJob TitleBase PayWage LevelStatus
Dec 31, 2025Apple Inc.Sipi Engineering$167,364N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Intel CorporationResearch Scientist$201,094Level IIICertified
Dec 30, 2025Robotics Staffing LlcBackend Engineer$149,365Level ICertified
Dec 30, 2025Amazon.Com Services LlcNetwork Development Engineer Ii$167,900Level IICertified
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Fe Engineering$205,072N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Gp Technologies LlcComputer Programmer$158,850Level IIICertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationHardware Engineer, Electronics$216,091Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Gp Technologies LlcComputer Programmer$103,000Level ICertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationHardware Engineer, Electronics$216,091Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Cognizant Technology Solutions Us CorpSr Mgr Jc45-Software Quality Assurance Analysts And Testers$201,053Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Applied Materials, IncBusiness Intelligence Analyst$177,340N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Digital Circuit Design Engineer$171,138N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Tenstorrent Usa Inc.Sr Staff Engineer$216,091Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Design Verification$160,553N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Amazon.Com Services LlcSoftware Development Engineer Ii$174,960N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Amazon.Com Services LlcSoftware Development Engineer Ii$192,329Level IICertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationPrincipal Software Engineer$264,514Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Rjt Compuquest Inc. Dba ApolisSolution Architect$141,440Level IICertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationAsic Engineer$196,679N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Persistent Systems, Inc.Computer Programmer Ii$177,936Level IICertified
Dec 30, 2025Coinbase, Inc.Senior Software Engineer$218,900N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Gp Technologies LlcComputer Programmer$186,830Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Fe Engineering$171,138N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationEngineer Senior Asic$197,558N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.Physical Design Senior Staff Engineer$187,000Level IIICertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationResearch Scientist$226,933N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Intel CorporationComponent Design Engineer$156,209N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.Optical Senior Staff Engineer$186,472Level IIICertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationArchitect Senior$157,857N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Hardware Development$186,285N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Sipi Engineering$151,433N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Ic Packaging Engineering$151,433N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Gp Technologies LlcComputer Programmer$130,860Level IICertified
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Sipi Engineering$151,433N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Ic Packaging Engineering$151,433N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Software Development Engineering$174,462N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Ic Packaging Engineering$151,433N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Netskope, Inc.Software Engineer Iv$210,000N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationSoftware Engineer$187,574N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Intel CorporationComponent Design Engineer$186,472Level IIICertified
Dec 30, 2025Apple Inc.Wireless Systems Validation Engineering$151,433N/ACertified - Withdrawn
Dec 30, 2025Netskope, Inc.Software Engineer, Qa Ii$140,000Level IICertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationAsic Engineer$216,091Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Achronix Semiconductor CorporationHardware Engineer$135,000N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationApplications Engineer$191,715N/ACertified
Dec 30, 2025Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc.Applied Scientist Ii$171,600Level IICertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationSoftware Engineer$149,365Level ICertified
Dec 30, 2025Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc.Software Development Engineer I$149,365Level ICertified
Dec 30, 2025Nvidia CorporationArchitect Senior$216,091Level IVCertified
Dec 30, 2025Gp Technologies LlcComputer Programmer$102,890Level ICertified

City Specific Intelligence (FAQ)

Common questions and insights about Santa Clara.

What is a standard salary for sponsored jobs in Santa Clara?
A competitive salary in this city generally starts around the median of $186,472. Top-tier professionals in the 75th percentile earn upwards of $216,091.

Which company sponsors the most work visas in Santa Clara?
Nvidia Corporation is the leading sponsor in the area, filing 317 work visa requests recently.

Do sponsored workers pay high state taxes in Santa Clara?
The state income tax is estimated at 9.3%, meaning an average earner will pay roughly $17,342 in local state deductions.