Seattle is the top H1B destination outside San Francisco, dominated by Amazon and Microsoft, which together file over 17,000 H1B petitions annually. Washington state's zero income tax makes Seattle's after-tax H1B compensation the highest of any major US tech hub — better than San Francisco or New York on a take-home basis for equivalent gross wages.
Key fact: Seattle has no state income tax (Washington state), making its after-tax H1B compensation the highest of any major US tech hub when adjusted for take-home pay — higher than San Francisco or New York City for equivalent gross wages.
| Role | Median |
|---|---|
| Software Development Engineer (L3) | $158,000 |
| Senior SDE / Staff Engineer (L4) | $205,000 |
| ML Engineer (L4) | $185,000 |
| Data Engineer (L3) | $148,000 |
| Cloud Infrastructure Engineer (L3) | $152,000 |
| Principal Engineer (L5+) | $255,000 |
Source: DOL LCA disclosures, FY2024.
| Employer | Median Wage |
|---|---|
| Amazon (Seattle / Bellevue) | $158,000 |
| Microsoft (Redmond) | $168,000 |
| Google (Kirkland / Seattle) | $175,000 |
| Expedia Group | $138,000 |
| Zillow Group | $142,000 |
| T-Mobile | $132,000 |