What Populus certifies it pays.
Base-pay bands from 260 wage filings Populus certified to the U.S. Department of Labor in fiscal 2026 (October 2025 through June 2026) — 1,578 across every year on record. Filed under penalty of perjury — not self-reported.
Most-filed role: Software Developers, $118K–$166K base, median $132K (74 filings).
Related record: Populus’s full H-1B sponsor file
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Check my offer →Base-salary bands by role
Software Developers at Populus
74 filingsData Scientists at Populus
36 filingsInformation Technology Project Managers at Populus
31 filingsSoftware Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers at Populus
24 filingsMechanical Engineers at Populus
19 filingsComputer Systems Analysts at Populus
13 filingsMedian by state
| TX | 42 filings | $125K |
| CA | 28 filings | $133K |
| MI | 26 filings | $113K |
| OH | 22 filings | $117K |
| NC | 17 filings | $125K |
| IL | 13 filings | $130K |
| FL | 12 filings | $122K |
| VA | 12 filings | $129K |
Median by seniority level
| Level I · Entry | 32 filings | $87K |
| Level II · Qualified | 79 filings | $121K |
| Level III · Experienced | 88 filings | $129K |
| Level IV · Fully competent | 61 filings | $150K |
OES prevailing-wage levels from the filings — a defensible seniority proxy, not job ladders.
H-1B sponsorship profile
Populus certifies 1,578 H-1B / E-3 wage filings through FY2026 — filing volume cooling. Below, how those offers compare to the legal prevailing-wage floor each role must clear.
Median certified offer runs 17% above the floor.
The rest are set exactly at the prevailing wage — legal, and common among high-volume filers.
vs. $104K prevailing-wage floor.
Seniority mix (OES wage level)
Filing volume by fiscal year
Filed across 1 legal entity under this brand — largest: Populus Group LLC (1,578).
Every H-1B role carries a legally required prevailing-wage floor (the OES rate for that occupation, area, and level). The offered wage on the certified filing must meet or exceed it — so “% above floor” distinguishes employers who genuinely pay a premium from those who file at the minimum. Certified DOL disclosure data, offered base wage only; reusable under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.
Green-card sponsorship record
Populus has 993 certified permanent-residency (PERM) applications on the federal record through FY2026 — filing volume steady. The question this answers: does this employer put workers on the path to a green card, or only on visas?
All fiscal years on record · applications, not people
Of 1,010 decided applications (certified + denied)
Certified green-card applications per 100 certified H-1B wage filings (993 vs 1,578) — filings and applications, not headcount
Source: DOL OFLC PERM (Form ETA-9089) disclosure data, decision-basis by federal fiscal year; the current fiscal year is partial by construction. PERM has no prevailing-wage field — this card reads sponsorship posture, not pay.
What this data is — and isn't
These bands come from certified H-1B Labor Condition Application disclosures — the base salary employers commit to on the record. They exclude equity, bonus, and benefits, and they cover only roles companies sponsor, which skews technical. Read them as a conservative, citable floor on what Populus pays — not total compensation. Our sources.
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