About & Methodology

What Is H1B Compass?

H1B Compass is a free, open-source interactive tool that visualizes DOL prevailing wages across 380+ US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). It helps H1B visa applicants and sponsoring employers compare wage requirements by location, identify worksites where a given salary provides the most favorable margin, and understand how worksite choice affects H1B lottery odds under the FY2027 wage-weighted system.

The tool combines multiple federal data sources into a single interactive map with filtering, cost-of-living overlays, and CSV export. All code is open source and available on GitHub.

Data Sources

Prevailing Wage Data

Prevailing wages are sourced from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC). The current dataset covers the July 2025 through June 2026 prevailing wage period. These wages are derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) annual survey, which collects wage data from approximately 1.1 million establishments across all 50 states.

For each MSA and occupation (identified by Standard Occupational Classification code), the DOL publishes wages at four percentile-based levels: Level 1 (17th percentile), Level 2 (34th percentile), Level 3 (50th percentile / median), and Level 4 (67th percentile).

Fair Market Rent Data

Rent data comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) FY2026 Fair Market Rent (FMR) estimates. FMRs represent the 40th percentile of gross rents (including utilities) for standard-quality rental units in each metro area. H1B Compass provides FMR data for studio through 4-bedroom units, enabling net surplus calculations that account for housing costs.

Geographic Boundaries

Metro area boundaries (GeoJSON polygons) are sourced from U.S. Census Bureau Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) TIGER/Line shapefiles. Each MSA is identified by its CBSA FIPS code, which links the geographic boundaries to the corresponding wage and rent data.

Methodology

Wage Surplus Calculation

For each MSA, the wage surplus is calculated as: Surplus = Your Salary - Prevailing Wage. A positive surplus means the salary exceeds the prevailing wage at that location (qualifying for H1B filing). A negative surplus means the prevailing wage exceeds the salary. The choropleth map colors each MSA from green (large surplus) to red (below prevailing wage).

Net Surplus (with Rent)

When the rent layer is enabled, H1B Compass calculates: Net Surplus = Wage Surplus - (Annual FMR). This provides a more complete picture by factoring in housing costs. A metro with a $30K wage surplus but $36K annual rent yields a -$6K net surplus, while a metro with a $15K wage surplus and only $12K annual rent yields a +$3K net surplus.

FY2027 Lottery Multiplier

Under the USCIS FY2027 rule (effective February 2026), H1B cap registrations are weighted by wage level. H1B Compass determines the highest wage level at which a salary qualifies in each MSA and displays the corresponding lottery multiplier. For example, if a $130K salary qualifies at Level 3 in MSA A but only Level 2 in MSA B, the lottery weight would be 3x versus 2x respectively.

Drive Zone Calculation

Distance from the origin city to each MSA is calculated using the Haversine formula applied to the centroid of each MSA polygon. The drive zone circle is rendered as a geodesic circle on the map. MSAs whose centroids fall outside the specified radius are visually dimmed and can be filtered from the results list.

Supported Job Categories

H1B Compass covers 12 technology occupation codes from the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system:

Limitations

• Prevailing wages are updated annually; actual wages offered in specific job postings may differ from OEWS survey averages.
• Fair Market Rents represent the 40th percentile of rents and may not reflect actual rents in specific neighborhoods within a metro area.
• Drive zone distances are calculated to MSA centroids (straight line), not actual driving distances.
• This tool covers only the 12 tech occupation codes listed above. Other occupations may be added in future updates.
• This tool is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Consult an immigration attorney for individual case guidance.