Methodology

TrueSalary turns public compensation records into searchable salary information. The goal is to make government-reported pay data easier to inspect, compare, and understand without treating it as a complete view of total compensation.

Data Sources

The current dataset includes U.S. Department of Labor filings associated with H-1B and related work authorization processes, along with public salary disclosures from the State of California. These records are useful because they come from public reporting systems rather than anonymous self-reported surveys.

Source records may use different formats for employer names, job titles, locations, years, and compensation fields. TrueSalary standardizes display where practical while preserving the underlying public-record context.

What H-1B Salaries Represent

H-1B wage records generally represent reported base salary or prevailing wage information. They usually do not include equity, bonuses, signing bonuses, benefits, relocation support, or other compensation that can be material for technology and finance roles.

For negotiation or hiring decisions, use H-1B salary data as one input. It is strongest for understanding base-pay ranges, employer patterns, job title wording, locations, and changes over time.

How To Interpret Results

Search results are direct record lookups. Large result sets may include duplicate titles, inconsistent employer entities, different seniority levels, multiple cities, and records from different years. A high or low observation should not be treated as the normal salary for an entire role.

Limitations

• Public records can be delayed, incomplete, corrected, or duplicated.
• Job titles are not always normalized across employers.
• Base salary is not the same as total compensation.
• State payroll disclosures can follow different reporting rules.
• TrueSalary is informational and is not legal, financial, tax, or employment advice.

Corrections

If you notice a data issue, confusing display, or source interpretation problem, send details through the Contact page. Include the employer, title, location, year, and page URL when possible.