Architect salary in California
A real-employer view of Architect pay, clustered from DOL OFLC certified filings. Variants like Senior, Lead, and II/III titles fold into this cluster — the wage range below reflects all of them.
Architect in California: actual employer-disclosed pay
Public records from 60 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Median offered wage: $92,500. Every figure below is an actual offered salary an employer attested to under federal law.
By DOL wage level
DOL classifies every offer into one of four wage levels based on the role's experience and skill requirements.
| Level | Filings | Median offer |
|---|---|---|
| Level I — entry | 29 | $85,696 |
| Level II — qualified | 10 | $96,500 |
| Level III — experienced | 3 | $140,580 |
| Level IV — fully competent | 2 | $148,599 |
Top employers filing for this role
Companies with the most certified filings for Architect in California. Median offer is across all of that employer's filings.
| Employer | Most-filed title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| SmithGroup, Inc., subsidiary of SmithGroup Co., Inc. | Architect (non-licensed) | 15 | $90,000 |
| CO Architects | Architect I | 4 | $83,300 |
| Cannon Design, Inc. | Architect III | 4 | $108,800 |
| HDR Architecture, Inc. | Architect | 4 | $111,114 |
| M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates, Inc. | Architect | 4 | $101,050 |
| Open Office INC | Principal Architect | 2 | $160,000 |
| Corgan Associates, Inc. | Architect | 2 | $95,000 |
| Bevyhouse LLC | Architect | 2 | $93,000 |
| Tesla, Inc. | Sr Architect | 2 | $140,580 |
| ERIC CONSTRUCTION INC. | ARCHITECT | 1 | $97,000 |
Recent sample filings
A snapshot of recent certified offers. Each line is a real, public, verifiable record.
- ARCHITECT at ERIC CONSTRUCTION INC.$97,000TEMPLE CITYDecided Dec 29, 2025I-200-25355-500465
- Architect (non-licensed) at SmithGroup, Inc., subsidiary of SmithGroup Co., Inc.$108,000San FranciscoDecided Dec 11, 2025I-200-25338-457928
- Architect I at CO Architects$90,100Los AngelesDecided Nov 28, 2025I-200-25324-425462
- Architect II at Cannon Design, Inc.$92,000Los AngelesDecided Nov 20, 2025I-200-25317-405714
- Architect III at Cannon Design, Inc.$110,250Los AngelesDecided Nov 20, 2025I-200-25317-405735
- Principal Architect at Open Office INC$160,000Culver CityDecided Nov 7, 2025I-203-25305-355876
- Architect (Store Design) at Alo LLC$130,000Beverly HillsDecided Nov 7, 2025I-200-25274-352155
- Principal Architect at Open Office INC$160,000Culver CityWage Level IVDecided Sep 29, 2025I-203-25265-325295
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification. Disclosed wages reflect what employers attested to pay; actual paid wages may differ. Only certified filings are shown — denied and withdrawn cases are excluded.