DOL Filings vs BLS Survey
What Employers File with DOL
This figure comes from 3,090 employer filings with the US Department of Labor under legal obligation. Employers file this salary when sponsoring workers for PERM green cards or H-1B visas.
What BLS Says the Market Pays
This figure comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey of 55,530 establishments. This is an independent survey-based estimate of what all workers in this occupation earn.
Salary Distribution
Top Paying Employers for Technical Writers
Ranked by median salary from DOL filingsSalary by Metro Area
| Metro Area | Median | vs National | Filings | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menlo Park, CA | $128,439 | +94.6% | 17 | 6 |
| Palo Alto, CA | $104,000 | +57.6% | 20 | 12 |
| Sunnyvale, CA | $100,000 | +51.5% | 40 | 24 |
| San Mateo, CA | $100,000 | +51.5% | 19 | 12 |
| Mountain View, CA | $99,500 | +50.8% | 42 | 14 |
| Seattle, WA | $99,403 | +50.6% | 28 | 12 |
| Pleasanton, CA | $99,299 | +50.5% | 12 | 5 |
| Cupertino, CA | $94,924 | +43.8% | 28 | 3 |
| Cambridge, MA | $90,250 | +36.8% | 20 | 13 |
| San Francisco, CA | $90,000 | +36.4% | 109 | 61 |
| New York, NE | $89,920 | +36.3% | 31 | 21 |
| Santa Clara, CA | $88,594 | +34.3% | 34 | 18 |
| San Jose, CA | $88,587 | +34.2% | 47 | 25 |
| Redmond, WA | $87,316 | +32.3% | 21 | 8 |
| Redwood City, CA | $87,000 | +31.8% | 10 | 6 |
| Natick, MA | $83,189 | +26.1% | 58 | 1 |
| Rockville, MD | $82,000 | +24.3% | 13 | 6 |
| Oakland, CA | $81,392 | +23.3% | 10 | 6 |
| DALLAS, TX | $80,000 | +21.2% | 10 | 4 |
| Sterling, VA | $72,000 | +9.1% | 11 | 3 |
| Boston, MA | $71,739 | +8.7% | 22 | 15 |
| Alexandria, VA | $71,344 | +8.1% | 24 | 10 |
| Bellevue, WA | $71,198 | +7.9% | 11 | 8 |
| Princeton, NJ | $70,000 | +6.1% | 16 | 8 |
| El Segundo, CA | $65,978 | -0% | 10 | 6 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $65,780 | -0.3% | 10 | 7 |
| Rochester, NY | $65,000 | -1.5% | 12 | 4 |
| San Diego, CA | $63,440 | -3.9% | 31 | 18 |
| Atlanta, GA | $62,982 | -4.6% | 17 | 8 |
| Somerset, NJ | $61,000 | -7.6% | 21 | 3 |
Salary by State
| State | Median | vs National | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | $110,000 | N/A | 1 |
| Washington | $84,728 | -9.1% | 72 |
| Massachusetts | $81,000 | -21.1% | 157 |
| California | $75,000 | -25.3% | 770 |
| Missouri | $73,000 | -10% | 4 |
| Colorado | $72,000 | -30.7% | 19 |
| Nebraska | $70,000 | +6.9% | 80 |
| Oregon | $69,389 | -16.6% | 19 |
| Maryland | $68,000 | -30.9% | 35 |
| North Carolina | $67,669 | -22.5% | 27 |
| Rhode Island | $67,288 | -33.1% | 1 |
| District of Columbia | $65,500 | -26.6% | 33 |
| Nevada | $65,000 | -24.3% | 11 |
| Tennessee | $64,615 | -16% | 8 |
| Pennsylvania | $64,000 | -19% | 43 |
| Virginia | $63,000 | -25% | 72 |
| New Hampshire | $61,287 | -33.2% | 2 |
| Connecticut | $61,000 | -44.2% | 15 |
| New Jersey | $61,000 | -29.9% | 174 |
| Wisconsin | $60,000 | -21.2% | 19 |
| Georgia | $60,000 | -17.2% | 35 |
| Oklahoma | $60,000 | -9.9% | 4 |
| Ohio | $60,000 | -15.1% | 28 |
| Texas | $60,000 | -24.1% | 89 |
| Michigan | $59,862 | -24% | 23 |
| Utah | $59,488 | -20.6% | 13 |
| West Virginia | $57,782 | -7.2% | 1 |
| Illinois | $57,491 | -27.9% | 67 |
| South Carolina | $56,160 | -28.6% | 5 |
| Mississippi | $56,000 | -10.7% | 1 |
| Kansas | $55,988 | -22.6% | 4 |
| Minnesota | $55,740 | -27.4% | 27 |
| New York | $55,000 | -33.7% | 249 |
| Alaska | $54,080 | -32.9% | 3 |
| Idaho | $53,206 | -33.1% | 3 |
| Arizona | $50,200 | -38.9% | 15 |
| Iowa | $49,300 | -22.6% | 3 |
| Florida | $49,000 | -39.4% | 81 |
| Arkansas | $48,069 | -23.1% | 3 |
| Hawaii | $46,114 | N/A | 6 |
| Indiana | $43,567 | -44.3% | 4 |
| Louisiana | $41,600 | -29.8% | 3 |
| Alabama | $40,789 | -49.4% | 2 |
| Kentucky | $34,278 | -51.7% | 1 |
Salary Trend - DOL Data
Education Requirements
From PERM filingsFor Technical Writers positions, 53% of PERM filings required a Bachelor's degree, 38% required a Master's degree, and 4% required no formal degree.
Education by Top Employer
Most common minimum education from PERM filings| Employer | Most Common Education | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| The MathWorks, Inc. | Master's | $83,189 |
| L&T Technology Services LLC | Not specified | $60,000 |
| Wipro Limited | Not specified | $60,000 |
| GOOGLE LLC | Master's | $107,500 |
| Apple Inc. | Not specified | $101,000 |
| QTech US Inc | Master's | $61,000 |
| Microsoft Corporation | Bachelor's | $116,100 |
| LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED | Not specified | $47,400 |
| COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS U.S. CORPORATION | Not specified | $60,000 |
| RevereIT LLC | Not specified | $71,406 |
Salary by Industry
Same occupation, different industries (NAICS)The highest-paying industry for Technical Writers is Retail Trade at $89,603. The lowest-paying industry with significant hiring is Transportation and Warehousing at $54,557.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on 3,090 DOL filings, the median salary for a Technical Writers is $65,989, ranging from $54,184 to $87,048.
The 90th percentile salary is $130,430 according to BLS data.
Based on DOL filings, Menlo Park, CA offers the highest median at $128,439.
DOL filing data covers positions where the employer filed for PERM green card sponsorship or an H-1B visa. These filings represent a subset of all Technical Writers positions. We compare this data against BLS OEWS data which covers all workers in this occupation.
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