Updated October 16, 2026

PERM occupation, SOC 15-1243.00, #36 of 1,410 by filings

Database Architects

16,085 H-1B LCAs

Biggest sponsor: COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP INC. · 3% of its filings
Busiest state: CA · 18% of its filings
Major group: Computer and mathematical · SOC 15

Weighing an offer for this job?

Where it falls among certified offers, and the four wage levels DOL sets for it by area.

Compare my offer DOL's wage levels for this job

Median wage

$147,472

all PERM $103,272

Filings

1,893

#36 of 1,410

Approval

99.0%

field 96.8%

Median days

458

19 faster than the field

What it pays

Where its median offer sits among every occupation, then the whole ladder of certified offers by year and by state.

Position in the field 535 occupations with 30+ decided

Median offered wage

$147,472above 92%

$18k $500k

Approval rate

99.0%ahead of 84%

49% 100%

Median days to decision

458 daysahead of 68%

323d 536d

Each bar counts occupations at that value. More

Each bar counts occupations at that value. PERM runs two labour markets through one process, which is why the wage axis is two humps rather than a bell. The line marks this one.

DOL PERM disclosure files

The wage ladder, year by year Database Architects, certified offers

5th to 95th
25th to 75th
Median
10th and 90th

FY2024

$140,046 median · 547 certified cases
FY2025

$145,912 median · 681 certified cases
FY2026

$151,154 median · 570 certified cases

$100k$150k$200k

10th: $109,928; +8.8% since FY2024
Median: $151,154; +7.9% since FY2024
90th: $195,131; +11.9% since FY2024
95th: $210,662; +5.3% since FY2024

Each row is that fiscal year's certified filings, counted on their own. A percentile is over the year, so a year with far fewer cases behind it is a thinner measurement than one with more.

Offered wage percentiles by fiscal year, with the number of certified cases behind each row.
Fiscal year	Cases	5th	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	95th
FY2024	547	$91,270	$101,000	$119,506	$140,046	$163,752	$174,345	$200,000
FY2025	681	$92,250	$100,630	$119,371	$145,912	$164,299	$190,237	$203,000
FY2026	570	$97,982	$109,928	$126,360	$151,154	$169,000	$195,131	$210,662

A median answers whether pay moved. More

A median answers whether pay moved. The whole ladder answers which part of it moved, and those are not the same question: a distribution can hold its middle while its top stretches away.

DOL PERM disclosure files, certified cases only

Who files it

The sponsors and firms with the most PERM filings under this code, the places the work sits, and who the workers were.

Sponsors filing it

COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP INC. 63 filings · 95.2% approved
TikTok Inc. 33 filings
NIKE, Inc. 28 filings
WAL-MART ASSOCIATES, INC. 26 filings
Caremark LLC 25 filings
APPLE INC. 23 filings

How this is counted

The employers with the most applications under this code. 198 of 1,893 filings, 10% of the total.

Firms filing it

Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP 323 filings · 99.7% approved
Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP 150 filings · 100.0% approved
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. 113 filings · 100.0% approved
LAW OFFICE OF THOMAS V. ALLEN, PLLC. 59 filings · 100.0% approved
Corporate Immigration Partners, P.C. 57 filings · 98.1% approved
Farrell LLP 49 filings · 100.0% approved

How this is counted

The law firms named on the most applications under this code. 751 of 1,893 filings, 40% of the total.

Where the jobs are

California 350
Texas 210
New Jersey 194
New York 148
Illinois 93
Virginia 87

How this is counted

The worksite state on the application, which is where the job is and not where the company is headquartered. Volume by state across everyone is on the state map. These 6 states cover 1,082 of 1,893 filings.

Where the work is

New York, NY 107
Plainsboro, NJ 69
San Francisco, CA 66
San Jose, CA 60
Chicago, IL 50
Dallas, TX 42

How this is counted

The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. These 6 cities cover 394 of 1,893 filings.

Newspapers it advertised in

The Star-Ledger

120 cases
The Mercury News

102 cases
The New York Times

91 cases
The Dallas Morning News

86 cases
San Francisco Chronicle

86 cases
The Washington Post

51 cases

How this is counted

The newspaper or professional journal named for each case's two print ads, one count per paper per case, however the filer spelled it.

Additional steps it used

Job search websites

1,208 cases
Local or ethnic newspapers

963 cases
The employer's website

834 cases
Employee referral programs

401 cases
Radio or TV ads

290 cases
Trade or professional organizations

189 cases

How this is counted

The steps a professional job needs beyond the job order and the ads, by the number of cases that name each.

How long before filing it began

Under 30 days

0.0%
30 to 59 days

0.1%
60 to 89 days

22%
90 to 119 days

24%
120 to 149 days

19%
150 to 180 days

34%
Over 180 days

0.2%

How this is counted

Days from the first recruitment step to the filing. 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(e) puts the job order and ads 30 to 180 days before filing.

Where every PERM employer recruits

Who filled these jobs, FY2016 to FY2023

From DOL's old form; the form in use since mid-2023 doesn't carry them. Top six of each.

Country of citizenship

India 72
China 5
South Korea 2
Malawi 1
Nepal 1
Nigeria 1

Worker's education

Master's 50
Bachelor's 31
Associate's 1

Visa held when filed

H-1B 77
F-1 2
H-4 1
L-1 1

Schools

ANNA UNIVERSITY 6
NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 3
THE BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE 3
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY 2
OSMANIA UNIVERSITY 2
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS 2

Fields of study

COMPUTER SCIENCE 16
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 6
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS 5
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING 4
COMPUTER APPLICATIONS 3
COMPUTER ENGINEERING 3

The job itself

What O*NET says the work is, what the market pays it by BLS's survey, its outlook, and DOL's wage levels year by year.

What the job pays outside PERM BLS May 2025, DOL wage year 2026-27

United States
67,140 jobs
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
New York, Plainsboro
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
San Francisco
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
San Jose
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Chicago
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Dallas

$100k$150k$200k$250k

middle half of pay (BLS)
median
10th to 90th percentile
DOL's Levels I to IV, left to right
median PERM offer

Market pay and DOL wage levels, by area
Area	BLS median	Level I	Level II	Level III	Level IV
United States	$139,500
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$131,540	$86,882	$113,506	$140,130	$166,754
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$175,860	$138,382	$168,418	$198,432	$228,467
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$197,960	$132,642	$161,762	$190,882	$220,002
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$147,490	$102,918	$124,384	$145,870	$167,336
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$154,770	$102,960	$125,362	$147,742	$170,144

How these figures fit together

BLS surveys employers on what they pay everyone in a job; DOL builds its four levels from the same survey a year later (the July 2026 wage year uses BLS's May 2025 estimates). DOL publishes levels by area, not nationally, so the United States line has none. Levels are hourly in DOL's tables; here they're shown a year at 2,080 hours, as DOL computes them. The metros are the ones holding the most of this job's PERM filings, placed by Census's county files.

The block is the middle half of what employers report paying everyone in this job, citizen or not; the ticks under it are DOL's four prevailing wage levels for that metro, the floors a PERM or H-1B offer is held to. More

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; DOL OFLC wage tables

DOL's levels for this job in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, year by year

Each July DOL resets the four levels from BLS's newest survey. A determination keeps the figures of the year it was issued in.

DOL wage levels by wage year, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Wage year	Level I	Level II	Level III	Level IV
2026-27	$86,882	$113,506	$140,130	$166,754
2025-26	$93,226	$118,102	$142,958	$167,835
2024-25	$101,566	$126,360	$151,154	$175,947
2023-24	$92,186	$117,749	$143,291	$168,854
2022-23	$91,270	$115,440	$139,589	$163,758

Every area and both wage tables in the wage-level tool.

What the job is

Design strategies for enterprise databases, data warehouse systems, and multidimensional networks. Set standards for database operations, programming, query processes, and security. Model, design, and construct large relational databases or data warehouses. Create and optimize data models for warehouse infrastructure and workflow. Integrate new systems with existing warehouse structure and refine system performance and functionality.

Preparation: Considerable Preparation Needed; O*NET Job Zone 4
DOL's education basis: Bachelor's degree; Wage year 2026-27, on DOL's Appendix A list
Jobs, 2025 to 2035: +9.4%; About 3,900 openings a year (BLS)
Typical entry: Bachelor's degree; Less than 5 years of related work (BLS)

Bright Outlook O*NET OnLine lists this job for rapid growth.

The work, most important first

Develop and document database architectures.
Collaborate with system architects, software architects, design analysts, and others to understand business or industry requirements.
Develop database architectural strategies at the modeling, design and implementation stages to address business or industry requirements.
Design databases to support business applications, ensuring system scalability, security, performance, and reliability.
Develop data models for applications, metadata tables, views or related database structures.
Design database applications, such as interfaces, data transfer mechanisms, global temporary tables, data partitions, and function-based indexes to enable efficient access of the generic database structure.

The education workers in it report

Bachelor's Degree

76%
Master's Degree

14%

Titles people use for it

Database Analyst, Database Developer, Database Programmer, Information Architect, Data Architect, Data Engineer, Data Officer, Database Architect.

O*NET also describes Data Warehousing Specialists under this SOC code.

This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database and O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. PERM Tracker has modified some of this information (the shares are rounded and only the top tasks are shown); what changed. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Against other jobs

Where this sits in the ranking

Ranked 36 of 1,410 by volume: 35 filed at least as many filings, and 1,374 filed no more.

Just above: Information Security Analysts 1,982 filings
Just below: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand 1,832 filings

Other computer and mathematical roles

Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. More

Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. Wages inside a group still swing hard, because the group holds every seniority level and every metro.

The same job on H-1B

16,085 certified H-1B labor condition applications for this occupation since FY2020, offering a median of $135,907 a year; the middle half ran $115,750 to $160,000. By state and year in the salary explorer.

Notes on these numbers

Reading the wage

A floor, not a salary survey: every level and metro mixed. DOL's four wage levels for this job, by area.

What the median is

The median wage employers committed to in federal filings for this occupation. It mixes every experience level and every metro, and it's a floor: the employer must offer at least the prevailing wage DOL determines for the occupation, level and county. Across all PERM filings the middle half of offered wages runs $45,178 to $141,357, so a figure inside that band is unremarkable whichever occupation it belongs to. The levels page reads DOL's OFLC wage search live.

What these numbers don't say

4 notes

The code is the identity: This one is SOC 15-1243.00. Two SOC codes can carry the same job title, so a title that looks duplicated on the ranking is two different occupations. Match on the code when you're checking a specific filing.
A median isn’t an offer: It's the middle of all 1,893 wages committed to for this occupation across the country, entry level and principal alike. The same role's medians swing hard by worksite, which the state map shows directly.
Approval isn’t about the occupation: The denial rate moves with what happened in the filing rather than with the job title, so nothing here is a property of Database Architects. The measured factors are on the denial risk page, published as separate rates.
Nothing here is pending: All 1,893 counted here carry a decision date, because every case in DOL's disclosure files does, so a case still waiting is in none of them. The largest filer of this occupation is COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP INC.. Where the queue stands today is on the processing times page.

The window these figures cover: DOL's PERM disclosure files for fiscal years 2024 to 2026, through the third quarter of 2026, 373,939 decided cases. Nothing pending is counted here. How each figure is built

Weighing an offer?

Compare it against this median, then check the state map, where the same occupation's medians swing hard by worksite.

Setting one?

All 1,410 occupations sort together on the wages page, and denial rates show how outcome moves with the offered wage.

Filings newer than DOL's last published file can't be attributed to this occupation until DOL publishes them. The live list on the case search page carries them by employer.

Case data: DOL quarterly disclosure files (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly

Employers and firms: Derived from DOL's disclosure files · data through Jun 30, 2026 · rebuilt with each quarterly load

O*NET occupation data: O*NET Database, USDOL/ETA (onetcenter.org) · data through Aug 16, 2026 · twice a year

BLS market pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov) · data through May 31, 2025 · yearly, each spring

BLS employment projections: BLS Employment Projections (bls.gov) · data through Dec 31, 2025 · yearly, each autumn

DOL wage tables: DOL OFLC wage data downloads (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jul 1, 2026 · yearly, each july

What each source includes

Case data: Decided PERM cases only. A case still waiting isn't in here, so counts and durations describe finished cases.

Employers and firms: Employers, law firms and occupations ranked from decided cases only.

O*NET occupation data: What O*NET says each occupation is and takes: its description, tasks, Job Zone and the education workers report. A description of the job everywhere, not of any one employer's opening.

BLS market pay: What employers report paying everyone in each job, nationally, by state and by metro, from BLS's yearly survey (May of the year named). Citizens and immigrants alike; not PERM offers.

BLS employment projections: BLS's ten-year projection of each job's employment and yearly openings, and the entry education it calls typical. A projection, not a count.

DOL wage tables: The four prevailing wage levels DOL publishes for every job in every area, each wage year from 2021-22, as DOL's own tables print them. The floors an offer is held to, not what anyone was paid.

Cite this page

Waiting on a PERM case?

When it'll likely be decided
An email when DOL moves it