Updated October 16, 2026

PERM occupation, SOC 15-2031, #137 of 1,410 by filings

SOC 15-2031

57,920 H-1B LCAs

Biggest sponsor: AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC · 16% of its filings
Busiest state: CA · 26% 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

DOL's job-title cell is unusable on these rows, so the code is the only name they have.

Median wage

$108,000

all PERM $103,272

Filings

382

#137 of 1,410

Approval

98.7%

field 96.8%

Median days

380

97 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

$108,000above 72%

$18k $500k

Approval rate

98.7%ahead of 78%

49% 100%

Median days to decision

380 daysahead of 95%

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

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

AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC 60 filings · 100.0% approved
CAPITAL ONE SERVICES, LLC 27 filings
APPLE INC. 16 filings
INTUIT 11 filings
AMERICAN AIRLINES 7 filings
BANK OF AMERICA 6 filings

How this is counted

The employers with the most applications under this code. 127 of 382 filings, 33% of the total.

Firms filing it

Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen Loewy, LLP 115 filings · 99.1% approved
Berry Appleman Leiden LLP 36 filings · 100.0% approved
Farrell LLP 35 filings · 100.0% approved
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak Stewart P.C. 25 filings
Erickson Immigration Group 11 filings
Seyfarth Shaw LLP 8 filings

How this is counted

The law firms named on the most applications under this code. 230 of 382 filings, 60% of the total.

Where the jobs are

California 100
Washington 57
New York 32
Texas 31
Virginia 30
Georgia 20

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 270 of 382 filings.

Where the work is

Seattle, WA 52
New York, NY 30
Atlanta, GA 18
San Francisco, CA 17
Cupertino, CA 16
Chicago, IL 11

How this is counted

The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. These 6 cities cover 144 of 382 filings.

Newspapers it advertised in

Chicago Sun-Times

1 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

The employer's website

1 cases
Job search websites

1 cases
Local or ethnic newspapers

1 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

0.0%
60 to 89 days

0.0%
90 to 119 days

100%
120 to 149 days

0.0%
150 to 180 days

0.0%
Over 180 days

0.0%

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 847
China 524
South Korea 58
Iran 46
Canada 42
Taiwan 35

Worker's education

Master's 1,337
Bachelor's 362
Doctorate 219
None 13
High School 5
Other 3

Visa held when filed

H-1B 1,519
F-1 180
L-1 65
NOT IN USA 27
E-2 20
TN 19

Schools

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 43
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY 36
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY 28
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI 28
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO 26
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS 25

Fields of study

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 220
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING 154
BUSINESS ANALYTICS 64
COMPUTER SCIENCE 60
ECONOMICS 51
MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS 49

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
108,510 jobs
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Seattle
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
New York
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Atlanta
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
San Francisco
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Cupertino

$50k$100k$150k$200k

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	$88,940
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$102,930	$75,358	$94,411	$113,443	$132,496
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$103,110	$64,251	$88,525	$112,819	$137,093
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$77,510	$54,995	$71,053	$87,131	$103,189
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$110,560	$79,269	$99,715	$120,141	$140,587
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$123,360	$86,008	$107,453	$128,898	$150,342

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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 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, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Wage year	Level I	Level II	Level III	Level IV
2026-27	$75,358	$94,411	$113,443	$132,496
2025-26	$70,990	$90,917	$110,822	$130,749
2024-25	$67,101	$86,757	$106,434	$126,090
2023-24	$63,981	$79,560	$95,139	$110,718
2022-23	$73,923	$90,917	$107,910	$124,904
2021-22	$72,155	$88,275	$104,374	$120,494

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

What the job is

Formulate and apply mathematical modeling and other optimizing methods to develop and interpret information that assists management with decisionmaking, policy formulation, or other managerial functions. May collect and analyze data and develop decision support software, services, or products. May develop and supply optimal time, cost, or logistics networks for program evaluation, review, or implementation.

Preparation: Extensive Preparation Needed; O*NET Job Zone 5
DOL's education basis: Bachelor's degree; Wage year 2026-27, on DOL's Appendix A list
Jobs, 2025 to 2035: +11.9%; About 7,500 openings a year (BLS)
Typical entry: Bachelor's degree; BLS

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

The work, most important first

Present the results of mathematical modeling and data analysis to management or other end users.
Define data requirements, and gather and validate information, applying judgment and statistical tests.
Perform validation and testing of models to ensure adequacy, and reformulate models, as necessary.
Prepare management reports defining and evaluating problems and recommending solutions.
Collaborate with others in the organization to ensure successful implementation of chosen problem solutions.
Formulate mathematical or simulation models of problems, relating constants and variables, restrictions, alternatives, conflicting objectives, and their numerical parameters.

The education workers in it report

Bachelor's Degree

33%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate

10%
Master's Degree

43%
Doctoral Degree

14%

Titles people use for it

Analytical Strategist, Operations Research Analyst (Ops Research Analyst), Operations Research Scientist (Ops Research Scientist), Researcher, Advanced Analytics Associate, Decision Analyst, Optimization Analyst.

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 137 of 1,410 by volume: 136 filed at least as many filings, and 1,273 filed no more.

Just above: Cashiers 382 filings
Just below: Retail Salespersons 369 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

57,920 certified H-1B labor condition applications for this occupation since FY2020, offering a median of $110,000 a year; the middle half ran $85,000 to $147,014. 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 15-2031. 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 382 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 SOC 15-2031. The measured factors are on the denial risk page, published as separate rates.
Nothing here is pending: All 382 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 AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC. 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