Cost to hire a QA engineer in the United States
Total employer cost by role and level, USD, computed .
Across 3 published role and level combinations in the United States, the median total employer cost runs from USD 85,626 to USD 136,985 a yearConfidence B. A manual QA engineer at mid-level costs USD 107,256Confidence B.
Employer cost structure
Statutory items the employer pays on top of gross salary in the United States, 2026 rates. At the published median salaries, employer contributions come to 9.1% to 9.2% of base salary (the employer contributions line divided by base salary). On salary up to the highest published one, the rates of the items charged add up to 9.71% on the first USD 7,000 and 9.11% above USD 7,000. These are cost items, not legal or tax advice.
| Contribution | Rate | Annual cap | Notes | At the published salaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security (OASDI), employer share[1][2] | 6.2% | USD 184,500 | Applied at every published salary | |
| Medicare (HI), employer share[1][2] | 1.45% | none | Applied at every published salary | |
| Federal unemployment tax (FUTA), net of state credit[2][3] | 0.6% | USD 7,000 | Applied at every published salary | |
| State unemployment insurance (SUI), employer[4] | 0.37% | none | Applied at every published salary | |
| Workers' compensation insurance premium[5] | 1.09% | none | Varies 0.5% to 2.52%. | Applied at every published salary |
Mandatory benefits beyond 12 monthly salaries. None in statute: the statutory sources list no payment beyond 12 monthly salaries; paid leave is counted in productive hours[6].
Statutory paid leave: 0 days (working days)[6], public holidays 0[6]. Productive hours used for hourly figures: 1,940 a year (1,700 + 8 x 30, for no days of statutory leave or public holidays, against the 30 days that the 1,700-hour year allows for, as this site reads the formula).
Roles and levels
Median total annual cost as an employee, USD. Each figure links to its full breakdown.
| Role | Junior | Mid-level | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual QA engineer | USD 85,626Confidence B | USD 107,256Confidence B | not published |
| Test automation engineer | not published | not published | USD 136,985Confidence B |
The letter after each figure is its confidence grade (A, B or C, from the number and agreement of the sources); how grades work.
Sources for the totals in this table: [1] to [6], [10] to [28] in the source list below.
Not published for the United States: SDET, performance test engineer, mobile QA engineer, security test engineer, QA lead and AI QA engineer. Reasons.
Time to hire
Sources put time to hire at 34 to 44 days, median 38 days[7][8][9]. Not specific to the United States unless the source says so.
Cities
Notes on cost items
- No federal 13th-month salary or other mandatory bonus.[6]
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. United States - Corporate - Other taxes
- Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 759, Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. UI Data Summary, 2nd Quarter 2026 Summary Tables
- Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. Oregon Workers' Compensation Premium Rate Ranking (rates in effect January 1, 2024)
- U.S. Department of Labor. Vacation Leave
- Manatal (citing JoinGenius). Average Time to Hire by Industry: 2026 Benchmarks
- Built In. 2026 QA Engineer Salary in US | Built In
- Apple. Buy MacBook Air
- Apple. Buy MacBook Pro
- Testing tool list price (vendor not named)
- Testing tool list price (vendor not named)
- Linear. Linear pricing
- Manatal. Recruitment fees (agency fee guide)
- Apollo Technical. What is a placement fee for engineering hiring
- HeroHunt.ai. True Cost to Hire an AI Engineer in 2026
- ZipRecruiter. Senior Qa Automation Engineer Salary: Hourly Rate (USA)
- Testing tool list price (vendor not named)
- Testing tool list price (vendor not named)
- Testing tool list price (vendor not named)
Formula v1.0How each component is computed
version: 1.0
total_annual_cost =
base_salary
+ employer_contributions # statutory rates applied to base with caps; per country
+ mandatory_benefits # 13th or 14th salary, paid leave value above base, mandatory insurance; per country
+ voluntary_benefits # health, pension top-up, meal and transport; market survey medians per country and level; shown as a separate line
+ equipment_and_tooling # laptop amortised over 3 years, licences, test devices for mobile roles; per level and role
+ recruiting_cost_amortised # recruiting cost / expected tenure years; per country, role and model
+ onboarding_ramp # ramp_weeks x weekly cost x (1 - productivity_factor); per level
first_year_cost = total_annual_cost - recruiting_cost_amortised + recruiting_cost - onboarding_ramp_amortised + onboarding_ramp
monthly_cost = total_annual_cost / 12
hourly_equivalent = total_annual_cost / productive_hours
# Defaults (overridable per country in data with a source)
expected_tenure_years: 2.5
productive_hours: 1,700 per year, adjusted by statutory paid leave per country
ramp_weeks: junior 10, mid 6, senior 4
productivity_factor_during_ramp: 0.5
equipment_amortisation_years: 3
# Hiring models
employee: full formula
contractor: contractor_rate x hours + platform_or_eor_fee; no employer_contributions, no mandatory_benefits unless the EOR passes them through (sourced); recruiting as for employee; ramp as for employee
outsourced: published vendor monthly or hourly rate per role and region; no recruiting, no ramp, no equipment; show typical minimum engagement from sources
# Output per combination
p25, median, p75 for each component and for the totals, in local currency and USD at fx.json date; confidence grade; source ids; computedOnversion: 1.0
total_annual_cost =
base_salary
+ employer_contributions # statutory rates applied to base with caps; per country
+ mandatory_benefits # 13th or 14th salary, paid leave value above base, mandatory insurance; per country
+ voluntary_benefits # health, pension top-up, meal and transport; market survey medians per country and level; shown as a separate line
+ equipment_and_tooling # laptop amortised over 3 years, licences, test devices for mobile roles; per level and role
+ recruiting_cost_amortised # recruiting cost / expected tenure years; per country, role and model
+ onboarding_ramp # ramp_weeks x weekly cost x (1 - productivity_factor); per level
first_year_cost = total_annual_cost - recruiting_cost_amortised + recruiting_cost - onboarding_ramp_amortised + onboarding_ramp
monthly_cost = total_annual_cost / 12
hourly_equivalent = total_annual_cost / productive_hours
# Defaults (overridable per country in data with a source)
expected_tenure_years: 2.5
productive_hours: 1,700 per year, adjusted by statutory paid leave per country
ramp_weeks: junior 10, mid 6, senior 4
productivity_factor_during_ramp: 0.5
equipment_amortisation_years: 3
# Hiring models
employee: full formula
contractor: contractor_rate x hours + platform_or_eor_fee; no employer_contributions, no mandatory_benefits unless the EOR passes them through (sourced); recruiting as for employee; ramp as for employee
outsourced: published vendor monthly or hourly rate per role and region; no recruiting, no ramp, no equipment; show typical minimum engagement from sources
# Output per combination
p25, median, p75 for each component and for the totals, in local currency and USD at fx.json date; confidence grade; source ids; computedOnQuestions
- What does an employer pay on top of salary in the United States?
- At the published median salaries, employer contributions come to 9.1% to 9.2% of base salary (the employer contributions line divided by base salary). On salary up to the highest published one, the rates of the items charged add up to 9.71% on the first USD 7,000 and 9.11% above USD 7,000. Rates, caps and conditions are listed above with their sources.
- Which QA roles are published for the United States?
- Manual QA engineer and test automation engineer. Other roles have fewer sources than the publication threshold.