Before he was fatefully elected president in 1928, Herbert Hoover was already an A-list celebrity, having achieved phenomenal success as a mining engineer. Regarding the engineering profession, he is famously quoted as stating, ". . . it elevates the standards of living and adds to the comforts of life. That is the engineer's high privilege….[t]o the engineer falls the job of clothing the bare bones of science with life, comfort, and hope."
Several generations later, engineering is a mature profession that nevertheless remains true to Hoover's words. The number of engineering jobs is expected to grow at a rate of approximately 7 percent through 2026. The main drivers are increasing energy consumption, advances in robotics and consumer technology, improving the efficiency of the entire industrial value chain, and upgrading the nation's infrastructure.
Engineering is a broad profession with numerous specialties. For this article, we focused on engineering fields where jobs are available in all regions in the U.S., and for which there are more than 50,000 jobs nationwide. That includes civil, computer hardware, electrical, electronics, environmental, industrial, and mechanical engineering fields, along with the NAICS occupational code grouped as engineering, all other. All together these account for 1,025,000 of the 1,665,000 total engineering jobs in the U.S.
We excluded aerospace engineering owing to its concentration in just a few geographical regions, along with petroleum and chemical engineering, each of which in addition employs less than 50,000 nationwide.
According to 2017 BLS figures, median annual pay for civil, environmental, industrial, and mechanical engineering jobs ranged from $84,770 - $86,800. Electrical and electronics engineering jobs tended to pay higher, with a median annual salary of $95,060 and $102,180 respectively. Computer hardware engineering jobs paid $115,120 per year, the highest median annual salary of all the fields included in our study.
As with both nursing and IT jobs in our previous studies, engineering jobs compensate quite well. Compared with a median annual salary of $37,690 for all occupations, engineering jobs typically pay between 2 to 3 times the local median annual salary for all occupations, when adjusted for cost of living.
The number of engineering jobs is expected to grow at a rate of approximately 7 percent through 2026. The main drivers are increasing energy consumption, advances in robotics and consumer technology, improving the efficiency of the entire industrial value chain, and upgrading the nation's infrastructure.
Jobs growth is expected to be higher than average for civil and industrial engineers in the coming decade (10-11 percent), followed by mechanical engineers (9 percent). Electrical, electronics, and environmental engineering jobs are expected to experience average growth (7-8 percent), while the number of computer hardware engineering jobs is expected to increase at a rate near the low end of average (5 percent).
Likewise with nursing and IT jobs in our previous two studies, some metropolitan areas are considerably better than others for bringing home a bigger paycheck. To determine precisely which locations offer the highest and lowest engineering jobs salaries, we use the same methods as before, analyzing salary, employment, and cost-of-living data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. To facilitate equitable comparisons, the locations were ranked according to adjusted median salary, which accounts for price parity, and thereby corrects wage figures for the cost of living of each metropolitan area.
Ironically, few of the major tech centers made our list of top paying cities for engineers. Instead, what characterizes most of the highest paying locations is proximity to a major national laboratory or federally funded Big Science initiative. Bakersfield, California, the top paying location on our list, shares much in common with its coastal counterparts in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, by virtue of its convergence of numerous industry sectors (energy, agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, and defense). Other top paying locations have strong research universities with a history of effective technology transfer to government or industry.
Three of the highest paying locations are state capitals, as are three of the lowest paying. Six of the lowest paying cities for engineers are in Florida, but only one of the highest. The rest of the lowest paying cities are a cross-section of urban centers characterized by thin engineering job markets, often combined with a higher-than-average cost of living.
The Best Paying Cities for Engineer Jobs
1. Bakersfield, CA
- Median salary (adjusted): $110,494
- Median salary (unadjusted): $106,847
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $33,940
- Estimated engineering jobs: 3,370
2. Knoxville, TN
- Median salary (adjusted): $109,779
- Median salary (unadjusted): $97,154
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $33,460
- Estimated engineering jobs: 4,140
3. Albuquerque, NM
- Median salary (adjusted): $109,601
- Median salary (unadjusted): $105,546
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $34,280
- Estimated engineering jobs: 5,320
4. Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
- Median salary (adjusted): $108,932
- Median salary (unadjusted): $96,187
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $33,390
- Estimated engineering jobs: 3,090
5. Chattanooga, TN-GA
- Median salary (adjusted): $107,389
- Median salary (unadjusted): $95,899
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $33,350
- Estimated engineering jobs: 2,090
6. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA
- Median salary (adjusted): $107,203
- Median salary (unadjusted): $109,347
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $41,910
- Estimated engineering jobs: 11,010
7. Dayton, OH
- Median salary (adjusted): $104,569
- Median salary (unadjusted): $94,112
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $36,880
- Estimated engineering jobs: 6,750
8. Stockton-Lodi, CA
- Median salary (adjusted): $101,926
- Median salary (unadjusted): $101,518
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $35,880
- Estimated engineering jobs: 900
9. Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Median salary (adjusted): $100,044
- Median salary (unadjusted): $99,944
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $38,610
- Estimated engineering jobs: 12,950
10. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
- Median salary (adjusted): $99,826
- Median salary (unadjusted): $95,433
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $35,050
- Estimated engineering jobs: 5,700
11. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
- Median salary (adjusted): $99,7786
- Median salary (unadjusted): $126,8183
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $57,540
- Estimated engineering jobs: 35,900
12. Colorado Springs, CO
- Median salary (adjusted): $99,366
- Median salary (unadjusted): $98,968
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $37,760
- Estimated engineering jobs: 3,610
13. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Median salary (adjusted): $97,753
- Median salary (unadjusted): $97,949
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $38,020
- Estimated engineering jobs: 32,980
14. St. Louis, MO-IL
- Median salary (adjusted): $97,496
- Median salary (unadjusted): $88,527
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $37,910
- Estimated engineering jobs: 12,410
15. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
- Median salary (adjusted): $97,311
- Median salary (unadjusted): $97,019
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $39,540
- Estimated engineering jobs: 5,920
The Worst Paying Cities for Engineer Jobs
1. Worcester, MA-CT
- Median salary (adjusted): $61,984
- Median salary (unadjusted): $64,215
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $41,390
- Estimated engineering jobs: 2,500
2. Honolulu, HI
- Median salary (adjusted): $70,170
- Median salary (unadjusted): $87,291
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $42,880
- Estimated engineering jobs: 4,610
3. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL
- Median salary (adjusted): $71,330
- Median salary (unadjusted): $68,049
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $29,560
- Estimated engineering jobs: 900
4. Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
- Median salary (adjusted): $71,904
- Median salary (unadjusted): $66,799
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $31,840
- Estimated engineering jobs: 1,050
5. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
- Median salary (adjusted): $72,831
- Median salary (unadjusted): $78,366
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $34,670
- Estimated engineering jobs: 13,740
6. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
- Median salary (adjusted): $75,041
- Median salary (unadjusted): $71,964
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $32,120
- Estimated engineering jobs: 650
7. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
- Median salary (adjusted): $75,405
- Median salary (unadjusted): $75,255
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $34,730
- Estimated engineering jobs: 8,760
8. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
- Median salary (adjusted): $76,440
- Median salary (unadjusted): $71,471
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $35,020
- Estimated engineering jobs: 9,910
9. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL
- Median salary (adjusted): $76,492
- Median salary (unadjusted): $75,727
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $32,690
- Estimated engineering jobs: 980
10. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
- Median salary (adjusted): $78,523
- Median salary (unadjusted): $94,306
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $49,630
- Estimated engineering jobs: 3,870
11.New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
- Median salary (adjusted): $79,954
- Median salary (unadjusted): $97,544
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $45,900
- Estimated engineering jobs: 43,170
12. Madison, WI
- Median salary (adjusted): $80,774
- Median salary (unadjusted): $78,916
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $41,670
- Estimated engineering jobs: 4,960
13. New Haven, CT
- Median salary (adjusted): $80,904
- Median salary (unadjusted): $90,127
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $43,550
- Estimated engineering jobs: 2,560
14. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
- Median salary (adjusted): $80,933
- Median salary (unadjusted): $77,372
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $38,670
- Estimated engineering jobs: 11,090
15. Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA
- Median salary (adjusted): $81,025
- Median salary (unadjusted): $77,136
- All occupations median salary (unadjusted): $37,500
- Estimated engineering jobs: 1,490
Methods and Data
Wage and employment data were collected from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics May 2017 (released March 30, 2018). The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) is conducted semiannually and collects data on wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments for about 800 occupations. Data from self-employed persons are not collected and not included in the estimates.
For each metropolitan area, median salary (unadjusted) represents the weighted average median value of annual wages for civil, computer hardware, electrical, electronics, environmental, industrial, mechanical, and "engineering, all other," as provided by OES. All occupations median salary (unadjusted) is the annual median wage across all occupations provided by OES. Estimated engineering jobs is the estimated combined total employment of civil, computer hardware, electrical, electronics, environmental, industrial, mechanical, and "engineering, all other," also provided by OES.
To compute the cost-of-living adjusted figure, median salary (adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2016 (updated May 17, 2018) was used. The figure for each metropolitan area was calculated by dividing the median salary (unadjusted) by its applicable regional price parity. Only the largest 100 metropolitan areas by population were included in the analysis.
If you are considering engineering as a career path, a minimum of a four-year degree is nearly always a requirement, along with licensure for some fields. Relevant practical experience, such as internships or cooperative programs, is especially valued by employers. For tips on pursuing engineering jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics offers many helpful resources. Additionally, you can find resume templates (including ones specifically geared to engineering jobs) on LiveCareer.
