Skip to content
TryHired.
Salary · Aerospace Engineer · United States

Aerospace Engineer salary: $134,960 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$134,960median ($64.89/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for aerospace engineers in the United States was $134,960 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $86,700 and the top 10% earned more than $205,890. That median is 2.6 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was Minnesota ($159,060).

10th percentile
$86,700
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$106,110
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$169,690
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$205,890
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Aerospace Engineer salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 41 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. Minnesota$159,060
  2. Washington$158,370
  3. California$157,620
  4. District of Columbia$157,600
  5. Maryland$156,750
Most people employed
  1. California9,170
  2. Texas6,750
  3. Alabama5,820
  4. Washington5,760
  5. Colorado4,070
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
Minnesota$159,060$85,330–$194,950140
Washington$158,370$112,580–$207,7105,760
California$157,620$104,370–$220,6709,170
District of Columbia$157,600$98,200–$196,310290
Maryland$156,750$97,460–$232,9303,180
Colorado$156,190$101,970–$210,4104,070
Massachusetts$149,470$89,750–$217,840990
Vermont$144,400$93,460–$172,160100
Virginia$143,210$95,420–$226,9502,540
Georgia$140,460$84,520–$205,5402,230
Ohio$138,440$82,830–$201,6703,710
Hawaii$137,240$117,700–$247,26040
South Carolina$137,030$81,460–$170,150650
Louisiana$136,970$110,300–$197,93090
Utah$135,840$85,230–$183,8101,010
Nebraska$135,670$86,760–$217,240130
Pennsylvania$133,940$89,230–$179,820990
New Mexico$132,850$97,350–$195,110570
Missouri$130,680$80,390–$179,260650
Kansas$130,330$80,860–$167,4001,730
New York$130,330$89,130–$202,690560
Texas$130,270$82,990–$195,1906,750
Connecticut$129,500$86,420–$163,9301,160
Florida$129,280$84,210–$177,0703,250
Michigan$128,960$76,130–$180,160n/a
Tennessee$128,510$79,690–$171,560610
Alabama$127,540$78,660–$195,1905,820
New Jersey$126,430$103,230–$163,7703,400
Kentucky$126,130$100,440–$172,340290
Oklahoma$125,470$80,040–$161,7801,090
Oregon$124,630$85,070–$179,470250
Arizona$123,170$88,920–$193,9903,110
North Carolina$122,930$79,310–$176,720650
Mississippi$109,200$78,640–$171,22090
Illinois$108,940$78,170–$184,520200
Indiana$107,400$82,530–$176,860440
Arkansas$102,040$72,590–$155,680180
Alaska$101,710$81,650–$170,340100
Nevada$96,730$77,920–$179,050270
Idaho$95,700$64,870–$139,190190
Wisconsin$88,400$65,720–$147,560120
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$191,260
  2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$181,630
  3. Boulder, CO$167,160
  4. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$166,980
  5. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$166,420
  6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$163,580
  7. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$163,280
  8. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI$159,950
  9. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO$156,190
  10. Colorado Springs, CO$151,980
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Aerospace Engineer$134,960
  2. Electrical Engineer$120,630
  3. Mechanical Engineer$104,110
  4. Industrial Engineer$102,440
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
Keep exploring

More for Aerospace Engineers

More careers

Similar careers to explore