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Salary · Civil Engineer · United States

Civil Engineer salary: $100,840 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
$100,840median ($48.48/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for civil engineers in the United States was $100,840 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $68,240 and the top 10% earned more than $163,220. That median is 2.0 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was California ($122,500).

10th percentile
$68,240
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$79,930
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$129,680
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$163,220
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Civil Engineer salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. California$122,500
  2. Alaska$114,730
  3. Washington$110,000
  4. Massachusetts$106,730
  5. Louisiana$105,380
Most people employed
  1. California55,180
  2. Texas34,870
  3. Florida23,750
  4. New York17,500
  5. Pennsylvania15,870
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
California$122,500$77,980–$175,94055,180
Alaska$114,730$78,940–$163,4201,670
Washington$110,000$81,840–$160,67012,590
Massachusetts$106,730$78,280–$165,5909,450
Louisiana$105,380$64,570–$156,6103,780
Oregon$105,250$77,560–$166,0604,890
New Jersey$104,660$74,640–$169,2206,900
Nevada$104,310$77,480–$160,8203,560
New Mexico$103,900$67,100–$163,5701,350
District of Columbia$103,880$78,780–$164,2001,650
New York$103,760$77,290–$169,05017,500
Connecticut$103,150$76,350–$161,6704,370
Nebraska$103,150$68,950–$149,9802,360
South Carolina$101,600$67,950–$156,3807,180
Minnesota$101,480$65,840–$159,2304,710
Colorado$101,420$76,810–$165,23013,290
Kentucky$100,930$65,660–$143,6802,690
North Carolina$100,730$70,760–$160,52012,810
Maryland$100,680$75,550–$152,7305,240
Delaware$100,220$74,560–$153,100920
Mississippi$100,170$49,840–$162,2401,770
Illinois$99,760$69,590–$157,41013,910
Rhode Island$99,300$77,800–$151,0201,270
Alabama$99,010$63,930–$168,3705,370
Oklahoma$98,760$66,550–$153,4702,180
New Hampshire$98,710$64,270–$139,0601,620
South Dakota$98,700$70,050–$127,0901,440
Florida$98,570$58,640–$166,68023,750
Indiana$98,270$64,200–$140,1304,030
North Dakota$98,190$63,290–$143,7401,380
Idaho$98,030$67,250–$141,0202,630
Pennsylvania$97,850$67,930–$141,31015,870
Maine$97,820$71,080–$132,6001,240
Virginia$97,120$74,000–$150,71011,350
Kansas$96,880$63,260–$150,6402,880
Texas$96,860$63,240–$164,33034,870
Utah$96,830$62,130–$149,4105,670
Iowa$96,430$64,900–$135,4802,500
Ohio$96,220$65,170–$144,62010,560
Tennessee$95,910$65,090–$154,1005,790
Vermont$95,600$68,720–$129,390770
Wisconsin$94,600$67,590–$131,0407,410
Hawaii$94,280$62,900–$131,8102,640
Montana$93,070$62,230–$129,0201,870
Missouri$92,750$64,950–$139,2105,760
Michigan$92,100$63,920–$130,4007,760
Wyoming$90,590$67,870–$133,920990
Arizona$89,660$63,740–$138,0305,940
West Virginia$86,930$51,640–$132,9601,300
Arkansas$85,020$44,810–$132,4601,870
Georgia$84,240$62,850–$153,6909,400
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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$130,280
  2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$130,160
  3. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$130,150
  4. Redding, CA$126,000
  5. Napa, CA$123,440
  6. Walla Walla, WA$123,030
  7. Vallejo, CA$122,510
  8. Salinas, CA$122,160
  9. Kennewick-Richland, WA$121,370
  10. Yuba City, CA$119,990
Similar roles

How the pay compares

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

  1. Electrical Engineer$120,630
  2. Construction Manager$114,990
  3. Environmental Engineer$107,110
  4. Industrial Engineer$102,440
  5. Civil Engineer$100,840
  6. Architect$99,280
  7. Home Inspector$74,690
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.
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