Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of mechanical engineer salary by state for the United States:
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Washington has the highest mechanical engineer salary of $90,626
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Arkansas has the lowest mechanical engineer salary of $60,121
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The national average salary for mechanical engineers is $75,352
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The national hourly pay for mechanical engineers is $36.23
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do mechanical engineers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for mechanical engineer by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for mechanical engineers after this adjustment? That would be Washington.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for mechanical engineer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Mechanical Engineers By State
| Rank | State | Average Mechanical Engineer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $90,626 | $69,000 | $118,000 |
| 2 | Idaho | $89,318 | $67,000 | $117,000 |
| 3 | California | $88,872 | $67,000 | $117,000 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $86,527 | $67,000 | $111,000 |
| 5 | New Mexico | $86,101 | $65,000 | $112,000 |
| 6 | Oregon | $84,644 | $64,000 | $111,000 |
| 7 | Nevada | $82,625 | $62,000 | $109,000 |
| 8 | Maine | $81,837 | $63,000 | $105,000 |
| 9 | Maryland | $81,814 | $64,000 | $104,000 |
| 10 | Louisiana | $81,441 | $61,000 | $107,000 |
| 11 | Delaware | $79,913 | $62,000 | $102,000 |
| 12 | Texas | $79,901 | $60,000 | $105,000 |
| 13 | Arizona | $79,627 | $61,000 | $103,000 |
| 14 | New Hampshire | $79,312 | $61,000 | $101,000 |
| 15 | Alaska | $79,016 | $67,000 | $92,000 |
| 16 | Connecticut | $78,851 | $61,000 | $101,000 |
| 17 | New York | $78,640 | $61,000 | $100,000 |
| 18 | Rhode Island | $78,630 | $61,000 | $101,000 |
| 19 | Colorado | $78,006 | $59,000 | $101,000 |
| 20 | New Jersey | $76,734 | $59,000 | $98,000 |
| 21 | Utah | $76,175 | $57,000 | $100,000 |
| 22 | Virginia | $75,667 | $59,000 | $96,000 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $74,821 | $58,000 | $94,000 |
| 24 | Illinois | $74,398 | $58,000 | $94,000 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | $74,107 | $57,000 | $95,000 |
| 26 | Tennessee | $74,065 | $58,000 | $94,000 |
| 27 | Montana | $72,506 | $55,000 | $95,000 |
| 28 | Michigan | $72,424 | $57,000 | $91,000 |
| 29 | Pennsylvania | $71,336 | $55,000 | $91,000 |
| 30 | Georgia | $70,961 | $55,000 | $90,000 |
| 31 | Minnesota | $69,983 | $55,000 | $88,000 |
| 32 | Ohio | $69,924 | $55,000 | $88,000 |
| 33 | Indiana | $69,800 | $55,000 | $88,000 |
| 34 | Wyoming | $68,846 | $52,000 | $90,000 |
| 35 | South Carolina | $68,608 | $53,000 | $87,000 |
| 36 | Alabama | $68,543 | $53,000 | $88,000 |
| 37 | Vermont | $68,245 | $53,000 | $87,000 |
| 38 | North Carolina | $67,986 | $53,000 | $86,000 |
| 39 | Iowa | $67,765 | $53,000 | $85,000 |
| 40 | Missouri | $67,239 | $53,000 | $85,000 |
| 41 | North Dakota | $66,192 | $52,000 | $83,000 |
| 42 | Kentucky | $66,085 | $52,000 | $83,000 |
| 43 | Kansas | $65,737 | $51,000 | $83,000 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $65,692 | $51,000 | $83,000 |
| 45 | Florida | $65,658 | $48,000 | $89,000 |
| 46 | Hawaii | $65,186 | $53,000 | $80,000 |
| 47 | Wisconsin | $65,131 | $51,000 | $82,000 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $64,475 | $49,000 | $84,000 |
| 49 | South Dakota | $62,658 | $49,000 | $79,000 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $60,121 | $47,000 | $76,000 |
Methodology: Mechanical Engineer Salary By State
To better understand mechanical engineer pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for mechanical engineers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for mechanical engineers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for mechanical engineers.
Mechanical Engineer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for mechanical engineers?
The highest-paid state for mechanical engineers is Washington with an average salary of $90,626 per year.
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What city pays mechanical engineers the most?
San Francisco, CA pays mechanical engineers the most with an average salary of $96,117 per year.
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What is the worst state for mechanical engineers?
The worst state for mechanical engineers is Arkansas with an average salary of $60,121 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
