Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of systems engineer salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest systems engineer salary of $94,433
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North Dakota has the lowest systems engineer salary of $69,310
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The national average salary for systems engineers is $82,834
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The national hourly pay for systems engineers is $39.82
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 systems 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 systems 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 systems engineers after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for systems engineer salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Systems Engineers By State
| Rank | State | Average Systems Engineer Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $94,433 | $69,000 | $128,000 |
| 2 | Washington | $90,725 | $66,000 | $122,000 |
| 3 | Maryland | $87,332 | $66,000 | $114,000 |
| 4 | Virginia | $84,865 | $65,000 | $110,000 |
| 5 | Nebraska | $84,333 | $63,000 | $111,000 |
| 6 | Nevada | $84,252 | $62,000 | $114,000 |
| 7 | Delaware | $83,883 | $64,000 | $109,000 |
| 8 | Oregon | $83,353 | $61,000 | $112,000 |
| 9 | New Jersey | $82,728 | $63,000 | $108,000 |
| 10 | New York | $81,979 | $62,000 | $107,000 |
| 11 | Massachusetts | $81,550 | $62,000 | $106,000 |
| 12 | Texas | $80,940 | $61,000 | $106,000 |
| 13 | Michigan | $80,612 | $61,000 | $105,000 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $80,584 | $61,000 | $105,000 |
| 15 | West Virginia | $80,166 | $61,000 | $104,000 |
| 16 | Hawaii | $80,120 | $65,000 | $98,000 |
| 17 | Vermont | $79,971 | $61,000 | $103,000 |
| 18 | Idaho | $79,905 | $58,000 | $108,000 |
| 19 | Arizona | $77,825 | $58,000 | $103,000 |
| 20 | Ohio | $77,774 | $59,000 | $101,000 |
| 21 | Colorado | $77,473 | $58,000 | $103,000 |
| 22 | Arkansas | $77,376 | $59,000 | $101,000 |
| 23 | New Hampshire | $76,834 | $59,000 | $99,000 |
| 24 | Alabama | $76,777 | $58,000 | $100,000 |
| 25 | Tennessee | $76,517 | $58,000 | $99,000 |
| 26 | Iowa | $76,265 | $57,000 | $100,000 |
| 27 | Connecticut | $76,235 | $58,000 | $99,000 |
| 28 | Georgia | $75,964 | $58,000 | $99,000 |
| 29 | Illinois | $75,914 | $57,000 | $99,000 |
| 30 | Minnesota | $75,506 | $57,000 | $99,000 |
| 31 | New Mexico | $75,452 | $56,000 | $100,000 |
| 32 | Utah | $74,971 | $55,000 | $101,000 |
| 33 | Indiana | $74,910 | $57,000 | $97,000 |
| 34 | Mississippi | $74,909 | $57,000 | $97,000 |
| 35 | North Carolina | $74,307 | $57,000 | $96,000 |
| 36 | South Carolina | $73,856 | $56,000 | $96,000 |
| 37 | Kansas | $73,434 | $55,000 | $96,000 |
| 38 | Florida | $73,249 | $56,000 | $95,000 |
| 39 | Oklahoma | $73,227 | $55,000 | $96,000 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $73,095 | $55,000 | $95,000 |
| 41 | Wisconsin | $72,800 | $55,000 | $95,000 |
| 42 | Rhode Island | $72,522 | $55,000 | $94,000 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $72,464 | $55,000 | $94,000 |
| 44 | Missouri | $71,725 | $54,000 | $94,000 |
| 45 | South Dakota | $70,593 | $53,000 | $93,000 |
| 46 | Alaska | $70,556 | $57,000 | $85,000 |
| 47 | Montana | $70,491 | $52,000 | $95,000 |
| 48 | Maine | $70,466 | $54,000 | $90,000 |
| 49 | Wyoming | $70,006 | $52,000 | $94,000 |
| 50 | North Dakota | $69,310 | $52,000 | $91,000 |
Methodology: Systems Engineer Salary By State
To better understand systems 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 systems engineers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for systems engineers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for systems engineers.
Systems Engineer Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for systems engineers?
The highest-paid state for systems engineers is California with an average salary of $94,433 per year.
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What city pays systems engineers the most?
San Francisco, CA pays systems engineers the most with an average salary of $102,767 per year.
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What is the worst state for systems engineers?
The worst state for systems engineers is North Dakota with an average salary of $69,310 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.
