Updated April 6, 2023

Automation & Controls Engineer Salary Estimate

$89,542

$43.05 hourly

Entry level Salary
$68,000 yearly

How much does an Automation & Controls Engineer make?

The average salary for an automation & controls engineer in the United States is $89,542. Automation & controls engineer salaries typically range between $68,000 and $116,000 a year. The average hourly rate for automation & controls engineers is $43.05 per hour.

Location, education, and experience impacts how much an automation & controls engineer can expect to make. Automation & controls engineers make the most in California, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, and Rhode Island.

Research Summary.
  • The average salary for an automation & controls engineer is $89,542 in the US.
  • The average automation & controls engineer salary ranges between $68,000 and $116,000 in the US.
  • Hourly rates for automation & controls engineers in the US typically range between $32 and $55 an hour.
  • The average automation & controls engineer salary is $116,240 in California, $97,970 in Nevada, and $97,895 in Washington. These are the three highest-paying states for automation & controls engineers in the US.
  • Integrated DNA Technologies has the highest average salary for automation & controls engineers.
  • Automotive is the highest-paying industry for automation & controls engineers in the US.

Highest Paying States For Automation & Controls Engineers

If both location and money are important to you, then you might want to check out moving to California, Nevada and Washington, as these three states offer the highest salaries throughout the U.S. for automation & controls engineers. Quite opposite of that list is the lowest paying states, which are Nebraska, Montana, and West Virginia.
  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Automation & Controls Engineer average salary by State

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1California$116,240$55.885,439
2District of Columbia$115,740$55.64272
3Washington$97,895$47.06983
4Nevada$97,970$47.10167
5Massachusetts$94,320$45.351,214
6Texas$92,065$44.261,935
7Idaho$96,595$46.44106
8Utah$87,595$42.11372
9Vermont$94,669$45.5160
10Illinois$90,954$43.731,043
11Rhode Island$95,519$45.9271
12Maryland$88,603$42.60978
13Delaware$87,298$41.97134
14Virginia$86,191$41.441,480
15New Jersey$95,347$45.84468
16Tennessee$87,760$42.19319
17Ohio$85,660$41.18782
18Michigan$81,811$39.33944
19Georgia$84,150$40.46974
20Minnesota$85,783$41.24533
21Alabama$80,929$38.91446
22Alaska$89,130$42.8565
23Indiana$81,781$39.32567
24Arizona$82,136$39.49847
25Colorado$82,761$39.79884
26Florida$84,855$40.801,363
27New Mexico$83,756$40.27153
28Hawaii$87,751$42.1989
29Oklahoma$83,795$40.29155
30Missouri$83,817$40.30374
31Wyoming$79,429$38.1954
32Connecticut$81,190$39.03357
33Pennsylvania$80,546$38.72820
34New Hampshire$80,148$38.53144
35Kansas$79,304$38.13240
36North Carolina$79,316$38.13830
37New York$80,286$38.601,080
38Oregon$73,079$35.13527
39North Dakota$76,769$36.9166
40Iowa$71,217$34.24346
41Arkansas$77,005$37.02130
42Maine$77,645$37.3383
43Mississippi$76,689$36.8792
44South Carolina$74,167$35.66275
45Louisiana$76,095$36.58159
46Wisconsin$59,229$28.48550
47Nebraska$70,407$33.85131
48Montana$64,376$30.9571
49West Virginia$64,028$30.7864
50Kentucky$59,120$28.42232
51South Dakota$60,765$29.2145

Highest Paying Cities For Automation & Controls Engineers

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1San Carlos, CA$125,083$60.144
2Sparks, NV$100,060$48.111
3San Antonio, TX$92,965$44.691
4Chicago, IL$91,084$43.79
5Salt Lake City, UT$87,148$41.905
6Richmond, VA$86,115$41.401
7Wooster, OH$86,015$41.35
8Clearwater, FL$85,856$41.28
9Atlanta, GA$84,106$40.442
10Albuquerque, NM$83,724$40.25
11Boulder, CO$82,881$39.85
12Phoenix, AZ$82,259$39.552
13Indianapolis, IN$81,667$39.261
14Danbury, CT$81,146$39.012
15Greensboro, NC$79,418$38.18

Automation & Controls Engineer Salary by Years of Experience

The salary for an automation & controls engineer can vary depending on the years of experience that a person has, from entry level to senior level. An accountant with 0-2 years of experience earns an average salary of $80,142, a mid-career professional with 3-6 years of experience makes $89,542 a year on average, and a senior level accountant with 7-12 years of experience enjoys an average annual salary of $125,895. Data on how experience level affects total compensation is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of their National Compensation Survey, which is based on factors such as knowledge, complexity, contacts, and environment.

Automation & Controls Engineer Salary By Experience Level

Experience LevelAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
Entry Level$80,100$38.53
Mid Level$99,700$47.94
Senior Level$126,000$60.53

Automation & Controls Engineers Salary Details

Average Automation & Controls Engineer Salary Graph
Average Automation & Controls Engineer Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is an Automation & Controls Engineer's Salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$116,000$9,667$56
75th Percentile$102,000$8,500$49
Average$89,542$7,462$43
25th Percentile$77,000$6,417$37
10th Percentile$68,000$5,667$33

Highest Paying Types of Automation & Controls Engineers

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Engineering Trainee$60,235$5,020$28.9679,966
Engineer$92,076$7,673$44.27618,207
Electrical Design Engineer$83,944$6,995$40.3687,121
Project Engineer$75,050$6,254$36.08176,689
Radio Frequency Engineer$88,301$7,358$42.4535,158
Special Project Engineer$70,934$5,911$34.1090,999

Here are the five companies hiring the most now:

  1. Microsoft Jobs (3)
  2. Rivian Jobs (9)
  3. Tesla Jobs (35)
  4. Agilent Technologies Jobs (4)
  5. Corning Incorporated Jobs (3)

Which Companies Pay Automation & Controls Engineers The Most?

The highest paying companies for automation & controls engineers are Integrated DNA Technologies and Microsoft according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, companies like Rivian and Amazon report highly competitive wages for automation & controls engineers.
RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Integrated DNA Technologies$119,975$57.68
2Microsoft$119,464$57.4314
3Rivian$118,121$56.798
4Amazon$115,654$55.60100
5Cepheid$115,267$55.422
6Koch Industries$114,423$55.0136
7Avid Bioservices$110,000$52.88
8Gillette$108,557$52.1918
9CITGO Petroleum$107,959$51.9010
10Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.$107,007$51.45
11Tesla$105,317$50.63134
12Masimo$104,991$50.48
13Peregrine Pharmaceuticals$104,536$50.26
14Joby Aviation$103,288$49.669
15Oshkosh$103,271$49.6533
16BioMarin$102,642$49.35
17P&G$102,490$49.2711
18Kaiser Aluminum$101,684$48.897
19Stanley Black & Decker$100,490$48.3122
20Intel$100,424$48.28161

How Much Do Automation & Controls Engineers Make In Different Industries?

Here are some examples of how much an automation & controls engineer salaries can based on different industries:

  1. The automotive industry pays automation & controls engineers an average salary of $105,465

  2. The health care industry pay $96,314

  3. The lowest paying industry for automation & controls engineers is the construction industry. Automation & controls engineers in this industry earn an average salary of $85,215

Highest Paying Industries For Automation & Controls Engineers

RankIndustryAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Automotive$105,465$50.70
2Health Care$96,314$46.30
3Technology$87,797$42.21
4Manufacturing$85,809$41.25
5Construction$85,215$40.97

High Paying Automation & Controls Engineer Jobs

Automation & Controls Engineer Pay Trends

Average Automation & Controls Engineer Salary Over Time

Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

    Automation & Controls Engineer Salary By Year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2023$89,500$43.05+1.8%
    2022$87,900$42.26+2.7%
    2021$85,500$41.11+0.5%
    2020$85,100$40.90+2.9%
    2019$82,600$39.71+0.9%

    Recently Added Automation & Controls Engineer Salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    SpacexAutomation and Controls Engineer, Satellites (Starlink)Redmond, WA05/03/2023$115,000
    Oculus Search PartnersFord Automation Standard Template PLC Controls Engineer-Pay ToJohnstown, WI05/01/2023$122,000
    DivergentAutomation Controls EngineerTorrance, CA04/30/2023$130,000
    BaxterAutomation & Controls, Process Engineer ICleveland, MS04/29/2023$52,800
    SpacexAutomation & Controls Engineer, Launch Pad (Starship)Brownsville, TX04/29/2023$115,000
    Gables Search GroupFord Automation Standard Template PLC Controls Engineer-Pay ToJohnstown, WI04/29/2023$122,000
    ConfidentialAutomation Controls EngineerDenver, CO04/28/2023$100,000
    DSJ GlobalAutomation Controls EngineerSomerville, NJ04/28/2023$90,000
    Tetra Tech, Inc.Automation & Controls (Scada)Pasadena, CA04/26/2023$70,000
    Tetra Tech, Inc.Automation & Controls (Scada)San Diego, CA04/26/2023$70,000

    Automation & Controls Engineer Salaries FAQs

    What State Pays Automation & Controls Engineers The Most?

    California pays Automation & Controls Engineers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $116,240 per year, or $55.88 per hour.

    How Do I Know If I'm Being Paid Fairly As An Automation & Controls Engineer?

    You know if you are being paid fairly as an Automation & Controls Engineer if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in District of Columbia you should be paid close to $115,740 per year.

    Search For Automation & Controls Engineer Jobs