Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Automotive engineer salary
Average automotive engineer salary
$82,211
Understanding Automotive Engineer Salaries
The role of an automotive engineer is vital in the automotive industry, focusing on designing, developing, and testing vehicles. The average salary for an automotive engineer is $82,211 per year, translating to approximately $40 per hour. Salaries can vary based on experience, location, and specific job roles within the industry.
Salary by Experience
Entry-level engineers typically earn lower salaries, while experienced professionals can command significantly higher compensation. For example, those with over five years of experience may earn upwards of $95,000. Additionally, specialized roles in areas like electric vehicle technology can offer even higher pay.
Top Paying States
Geographic location also plays a crucial role in salary differences. States such as California, Michigan, and Texas tend to offer higher salaries due to the concentration of automotive companies and demand for skilled engineers. Understanding these factors can help shape your career path effectively.
Let Zippia find your next automotive engineer job
Let Zippia find your next automotive engineer job
Where can an Automotive Engineer earn more?
Automotive engineer salaries by experience level
Automotive engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average automotive engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for automotive engineers are California, Arizona, and Nevada. The lowest average automotive engineer salary states are Iowa, Mississippi, and Hawaii.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for automotive engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $114,965 | $55.27 |
| 2 | Arizona | $94,227 | $45.30 |
| 3 | Washington | $90,195 | $43.36 |
| 4 | New York | $92,604 | $44.52 |
| 5 | District of Columbia | $92,631 | $44.53 |
| 6 | Nevada | $94,003 | $45.19 |
| 7 | Oregon | $83,270 | $40.03 |
| 8 | Texas | $82,515 | $39.67 |
| 9 | Maryland | $86,345 | $41.51 |
| 10 | Michigan | $81,674 | $39.27 |
| 11 | Massachusetts | $84,112 | $40.44 |
| 12 | New Jersey | $85,271 | $41.00 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | $82,637 | $39.73 |
| 14 | Indiana | $82,200 | $39.52 |
| 15 | Georgia | $80,747 | $38.82 |
| 16 | New Mexico | $85,069 | $40.90 |
| 17 | Florida | $78,751 | $37.86 |
| 18 | Virginia | $78,093 | $37.54 |
| 19 | Alaska | $85,169 | $40.95 |
| 20 | Rhode Island | $77,093 | $37.06 |
| 21 | Colorado | $76,988 | $37.01 |
| 22 | Louisiana | $79,224 | $38.09 |
| 23 | Ohio | $76,270 | $36.67 |
| 24 | Illinois | $76,825 | $36.94 |
| 25 | West Virginia | $77,908 | $37.46 |
| 26 | Connecticut | $75,475 | $36.29 |
| 27 | Delaware | $74,391 | $35.76 |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | $73,304 | $35.24 |
| 29 | Alabama | $72,289 | $34.75 |
| 30 | Idaho | $74,978 | $36.05 |
| 31 | Tennessee | $73,680 | $35.42 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $72,757 | $34.98 |
| 33 | Kentucky | $72,828 | $35.01 |
| 34 | Utah | $70,993 | $34.13 |
| 35 | New Hampshire | $71,519 | $34.38 |
| 36 | Wyoming | $67,021 | $32.22 |
| 37 | Oklahoma | $71,533 | $34.39 |
| 38 | North Dakota | $67,486 | $32.45 |
| 39 | Maine | $70,627 | $33.96 |
| 40 | Kansas | $68,526 | $32.95 |
| 41 | Vermont | $65,079 | $31.29 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $66,795 | $32.11 |
| 43 | Minnesota | $65,844 | $31.66 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $68,224 | $32.80 |
| 45 | Iowa | $65,038 | $31.27 |
| 46 | Hawaii | $63,461 | $30.51 |
| 47 | Missouri | $66,013 | $31.74 |
| 48 | Montana | $62,139 | $29.87 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $63,757 | $30.65 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $62,556 | $30.07 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $57,178 | $27.49 |
Highest paying cities for automotive engineers
The highest-paying cities for automotive engineers are Belmont, CA, Casa Grande, AZ, and Bellingham, WA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belmont, CA | $121,603 | $58.46 |
| 2 | Casa Grande, AZ | $93,928 | $45.16 |
| 3 | Bellingham, WA | $91,207 | $43.85 |
| 4 | Pflugerville, TX | $83,464 | $40.13 |
| 5 | East Chicago, IN | $82,153 | $39.50 |
| 6 | Warren, MI | $82,101 | $39.47 |
| 7 | Columbus, GA | $80,824 | $38.86 |
| 8 | Miami Beach, FL | $76,974 | $37.01 |
| 9 | Findlay, OH | $76,100 | $36.59 |
| 10 | Greensboro, NC | $72,848 | $35.02 |
| 11 | Montgomery, AL | $72,355 | $34.79 |
| 12 | Pittsburgh, PA | $71,140 | $34.20 |
| 13 | Greer, SC | $67,877 | $32.63 |
| 14 | Springfield, MO | $66,337 | $31.89 |
Automotive engineer salary details
An automotive engineer's salary ranges from $57,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $118,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is an automotive engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $118,000 | $9,833 | $57 |
| 75th Percentile | $99,000 | $8,250 | $48 |
| Average | $82,211 | $6,851 | $40 |
| 25th Percentile | $67,000 | $5,583 | $32 |
| 10th Percentile | $57,000 | $4,750 | $27 |
Highest paying automotive engineer jobs
The highest paying types of automotive engineers are contracting engineer, senior engineer, and staff engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management Engineer | $90,571 | $7,548 | $43.54 | 175,986 |
| Research Engineer | $96,945 | $8,079 | $46.61 | 136,763 |
| Facility Engineer | $89,623 | $7,469 | $43.09 | 94,268 |
| Development Engineer | $93,206 | $7,767 | $44.81 | 224,881 |
| Project Engineer | $75,050 | $6,254 | $36.08 | 176,689 |
| Operations Engineer | $91,522 | $7,627 | $44.00 | 155,188 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for automotive engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Daisy Huang
Assistant Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Top companies hiring automotive engineers now:
Which companies pay automotive engineers the most?
Automotive engineer salaries at Cal and Faraday Technology are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average automotive engineer salary at companies like Qualcomm and Lucid Motors are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cal | $109,733 | $52.76 |
| 2 | Faraday Technology | $103,495 | $49.76 |
| 3 | Qualcomm | $99,409 | $47.79 |
| 4 | Lucid Motors | $93,341 | $44.88 |
| 5 | MEAA | $89,851 | $43.20 |
| 6 | Oxford Global Resources | $89,057 | $42.82 |
| 7 | Standard Motor Products | $88,341 | $42.47 |
| 8 | Transwest | $88,157 | $42.38 |
| 9 | Magna International | $88,149 | $42.38 |
| 10 | Edwards | $86,978 | $41.82 |
| 11 | Populus Group | $85,828 | $41.26 |
| 12 | SABIC Innovative Plastics | $85,786 | $41.24 |
| 13 | GLOVIS America | $85,359 | $41.04 |
| 14 | auto | $85,240 | $40.98 |
| 15 | ArcelorMittal | $85,188 | $40.96 |
| 16 | Advanced Technology | $84,814 | $40.78 |
| 17 | Mobis America Inc. | $84,814 | $40.78 |
| 18 | Bayou Well Services | $84,607 | $40.68 |
| 19 | Cognizant | $84,538 | $40.64 |
| 20 | Mecum Auctions | $84,319 | $40.54 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Automotive Engineer salary by industry
The average automotive engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average automotive engineer salary in the hospitality industry is $85,153, the highest of any industry.
- The average automotive engineer salary in the finance industry is $84,728.
- Automotive engineers in the automotive industry earn an average salary of $71,172, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for automotive engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hospitality | $85,153 | $40.94 |
| 2 | Education | $84,728 | $40.73 |
| 3 | Technology | $84,548 | $40.65 |
| 4 | Automotive | $71,172 | $34.22 |
High paying automotive engineer jobs
Automotive engineer salary trends
The average automotive engineer salary has risen by $9,966 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average automotive engineer earned $72,245 annually, but today, they earn $82,211 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for automotive engineers over the last decade.
Compare automotive engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average automotive engineer salary over time
Compare automotive engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Automotive engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $82,200 | $39.52 | +1.9% |
| 2025 | $80,600 | $38.77 | +1.2% |
| 2024 | $79,700 | $38.30 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | $78,300 | $37.65 | +2.0% |
| 2022 | $76,800 | $36.91 | +0.7% |
Recently added automotive engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-A-Part | Bilingual Parts Pro | Automotive | Phoenix, AZ | 06/28/2025 | $35,479 |
| Honeycar | Experienced Sales Hustler-Automotive | Winchester, VA | 06/13/2025 | $60,000 |
| Practice Xpert Inc. | OPT Position-Manufacturing Engineer/Production Engineer/Automotive Engineer | Troy, OH | 06/10/2025 | $22,957 |
| Global Channel Management, Inc. | Automotive Engineer | Madison Heights, MI | 06/10/2025 | $91,828 |
| Krause Auto Group | Automotive Technican-All Levels | Oakwood, GA | 06/09/2025 | $62,610 |
| Pull-A-Part | Bilingual Parts Pro | Automotive | Colorado Springs, CO | 05/20/2025 | $37,566 |
| Honeycar | Experienced Sales Hustler-Automotive | Roanoke, VA | 05/20/2025 | $60,000 |
| Steven Automotive | Experienced Sales Hustler-Automotive | Charlottesville, VA | 05/17/2025 | $60,000 |
| Barren Troy Holdings | Mid Level Automotive Techncian | Hutchinson, KS | 05/15/2025 | $41,740 |
| Krause Auto Group | Automotive Technican-All Levels | Oakwood, GA | 05/10/2025 | $62,610 |
Automotive engineer salary FAQs
Search for automotive engineer jobs