Post job

Combustion engineer salary

Quoted expert
Daisy Huang

Average combustion engineer salary

$87,464

$42.05 hourly rate

Entry-level combustion engineer salary
$61,000 yearly salary
Updated December 15, 2025

Average Combustion Engineer Salary

The average salary for a combustion engineer in the United States is approximately $87,464 annually or about $42 per hour. This figure provides a baseline for understanding potential earnings in this technical field.

How Much Does a Combustion Engineer Make?

Income can fluctuate based on various factors, including experience, education, and specific job roles. For example, entry-level combustion engineers may start with salaries below the average, while those with extensive experience or specialized skills can exceed $100,000 per year.

Where Can a Combustion Engineer Earn More?

Geographic location plays a crucial role in salary variations. States such as California, Texas, and New York often offer higher compensation due to demand and cost of living. Additionally, industries such as energy and manufacturing tend to provide more lucrative opportunities.

Combustion Engineer Salary Estimates

Estimates from various sources confirm these averages, but it’s essential to consider local market conditions and industry trends. The salary potential for combustion engineers is promising, particularly with advancements in technology and energy efficiency driving demand.

On this page
Combustion engineer salary by: 

Let Zippia find your next combustion engineer job

Floating question marks illustration

Let Zippia find your next combustion engineer job

Floating question marks illustration

Where can a Combustion Engineer earn more?

Compare salary by location
Vs
123k
103k
83k
63k
43k
Columbus, OH$105,911
Wichita, KS$73,060
Compare salary by company
Vs
117k
97k
77k
57k
Argonne National Laboratory$103,603
Florida Power and Light $87,370

Combustion engineer salaries by experience level

Combustion engineer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a combustion engineer typically falls between $71,000 and $118,826.
zippia
$87,464yearly
glassdoor[1]
$118,826yearly
indeed[2]
$94,415yearly
comparably[3]
$106,963yearly
Salary.com[4]
$103,074yearly
ZipRecruiter[5]
$71,000yearly
payscale[6]
$89,100yearly

Average combustion engineer salary by state

The average combustion engineer salary in Massachusetts, Oregon, and Connecticut are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average combustion engineer salary states are Kentucky, South Dakota, and Mississippi.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for combustion engineers

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1Massachusetts$106,617$51.26
2Oregon$100,351$48.25
3Connecticut$99,094$47.64
4Texas$97,521$46.89
5California$98,805$47.50
6New York$95,523$45.92
7North Carolina$93,853$45.12
8Michigan$91,518$44.00
9Maryland$94,814$45.58
10Washington$90,888$43.70
11District of Columbia$95,749$46.03
12Arizona$88,330$42.47
13New Jersey$94,509$45.44
14Nevada$91,000$43.75
15Alaska$91,266$43.88
16Colorado$85,863$41.28
17Illinois$85,471$41.09
18Louisiana$89,769$43.16
19New Mexico$86,076$41.38
20South Carolina$84,206$40.48
21Virginia$80,325$38.62
22Georgia$81,444$39.16
23Florida$82,979$39.89
24West Virginia$81,264$39.07
25Rhode Island$80,172$38.54
26Indiana$79,271$38.11
27Pennsylvania$80,046$38.48
28Idaho$77,686$37.35
29Delaware$76,805$36.93
30Alabama$76,521$36.79
31Tennessee$78,211$37.60
32New Hampshire$75,245$36.18
33Utah$72,627$34.92
34Minnesota$74,679$35.90
35Wyoming$71,318$34.29
36North Dakota$72,823$35.01
37Maine$75,653$36.37
38Oklahoma$75,887$36.48
39Wisconsin$73,822$35.49
40Ohio$72,428$34.82
41Kansas$72,689$34.95
42Nebraska$71,317$34.29
43Vermont$69,087$33.21
44Iowa$69,772$33.54
45Montana$65,759$31.61
46Missouri$70,508$33.90
47Hawaii$60,652$29.16
48Kentucky$67,800$32.60
49South Dakota$67,039$32.23
50Mississippi$66,900$32.16
51Arkansas$60,416$29.05

Highest paying cities for combustion engineers

The highest-paying cities for combustion engineers are San Francisco, CA, East Hartford, CT, and Dallas, TX.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$105,911$50.92
2East Hartford, CT$98,761$47.48
3Dallas, TX$96,565$46.43
4Columbia, MD$94,806$45.58
5Pontiac, MI$91,661$44.07
6Seattle, WA$91,511$44.00
7Chandler, AZ$88,341$42.47
8Des Plaines, IL$85,702$41.20
9Greenville, SC$84,009$40.39
10Tampa, FL$83,584$40.18
11Atlanta, GA$81,416$39.14
12Columbus, IN$78,945$37.95
13Huntsville, AL$76,306$36.69
14North Ridgeville, OH$73,149$35.17
15Wichita, KS$73,060$35.13

Combustion engineer salary details

A combustion engineer's salary ranges from $61,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $123,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average combustion engineer salary graph
Average combustion engineer salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a combustion engineer's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$123,000$10,250$59
75th Percentile$104,000$8,667$50
Average$87,464$7,289$42
25th Percentile$72,000$6,000$35
10th Percentile$61,000$5,083$29

Highest paying combustion engineer jobs

The highest paying types of combustion engineers are principal engineer, contracting engineer, and senior engineer.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Facility Engineer$89,623$7,469$43.0994,268
Research Engineer$96,945$8,079$46.61136,763
Lead Engineer$84,927$7,077$40.83301,777
Service Engineer$87,151$7,263$41.90143,806
Engineer$92,076$7,673$44.27618,207
Principal Engineer$130,213$10,851$62.60312,683

How would you rate the starting salaries for combustion engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Daisy Huang

Assistant Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Above average, but you won't be a millionaire easily (you can with some effort, saving, and investing well). It is very unlikely you'll ever be *super* wealthy, but it's also very unlikely you'll ever not find employment in your field. You'll have a solid ticket to a modestly comfortable life, with some luxuries, too.

Top companies hiring combustion engineers now:

  1. Pratt & Whitney jobs (1)
  2. General Electric jobs (29)
  3. General Motors jobs (5)
  4. Greenville County jobs (6)
  5. Praxair jobs (1)

Which companies pay combustion engineers the most?

Combustion engineer salaries at Argonne National Laboratory and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average combustion engineer salary at companies like General Electric and General Motors are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Argonne National Laboratory$103,603$49.81
2Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America$99,740$47.95
3General Electric$98,074$47.15
4General Motors$94,987$45.67
5Greenville County$94,351$45.36
6FCA US LLC$94,055$45.22
7Faurecia Emissions Control Systems Na, LLC$92,822$44.63
8Raytheon Technologies$92,582$44.51
9Solar.com$91,373$43.93
10GasTechnology$91,204$43.85
11The Owens Group$90,571$43.54
12Advanced Green Innovations$90,570$43.54
13Jacobs Enterprises$90,568$43.54
14Power Systems Mfg., LLC, Ansaldo Energia Group$89,213$42.89
15Jacobs Engineering Group$88,076$42.34
16O-I Glass$88,038$42.33
17TECO Energy$88,037$42.33
18R.W. Beckett$87,807$42.21
19The AES$87,665$42.15
20Florida Power and Light $87,370$42.00

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$88,000$87,200$86,400$85,600$84,800$84,000
MaleFemale

Combustion Engineer salary by industry

The average combustion engineer salary varies across industries:

  • The average combustion engineer salary in the technology industry is $98,018, the highest of any industry.
  • The average combustion engineer salary in the finance industry is $93,185.
  • Combustion engineers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $87,634, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for combustion engineers

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Technology$98,018$47.12
2Automotive$93,185$44.80
3Construction$87,976$42.30
4Manufacturing$87,634$42.13

High paying combustion engineer jobs

Combustion engineer salary trends

The average combustion engineer salary has risen by $10,603 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average combustion engineer earned $76,861 annually, but today, they earn $87,464 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for combustion engineers over the last decade.

Compare combustion engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average combustion engineer salary over time

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

Combustion engineer salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2026$87,500$42.05+1.9%
2025$85,800$41.24+1.2%
2024$84,800$40.75+1.7%
2023$83,300$40.05+2.0%
2022$81,700$39.27+0.7%

Recently added combustion engineer salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
Barr SystemsHydrogeologist or Engineer-Senior Level-Coal Combustion Residuals Focus (CCR) (Hybrid)Bismarck, ND06/30/2025$105,000
Arbor EnergyCombustion Analysis EngineerEl Segundo, CA06/09/2025$130,000
ActalentCombustion EngineerDavenport, IA05/28/2025$125,220
ActalentCombustion EngineerMaryville, TN05/28/2025$125,220
Barr SystemsHydrogeologist or Engineer-Senior Level-Coal Combustion Residuals Focus (CCR) (Hybrid)Bismarck, ND05/25/2025$105,000
Barr SystemsHydrogeologist or Engineer-Senior Level-Coal Combustion Residuals Focus (CCR) (Hybrid)Bismarck, ND04/29/2025$105,000
Arbor EnergyCombustion Analysis EngineerEl Segundo, CA04/28/2025$130,000
Barr Engineering CoHydrogeologist or Engineer-Senior Level-Coal Combustion Residuals Focus (CCR) (Hybrid)Bismarck, ND04/17/2025$105,000
Barr SystemsHydrogeologist or Engineer-Senior Level-Coal Combustion Residuals Focus (CCR) (Hybrid)Bismarck, ND03/30/2025$105,000
Jc Residential and Light Commercial LLCPrinciple Combustion EngineerWichita, KS03/24/2025$90,730

Combustion engineer salary FAQs

Search for combustion engineer jobs

Browse architecture and engineering jobs