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The average salary for a compliance engineer stands at $97,578 per year. This figure can vary widely based on factors such as geographical location, level of experience, and the specific industry. For instance, compliance engineers in sectors like finance and healthcare often command higher salaries due to the critical nature of regulatory compliance in these fields.
States like California and New York typically offer some of the highest salaries for compliance engineers, reflecting the demand for skilled professionals in densely populated urban areas. On the other hand, states with lower living costs may offer lower salaries but can provide a balance of quality of life and job opportunities.
As industries evolve, the need for compliance engineers continues to grow. Many companies seek experienced individuals who can navigate complex regulations and develop compliance strategies. With certifications and additional training, compliance engineers can increase their earning potential and access higher-level positions.
Understanding the salary landscape for compliance engineers is crucial for career planning and negotiations.
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The average compliance engineer salary in California, Washington, and Virginia are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average compliance engineer salary states are South Dakota, Nebraska, and Hawaii.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $110,856 | $53.30 |
| 2 | Utah | $105,801 | $50.87 |
| 3 | California | $118,471 | $56.96 |
| 4 | Virginia | $107,336 | $51.60 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $102,342 | $49.20 |
| 6 | Nevada | $103,542 | $49.78 |
| 7 | Michigan | $99,018 | $47.60 |
| 8 | Alabama | $102,532 | $49.29 |
| 9 | Arizona | $98,575 | $47.39 |
| 10 | Texas | $99,725 | $47.94 |
| 11 | Oregon | $97,737 | $46.99 |
| 12 | Georgia | $100,830 | $48.48 |
| 13 | Kansas | $98,271 | $47.25 |
| 14 | Rhode Island | $95,866 | $46.09 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $98,647 | $47.43 |
| 16 | New Mexico | $93,400 | $44.90 |
| 17 | Wyoming | $96,068 | $46.19 |
| 18 | Minnesota | $91,499 | $43.99 |
| 19 | Idaho | $92,644 | $44.54 |
| 20 | Louisiana | $95,671 | $46.00 |
| 21 | District of Columbia | $90,516 | $43.52 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | $94,998 | $45.67 |
| 23 | Delaware | $88,965 | $42.77 |
| 24 | North Carolina | $86,767 | $41.71 |
| 25 | Montana | $91,943 | $44.20 |
| 26 | South Carolina | $90,691 | $43.60 |
| 27 | Connecticut | $89,496 | $43.03 |
| 28 | Alaska | $93,688 | $45.04 |
| 29 | Mississippi | $88,600 | $42.60 |
| 30 | Florida | $89,528 | $43.04 |
| 31 | Maryland | $86,381 | $41.53 |
| 32 | Colorado | $87,463 | $42.05 |
| 33 | Illinois | $85,703 | $41.20 |
| 34 | New York | $86,086 | $41.39 |
| 35 | Ohio | $81,982 | $39.41 |
| 36 | Arkansas | $84,972 | $40.85 |
| 37 | Missouri | $85,312 | $41.02 |
| 38 | New Hampshire | $80,835 | $38.86 |
| 39 | Maine | $84,678 | $40.71 |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | $82,192 | $39.52 |
| 41 | Tennessee | $82,586 | $39.70 |
| 42 | West Virginia | $82,010 | $39.43 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $80,568 | $38.73 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $75,824 | $36.45 |
| 45 | Iowa | $81,043 | $38.96 |
| 46 | North Dakota | $77,516 | $37.27 |
| 47 | Indiana | $73,088 | $35.14 |
| 48 | Wisconsin | $73,659 | $35.41 |
| 49 | South Dakota | $76,204 | $36.64 |
| 50 | Vermont | $72,816 | $35.01 |
| 51 | Hawaii | $75,768 | $36.43 |
The highest-paying cities for compliance engineers are San Francisco, CA, Bothell, WA, and Boston, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $129,149 | $62.09 |
| 2 | Bothell, WA | $111,608 | $53.66 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $102,372 | $49.22 |
| 4 | Austin, TX | $100,853 | $48.49 |
| 5 | Atlanta, GA | $100,808 | $48.47 |
| 6 | Phoenix, AZ | $98,826 | $47.51 |
| 7 | Olathe, KS | $97,932 | $47.08 |
| 8 | Saint Paul, MN | $91,534 | $44.01 |
| 9 | Washington, DC | $90,613 | $43.56 |
| 10 | Colorado Springs, CO | $88,124 | $42.37 |
| 11 | Raleigh, NC | $87,574 | $42.10 |
| 12 | Baltimore, MD | $86,626 | $41.65 |
| 13 | New York, NY | $86,399 | $41.54 |
| 14 | Mentor, OH | $82,768 | $39.79 |
| 15 | Des Moines, IA | $80,932 | $38.91 |
| 16 | Pittsburgh, PA | $79,600 | $38.27 |
| 17 | Lincoln, NE | $75,851 | $36.47 |
| 18 | Madison, WI | $73,521 | $35.35 |
| 19 | Columbus, IN | $73,200 | $35.19 |
A compliance engineer's salary ranges from $68,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $138,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $138,000 | $11,500 | $66 |
| 75th Percentile | $117,000 | $9,750 | $56 |
| Average | $97,578 | $8,132 | $47 |
| 25th Percentile | $81,000 | $6,750 | $39 |
| 10th Percentile | $68,000 | $5,667 | $33 |
The highest paying types of compliance engineers are senior staff engineer, project lead engineer, and reliability engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Engineering Internship | $39,182 | $3,265 | $18.84 | 107,845 |
| Manufacturing Engineering Internship | $53,047 | $4,421 | $25.50 | 125,868 |
| Product Support Engineer | $90,379 | $7,532 | $43.45 | 201,554 |
| Process Engineer Internship | $39,495 | $3,291 | $18.99 | 87,030 |
| Project Lead Engineer | $106,946 | $8,912 | $51.42 | 98,018 |
| Quality Control Engineer | $70,845 | $5,904 | $34.06 | 109,745 |
Top companies hiring compliance engineers now:
Compliance engineer salaries at Meta and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average compliance engineer salary at companies like Microsoft and First Republic Bank are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $166,445 | $80.02 |
| 2 | Apple | $149,775 | $72.01 |
| 3 | Microsoft | $147,086 | $70.71 |
| 4 | First Republic Bank | $136,180 | $65.47 |
| 5 | Palo Alto Networks | $135,789 | $65.28 |
| 6 | Oculus | $131,861 | $63.39 |
| 7 | Cisco | $128,141 | $61.61 |
| 8 | Fitbit | $128,030 | $61.55 |
| 9 | Amazon | $127,817 | $61.45 |
| 10 | Magic Leap | $127,056 | $61.08 |
| 11 | Netgear | $125,781 | $60.47 |
| 12 | Tallgrass Energy | $119,883 | $57.64 |
| 13 | Denodo | $118,258 | $56.85 |
| 14 | Hyve Solutions | $115,742 | $55.65 |
| 15 | Slack | $115,057 | $55.32 |
| 16 | Control4 | $113,882 | $54.75 |
| 17 | Fortinet | $110,518 | $53.13 |
| 18 | Faraday Technology | $108,657 | $52.24 |
| 19 | Qualys | $107,956 | $51.90 |
| 20 | Sonos | $106,720 | $51.31 |
The average compliance engineer salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $103,413 | $49.72 |
| 2 | Retail | $98,703 | $47.45 |
| 3 | Finance | $97,619 | $46.93 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $90,649 | $43.58 |
| 5 | Government | $84,052 | $40.41 |
The average compliance engineer salary has risen by $12,846 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average compliance engineer earned $84,732 annually, but today, they earn $97,578 a year. That works out to a 6% change in pay for compliance engineers over the last decade.
Compare compliance engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare compliance engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $97,600 | $46.91 | +1.0% |
| 2024 | $96,600 | $46.42 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $95,500 | $45.91 | +1.3% |
| 2022 | $94,200 | $45.29 | +1.8% |
| 2021 | $92,500 | $44.47 | +1.0% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance Engineer II | Hartford, CT | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance Engineer II | Urban Honolulu, HI | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance Engineer II | Santa Fe, NM | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance Engineer II | Salt Lake City, UT | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance Engineer II | Montpelier, VT | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance Engineer II | Baton Rouge, LA | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance Engineer II | Augusta, ME | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance and Permitting Engineer II | Boise, ID | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance Engineer II | Bismarck, ND | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
| Windstream Communications | Environmental Compliance and Permitting Engineer II | Phoenix, AZ | 06/30/2025 | $63,400 |
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