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Contracting engineer salary
Average contracting engineer salary
$122,620
Average Contracting Engineer Salary
The average salary for a Contracting Engineer is $122,620 per year, with hourly wages averaging about $59. Salaries can vary significantly based on factors such as location, years of experience, and specific job responsibilities. For instance, Contracting Engineers in states like California and Texas often command higher salaries due to demand and cost of living adjustments.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level Contracting Engineers typically start around $80,000 annually, while those with several years of experience can expect salaries exceeding $130,000. Senior positions often offer compensation upwards of $150,000, depending on the complexity of projects managed.
Where to Find Higher Salaries
To maximize earning potential, consider job opportunities in metropolitan areas and industries with high project demands. Industries such as construction, infrastructure, and energy frequently offer competitive compensation packages. Additionally, obtaining relevant certifications can enhance job prospects and salary potential.
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Where can a Contracting Engineer earn more?
Contracting engineer salaries by experience level
Contracting engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average contracting engineer salary by state
The average contracting engineer salary in New York, Washington, and California are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average contracting engineer salary states are Missouri, Wisconsin, and Kansas.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for contracting engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $136,823 | $65.78 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $131,078 | $63.02 |
| 3 | California | $134,827 | $64.82 |
| 4 | New York | $141,066 | $67.82 |
| 5 | District of Columbia | $132,334 | $63.62 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $126,654 | $60.89 |
| 7 | Utah | $116,876 | $56.19 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $119,589 | $57.49 |
| 9 | Idaho | $122,450 | $58.87 |
| 10 | Vermont | $119,358 | $57.38 |
| 11 | Oregon | $114,164 | $54.89 |
| 12 | Arizona | $113,626 | $54.63 |
| 13 | Maine | $127,857 | $61.47 |
| 14 | New Mexico | $114,239 | $54.92 |
| 15 | Maryland | $115,160 | $55.37 |
| 16 | Alaska | $126,802 | $60.96 |
| 17 | West Virginia | $121,233 | $58.29 |
| 18 | Virginia | $111,635 | $53.67 |
| 19 | Alabama | $108,620 | $52.22 |
| 20 | Connecticut | $114,068 | $54.84 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $108,572 | $52.20 |
| 22 | Colorado | $104,480 | $50.23 |
| 23 | Texas | $101,448 | $48.77 |
| 24 | Michigan | $97,910 | $47.07 |
| 25 | Delaware | $102,845 | $49.44 |
| 26 | Nevada | $108,561 | $52.19 |
| 27 | New Jersey | $110,416 | $53.08 |
| 28 | Louisiana | $110,970 | $53.35 |
| 29 | Minnesota | $98,284 | $47.25 |
| 30 | Oklahoma | $103,441 | $49.73 |
| 31 | Montana | $101,394 | $48.75 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $94,053 | $45.22 |
| 33 | Wyoming | $93,058 | $44.74 |
| 34 | Illinois | $97,210 | $46.74 |
| 35 | Hawaii | $101,827 | $48.96 |
| 36 | Tennessee | $95,235 | $45.79 |
| 37 | North Dakota | $94,158 | $45.27 |
| 38 | Ohio | $86,387 | $41.53 |
| 39 | Kentucky | $91,345 | $43.92 |
| 40 | Iowa | $90,123 | $43.33 |
| 41 | Georgia | $90,055 | $43.30 |
| 42 | Indiana | $87,352 | $42.00 |
| 43 | Wisconsin | $85,615 | $41.16 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $88,784 | $42.68 |
| 45 | Nebraska | $87,012 | $41.83 |
| 46 | Florida | $88,599 | $42.60 |
| 47 | Kansas | $84,281 | $40.52 |
| 48 | Missouri | $86,020 | $41.36 |
| 49 | South Dakota | $83,291 | $40.04 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $82,021 | $39.43 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $84,054 | $40.41 |
Highest paying cities for contracting engineers
The highest-paying cities for contracting engineers are New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Washington, DC.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY | $141,450 | $68.00 |
| 2 | San Francisco, CA | $140,257 | $67.43 |
| 3 | Washington, DC | $132,480 | $63.69 |
| 4 | Portland, ME | $127,948 | $61.51 |
| 5 | Anchorage, AK | $127,458 | $61.28 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $126,845 | $60.98 |
| 7 | Charleston, WV | $119,650 | $57.52 |
| 8 | Burlington, VT | $119,329 | $57.37 |
| 9 | Baltimore, MD | $115,664 | $55.61 |
| 10 | Portland, OR | $114,284 | $54.94 |
| 11 | Albuquerque, NM | $114,190 | $54.90 |
| 12 | Phoenix, AZ | $113,959 | $54.79 |
| 13 | Arlington, VA | $113,260 | $54.45 |
| 14 | Philadelphia, PA | $109,747 | $52.76 |
| 15 | Boulder, CO | $105,031 | $50.50 |
| 16 | Austin, TX | $103,591 | $49.80 |
| 17 | Broken Arrow, OK | $103,328 | $49.68 |
| 18 | Detroit, MI | $98,196 | $47.21 |
| 19 | Billings, MT | $97,827 | $47.03 |
| 20 | Chicago, IL | $97,548 | $46.90 |
Contracting engineer salary details
A contracting engineer's salary ranges from $86,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $173,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a contracting engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $173,000 | $14,417 | $83 |
| 75th Percentile | $147,000 | $12,250 | $71 |
| Average | $122,620 | $10,218 | $59 |
| 25th Percentile | $102,000 | $8,500 | $49 |
| 10th Percentile | $86,000 | $7,167 | $41 |
Highest paying contracting engineer jobs
The highest paying types of contracting engineers are principal engineer, team lead engineer, and senior electrical engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Lead Engineer | $114,867 | $9,572 | $55.22 | 235,155 |
| Application Engineer | $92,921 | $7,743 | $44.67 | 111,338 |
| Integration Engineer | $99,674 | $8,306 | $47.92 | 103,437 |
| Management Engineer | $90,571 | $7,548 | $43.54 | 175,986 |
| Mechanical Engineer | $75,352 | $6,279 | $36.23 | 105,618 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for contracting engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring contracting engineers now:
Which companies pay contracting engineers the most?
Contracting engineer salaries at EquiLend and Chain are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average contracting engineer salary at companies like Acro Service and CyberCoders are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EquiLend | $135,452 | $65.12 |
| 2 | Chain | $132,152 | $63.53 |
| 3 | Acro Service | $131,532 | $63.24 |
| 4 | CyberCoders | $130,785 | $62.88 |
| 5 | Exxon Mobil | $130,191 | $62.59 |
| 6 | Kelly Services | $129,455 | $62.24 |
| 7 | Enel X | $128,871 | $61.96 |
| 8 | ICONMA | $128,608 | $61.83 |
| 9 | Chainlink | $126,770 | $60.95 |
| 10 | Motion Recruitment | $126,532 | $60.83 |
| 11 | Honeywell | $126,397 | $60.77 |
| 12 | PDS Tech | $125,058 | $60.12 |
| 13 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $124,585 | $59.90 |
| 14 | Zachary Nunn | $119,703 | $57.55 |
| 15 | Parexel International | $118,230 | $56.84 |
| 16 | Royal Bank of Canada | $116,195 | $55.86 |
| 17 | Cengage Learning | $116,084 | $55.81 |
| 18 | Zachry Group | $115,244 | $55.41 |
| 19 | Moderna | $112,827 | $54.24 |
| 20 | Exterran Corporation HQ | $112,065 | $53.88 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Contracting Engineer salary by industry
The average contracting engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average contracting engineer salary in the professional industry is $119,415, the highest of any industry.
- The average contracting engineer salary in the finance industry is $119,272.
- Contracting engineers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $109,111, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for contracting engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Professional | $119,415 | $57.41 |
| 2 | Energy | $119,272 | $57.34 |
| 3 | Construction | $117,902 | $56.68 |
| 4 | Transportation | $110,078 | $52.92 |
| 5 | Automotive | $109,862 | $52.82 |
| 6 | Technology | $109,604 | $52.69 |
| 7 | Manufacturing | $109,111 | $52.46 |
High paying contracting engineer jobs
Contracting engineer salary trends
The average contracting engineer salary has risen by $14,865 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average contracting engineer earned $107,755 annually, but today, they earn $122,620 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for contracting engineers over the last decade.
Compare contracting engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average contracting engineer salary over time
Compare contracting engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Contracting engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $123,000 | $58.95 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $120,000 | $57.82 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $119,000 | $57.13 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $117,000 | $56.15 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $115,000 | $55.05 | +0.7% |
Recently added contracting engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Get It-Marketing | SEO Content Contractor-Remote | Arlington Heights, IL | 06/29/2025 | $120,000 |
| Patricio Systems | Cybersecurity Engineer-Contract | Los Angeles, CA | 06/18/2025 | $104,350 |
| Nintendo | Contract-Engineer (NTD) | Redmond, WA | 06/11/2025 | $127,077 |
| Waterfall Asset Management | Smart Contract Engineer (EVM) | New York, NY | 06/09/2025 | $120,000 |
| AHU Technologies | SME SAN Engineer-Long-Term Contract (Government) Position | Washington, DC | 06/02/2025 | $146,090 |
| Burwood Group | Azure Cloud Engineer-W2 Contractor | Chicago, IL | 05/26/2025 | $125,220 |
| Get It-Marketing | SEO Content Contractor-Remote | Arlington Heights, IL | 05/26/2025 | $120,000 |
| Slipstream It | Onsite Deskside Engineer-Cambridge, MA-Contract | Rowe, MA | 05/15/2025 | $93,915 |
| Kaplan, Inc. | Contractor Engineering Content Developer-PE Civil Construction | Washington, DC | 05/08/2025 | $31,200 |
| American Financing Corporation (AFC | Ruby On Rails Engineer-Contract | Aurora, CO | 05/07/2025 | $125,220 |
Contracting engineer salary FAQs
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