Best states for a hardware engineer

Q: What is the best state for hardware engineers?

The best state to be a hardware engineer is Washington based on hardware engineer salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for hardware engineers?

The highest paying state for hardware engineers is Tennessee based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for hardware engineers?

The worst state for hardware engineers is Tennessee, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

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Hardware engineer opportunities vary in different parts of the country. In order to help you determine the best states for hardware engineers, we ranked all fifty states from best to worst for hardware engineers.As hardware engineers are popular in the U.S., we wanted to bring you a list of the best states for hardware engineers. In case you are trying to decide where to start your career as a hardware engineer, or if you are considering moving to a different city or state, we got you covered.

To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for hardware engineers. Washington is the best state for hardware engineers, where the median salary is $137,531.If you are currently seeking employment as a hardware engineer, you can find open job positions using Zippia's search tools.

10 best states for hardware engineers in 2025

1. Washington
Total hardware engineer jobs: 1,076
Average annual salary: $137,531
Lowest 10 percent earn: $100,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $188,000
Location Quotient:
1.67
Hardware engineer jobs in Washington
2. California
Total hardware engineer jobs: 5,484
Average annual salary: $121,821
Lowest 10 percent earn: $87,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $170,000
Location Quotient:
2.13
Hardware engineer jobs in California
3. New Hampshire
Total hardware engineer jobs: 130
Average annual salary: $102,526
Lowest 10 percent earn: $76,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $137,000
Location Quotient:
0.84
Hardware engineer jobs in New Hampshire
4. Massachusetts
Total hardware engineer jobs: 982
Average annual salary: $102,041
Lowest 10 percent earn: $75,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $137,000
Location Quotient:
1.21
Hardware engineer jobs in Massachusetts
5. Vermont
Total hardware engineer jobs: 56
Average annual salary: $101,296
Lowest 10 percent earn: $75,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $135,000
Location Quotient:
0.83
Hardware engineer jobs in Vermont
6. Maine
Total hardware engineer jobs: 70
Average annual salary: $110,604
Lowest 10 percent earn: $83,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $147,000
Location Quotient:
0.6
Hardware engineer jobs in Maine
7. Oregon
Total hardware engineer jobs: 533
Average annual salary: $94,545
Lowest 10 percent earn: $68,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $129,000
Location Quotient:
1.46
Hardware engineer jobs in Oregon
8. New Mexico
Total hardware engineer jobs: 132
Average annual salary: $98,375
Lowest 10 percent earn: $71,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $134,000
Location Quotient:
0.76
Hardware engineer jobs in New Mexico
9. Arizona
Total hardware engineer jobs: 707
Average annual salary: $91,528
Lowest 10 percent earn: $66,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $125,000
Location Quotient:
1.37
Hardware engineer jobs in Arizona
10. Kansas
Total hardware engineer jobs: 169
Average annual salary: $96,116
Lowest 10 percent earn: $70,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $130,000
Location Quotient:
0.63
Hardware engineer jobs in Kansas

Hardware engineer jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a hardware engineer

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a hardware engineer

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	Washington	$137,531	$100,000	7,405,743	1,076
2	California	$121,821	$87,000	39,536,653	5,484
3	New Hampshire	$102,526	$76,000	1,342,795	130
4	Massachusetts	$102,041	$75,000	6,859,819	982
5	Vermont	$101,296	$75,000	623,657	56
6	Maine	$110,604	$83,000	1,335,907	70
7	Oregon	$94,545	$68,000	4,142,776	533
8	New Mexico	$98,375	$71,000	2,088,070	132
9	Arizona	$91,528	$66,000	7,016,270	707
10	Kansas	$96,116	$70,000	2,913,123	169
11	Idaho	$94,769	$68,000	1,716,943	93
12	Virginia	$90,823	$67,000	8,470,020	1,295
13	North Dakota	$96,758	$72,000	755,393	36
14	Texas	$90,171	$66,000	28,304,596	1,603
15	Maryland	$91,745	$68,000	6,052,177	823
16	Alabama	$86,644	$64,000	4,874,747	420
17	Alaska	$93,817	$73,000	739,795	52
18	Utah	$86,790	$62,000	3,101,833	297
19	West Virginia	$90,756	$67,000	1,815,857	59
20	Connecticut	$90,468	$67,000	3,588,184	238
21	Pennsylvania	$90,138	$66,000	12,805,537	611
22	New York	$91,057	$67,000	19,849,399	1,003
23	Arkansas	$89,971	$66,000	3,004,279	94
24	Delaware	$85,852	$63,000	961,939	126
25	Montana	$88,801	$64,000	1,050,493	53
26	New Jersey	$91,217	$67,000	9,005,644	405
27	Rhode Island	$88,605	$65,000	1,059,639	63
28	District of Columbia	$84,301	$62,000	693,972	260
29	Colorado	$82,928	$60,000	5,607,154	752
30	Wisconsin	$80,911	$60,000	5,795,483	390
31	Georgia	$81,903	$61,000	10,429,379	744
32	Illinois	$84,060	$62,000	12,802,023	833
33	Wyoming	$78,648	$57,000	579,315	55
34	Hawaii	$83,984	$66,000	1,427,538	70
35	North Carolina	$81,256	$60,000	10,273,419	611
36	South Dakota	$82,459	$61,000	869,666	41
37	Minnesota	$82,666	$61,000	5,576,606	459
38	Louisiana	$84,758	$62,000	4,684,333	111
39	Oklahoma	$83,065	$61,000	3,930,864	114
40	Nevada	$80,555	$57,000	2,998,039	132
41	Iowa	$78,885	$58,000	3,145,711	242
42	Missouri	$80,730	$59,000	6,113,532	270
43	Michigan	$71,018	$52,000	9,962,311	676
44	Ohio	$74,181	$55,000	11,658,609	579
45	Florida	$73,497	$54,000	20,984,400	1,122
46	Indiana	$74,392	$55,000	6,666,818	409
47	Mississippi	$77,575	$57,000	2,984,100	70
48	South Carolina	$77,394	$58,000	5,024,369	198
49	Nebraska	$76,610	$56,000	1,920,076	115
50	Kentucky	$60,083	$44,000	4,454,189	138
51	Tennessee	$58,043	$43,000	6,715,984	211

Highest paying states for hardware engineers

Rank	State	Avg. Hardware Engineer Salary
1	Washington	$137,531
2	California	$121,821
3	New Hampshire	$102,526
4	Massachusetts	$102,041
5	Vermont	$101,296
6	Maine	$110,604
7	Oregon	$94,545
8	New Mexico	$98,375
9	Arizona	$91,528
10	Kansas	$96,116
11	Idaho	$94,769
12	Virginia	$90,823
13	North Dakota	$96,758
14	Texas	$90,171
15	Maryland	$91,745
16	Alabama	$86,644
17	Alaska	$93,817
18	Utah	$86,790
19	West Virginia	$90,756
20	Connecticut	$90,468
21	Pennsylvania	$90,138
22	New York	$91,057
23	Arkansas	$89,971
24	Delaware	$85,852
25	Montana	$88,801
26	New Jersey	$91,217
27	Rhode Island	$88,605
28	District of Columbia	$84,301
29	Colorado	$82,928
30	Wisconsin	$80,911
31	Georgia	$81,903
32	Illinois	$84,060
33	Wyoming	$78,648
34	Hawaii	$83,984
35	North Carolina	$81,256
36	South Dakota	$82,459
37	Minnesota	$82,666
38	Louisiana	$84,758
39	Oklahoma	$83,065
40	Nevada	$80,555
41	Iowa	$78,885
42	Missouri	$80,730
43	Michigan	$71,018
44	Ohio	$74,181
45	Florida	$73,497
46	Indiana	$74,392
47	Mississippi	$77,575
48	South Carolina	$77,394
49	Nebraska	$76,610
50	Kentucky	$60,083
51	Tennessee	$58,043

Hardware engineer best states FAQs

What is the best state for hardware engineers?

What is the highest paying state for hardware engineers?

What is the worst state for hardware engineers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.

Search for hardware engineer jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse architecture and engineering jobs

Total hardware engineer jobs:	1,076
Average annual salary:	$137,531
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$100,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$188,000
Location Quotient:	1.67

Best states for a hardware engineer

10 best states for hardware engineers in 2025

1. Washington

2. California

3. New Hampshire

4. Massachusetts

5. Vermont

6. Maine

7. Oregon

8. New Mexico

9. Arizona

10. Kansas