Updated February 6, 2023

Average Mechanical Engineer Salary

$75,352yearly

$36.23 hourly

Entry level Salary
$58,000 yearly

How much does a Mechanical Engineer make?

Mechanical engineers make $75,352 per year on average, or $36.23 per hour, in the United States. Mechanical engineers on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $58,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $97,000.

Location impacts how much a mechanical engineer can expect to make. Mechanical engineers make the most in Washington, Idaho, California, Massachusetts, and New Mexico.

Highest Paying States For Mechanical Engineers

Throughout the U.S., the average salary for a mechanical engineer is roughly $75,352 per year, which boils down to $36.23 per hour. Interestingly enough, mechanical engineers have the highest salaries in San Francisco, CA at about $96,117 per year. For those who are just starting out, the average entry-level salary in San Francisco, CA is $72,000. Additionally, mechanical engineers make more than the average salary in Seattle, WA, Plymouth, MA, Washington, DC, Hillsboro, OR, and Austin, TX. On a more broad level, mechanical engineer salaries are highest in Washington, Idaho, California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, and Nevada. On the contrary, Florida, Hawaii, and Wisconsin offer the lowest mechanical engineer salaries.
  • State View
  • County View
Average Salary:

Mechanical Engineer average salary by State

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1Washington$90,626$43.571,648
2Oregon$84,644$40.691,003
3Massachusetts$86,527$41.601,816
4California$88,872$42.738,253
5Idaho$89,318$42.94223
6New Mexico$86,101$41.39282
7Arizona$79,627$38.281,105
8New Hampshire$79,312$38.13326
9Nevada$82,625$39.72273
10District of Columbia$87,019$41.84382
11Texas$79,901$38.413,193
12Delaware$79,913$38.42215
13Rhode Island$78,630$37.80188
14Maryland$81,814$39.331,193
15Connecticut$78,851$37.91568
16Colorado$78,006$37.501,211
17Utah$76,175$36.62572
18Maine$81,837$39.34115
19Louisiana$81,441$39.15243
20Virginia$75,667$36.382,007
21New York$78,640$37.812,019
22Michigan$72,424$34.821,208
23Alaska$79,016$37.9978
24Tennessee$74,065$35.61514
25Illinois$74,398$35.771,667
26West Virginia$74,821$35.97105
27Pennsylvania$71,336$34.301,566
28Ohio$69,924$33.621,424
29Oklahoma$74,107$35.63248
30Alabama$68,543$32.95651
31Minnesota$69,983$33.651,119
32Indiana$69,800$33.56796
33Montana$72,506$34.86127
34Georgia$70,961$34.121,406
35New Jersey$76,734$36.89990
36North Carolina$67,986$32.691,432
37Wyoming$68,846$33.1072
38Vermont$68,245$32.81123
39South Carolina$68,608$32.98563
40Iowa$67,765$32.58429
41North Dakota$66,192$31.82114
42Wisconsin$65,131$31.31800
43Kentucky$66,085$31.77325
44Nebraska$65,692$31.58284
45Kansas$65,737$31.60362
46Missouri$67,239$32.33633
47Florida$65,658$31.571,795
48Hawaii$65,186$31.3493
49Mississippi$64,475$31.00148
50Arkansas$60,121$28.90257
51South Dakota$62,658$30.1273

Highest Paying Cities For Mechanical Engineers

RankCityAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1San Francisco, CA$96,117$46.2118
2Seattle, WA$91,094$43.809
3Plymouth, MA$87,043$41.85
4Washington, DC$87,024$41.8422
5Hillsboro, OR$84,505$40.6313
6Austin, TX$80,296$38.6021
7Phoenix, AZ$79,728$38.3325
8New York, NY$78,764$37.8737
9Chicago, IL$74,536$35.8334
10Tulsa, OK$73,341$35.2612
11Washington, MI$72,597$34.9022
12Columbus, GA$71,021$34.144
13Plymouth, MN$70,016$33.66
14Indianapolis, IN$69,699$33.5124
15Dublin, OH$69,668$33.49

Here Are The Five Most In Demand Cities Right Now:

  1. San Francisco, CA
  2. Seattle, WA
  3. Plymouth, MA
  4. Washington, DC
  5. Hillsboro, OR

Mechanical Engineer Salary by Years of Experience

The salary for a mechanical engineer can vary depending on the years of experience that a person has, from entry level to senior level. An accountant with 0-2 years of experience earns an average salary of $57,950, a mid-career professional with 3-6 years of experience makes $75,352 a year on average, and a senior level accountant with 7-12 years of experience enjoys an average annual salary of $111,665. Data on how experience level affects total compensation is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of their National Compensation Survey, which is based on factors such as knowledge, complexity, contacts, and environment.

Mechanical Engineers Salary Details

Average Mechanical Engineer Salary Graph
Average Mechanical Engineer Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is a Mechanical Engineer's Salary?

PercentileAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly Rate
90th Percentile$97,000$8,083$47
75th Percentile$86,000$7,167$41
Average$75,352$6,279$36
25th Percentile$65,000$5,417$31
10th Percentile$58,000$4,833$28

Highest Paying Types of Mechanical Engineers

Job TitleAnnual SalaryMonthly SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
Product Design Engineer$94,827$7,902$45.59170,485
Development Engineer$93,206$7,767$44.81224,881
Product Engineer$89,645$7,470$43.10157,888
Process Engineer$82,443$6,870$39.6466,937
Engineer$92,076$7,673$44.27618,207
Equipment Engineer$97,539$8,128$46.89108,449

How Would You Rate The Starting Salaries For Mechanical Engineers, As Well As The Prospects For Salary Advancement?

Marco Schoen Ph.D.

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Measurement and Control Engineering Research Center (MCERC), Idaho State University

Starting salaries for new engineers have been competitive for many years. Engineers progress on two different pathways: technical and managerial, leading to different pay scales and careers.

Here are the five companies hiring the most now:

  1. Apple Jobs (166)
  2. Applied Materials Jobs (377)
  3. Lam Research Jobs (118)
  4. Caterpillar Jobs (169)
  5. General Motors Jobs (159)

Which Companies Pay Mechanical Engineers The Most?

The highest paying companies for mechanical engineers are Meta and Google according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, companies like Apple and Lyft report highly competitive wages for mechanical engineers.
RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Meta$136,019$65.39279
2Google$126,142$60.6537
3Apple$125,094$60.14345
4Lyft$123,156$59.21
5DoorDash$121,601$58.46
6Microsoft$120,447$57.9125
7Zoox$120,444$57.9115
8Waymo$118,071$56.765
9NVIDIA$114,055$54.8345
10Amazon$113,653$54.6433
11Neuralink IT Solutions$112,833$54.253
12BP America Inc$112,533$54.106
13Western Digital$112,246$53.968
14Cisco$112,079$53.8821
15Chevron$111,253$53.4913
16Shell Trading$110,698$53.227
17Argo AI$110,553$53.15
18Exxon Mobil$110,505$53.1312
19ConocoPhillips$110,186$52.973
20Applied Materials$109,725$52.7579

How Much Do Mechanical Engineers Make In Different Industries?

Here are some examples of how much a mechanical engineer salaries can based on different industries:

  1. The energy industry pays mechanical engineers an average salary of $84,748

  2. The automotive industry pay $82,408

  3. The lowest paying industry for mechanical engineers is the government industry. Mechanical engineers in this industry earn an average salary of $72,907

Highest Paying Industries For Mechanical Engineers

RankIndustryAverage SalaryHourly Rate
1Energy$84,748$40.74
2Automotive$82,408$39.62
3Technology$82,343$39.59
4Professional$79,356$38.15
5Manufacturing$79,293$38.12
6Government$72,907$35.05

High Paying Mechanical Engineer Jobs

Mechanical Engineer Pay Trends

Average Mechanical Engineer Salary Over Time

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

    Mechanical Engineer Salary By Year

    YearAvg. SalaryHourly Rate% Change
    2023$75,400$36.23+1.9%
    2022$73,900$35.53+1.2%
    2021$73,000$35.11+1.7%
    2020$71,800$34.51+2.0%
    2019$70,400$33.83+0.7%

    Recently Added Mechanical Engineer Salaries

    CompanyJobLocationDate AddedSalary
    Randstad USAMechanical EngineerPittsburgh, PA11/30/2022$90,000
    Beneficial Talent SourceMechanical Engineer IISouth Bend, IN11/30/2022$80,000
    Solstice Consulting Group LLCMechanical EngineerNome, TX11/30/2022$125,000
    Solstice Consulting Group LLCMechanical EngineerCole, OK11/30/2022$125,000
    AkimaMechanical Engineer (Remote Work)Golden, CO11/29/2022$110,000
    ITC, Inc.Mechanical EngineerRossville, IL11/29/2022$68,640
    PSG Global SolutionsMechanical EngineerSouth San Francisco, CA11/29/2022$125,220
    Hepco, Inc.Mechanical Engineer IIIHauppauge, NY11/29/2022$91,737
    StaffprosMechanical Engineer--Looking for 6 People!!West Allis, WI11/29/2022$62,610
    Smith Engineering, PLLCMechanical EngineerNew York, NY11/28/2022$55,000

    Mechanical Engineer Salaries FAQs

    What State Pays Mechanical Engineers The Most?

    Washington pays Mechanical Engineers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $90,626 per year, or $43.57 per hour.

    How Do I Know If I'm Being Paid Fairly As A Mechanical Engineer?

    You know if you are being paid fairly as a Mechanical Engineer if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Idaho you should be paid close to $89,318 per year.

    What Is A Good Starting Salary For A Mechanical Engineer?

    A good starting salary for a mechanical engineer is $61,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a mechanical engineer in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for mechanical engineers is $79,047, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a mechanical engineer can vary by state.

    What Is A Good Starting Salary For A Mechanical Engineer?

    A good starting salary for a mechanical engineer is between $65,000 to $70,000. The starting salary in mechanical engineering may be lower than expected because mechanical engineers gain experience through practical knowledge gained in the workplace.

    What Is The Typical Salary For A Mechanical Engineer?

    The typical salary for mechanical engineers is between $65,000-$70,000. Top earners can make $110,000. The median salary is $88,400.

    The field of work and region mechanical engineers are working also affect salary. California and New Mexico currently show the highest average salaries.

    Search For Mechanical Engineer Jobs