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The average salary for a planning engineer stands at $82,521 per year in the United States. This figure can fluctuate based on various factors, including geographical location, industry, and years of experience. Planning engineers in high-demand areas or specialized sectors often earn significantly more.
For instance, states like California and Texas offer higher compensation due to their robust job markets in engineering. Planning engineers can expect salaries ranging from $78,000 to over $90,000 depending on the state.
Industries such as construction, transportation, and project management typically provide the highest salaries for planning engineers. Additionally, positions in management or senior roles can lead to increased earnings.
To enhance your earning potential as a planning engineer, consider pursuing certifications or advanced degrees. This can open doors to higher-level positions and diverse opportunities within the engineering field.
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The highest-paying states for planning engineers are California, Washington, and Massachusetts. The lowest average planning engineer salary states are Florida, Mississippi, and Hawaii.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $104,756 | $50.36 |
| 2 | Washington | $94,798 | $45.58 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $93,582 | $44.99 |
| 4 | Arizona | $88,745 | $42.67 |
| 5 | Colorado | $90,092 | $43.31 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $88,597 | $42.59 |
| 7 | Utah | $85,311 | $41.01 |
| 8 | Michigan | $84,074 | $40.42 |
| 9 | Wyoming | $88,942 | $42.76 |
| 10 | Alabama | $84,205 | $40.48 |
| 11 | Idaho | $84,831 | $40.78 |
| 12 | Oregon | $83,971 | $40.37 |
| 13 | Minnesota | $82,767 | $39.79 |
| 14 | Virginia | $85,724 | $41.21 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | $88,189 | $42.40 |
| 16 | Texas | $83,369 | $40.08 |
| 17 | New Jersey | $87,680 | $42.15 |
| 18 | Arkansas | $81,364 | $39.12 |
| 19 | Maryland | $83,755 | $40.27 |
| 20 | South Carolina | $81,641 | $39.25 |
| 21 | Ohio | $77,381 | $37.20 |
| 22 | District of Columbia | $81,101 | $38.99 |
| 23 | New York | $82,222 | $39.53 |
| 24 | Delaware | $79,298 | $38.12 |
| 25 | New Mexico | $81,354 | $39.11 |
| 26 | Montana | $81,983 | $39.41 |
| 27 | Rhode Island | $78,623 | $37.80 |
| 28 | Missouri | $79,539 | $38.24 |
| 29 | Kansas | $77,805 | $37.41 |
| 30 | Pennsylvania | $75,883 | $36.48 |
| 31 | Louisiana | $79,724 | $38.33 |
| 32 | Georgia | $76,499 | $36.78 |
| 33 | Indiana | $73,165 | $35.18 |
| 34 | Illinois | $76,570 | $36.81 |
| 35 | Nevada | $75,842 | $36.46 |
| 36 | North Carolina | $72,731 | $34.97 |
| 37 | New Hampshire | $72,146 | $34.69 |
| 38 | West Virginia | $75,041 | $36.08 |
| 39 | Kentucky | $72,925 | $35.06 |
| 40 | Alaska | $78,962 | $37.96 |
| 41 | Maine | $76,193 | $36.63 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $71,458 | $34.35 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $72,404 | $34.81 |
| 44 | North Dakota | $71,339 | $34.30 |
| 45 | South Dakota | $71,377 | $34.32 |
| 46 | Florida | $69,026 | $33.19 |
| 47 | Wisconsin | $66,004 | $31.73 |
| 48 | Iowa | $67,983 | $32.68 |
| 49 | Mississippi | $68,898 | $33.12 |
| 50 | Vermont | $65,758 | $31.61 |
| 51 | Hawaii | $68,004 | $32.69 |
The highest-paying cities for planning engineers are San Francisco, CA, Boston, MA, and Colorado Springs, CO.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $110,713 | $53.23 |
| 2 | Boston, MA | $93,575 | $44.99 |
| 3 | Colorado Springs, CO | $90,537 | $43.53 |
| 4 | Phoenix, AZ | $88,943 | $42.76 |
| 5 | Hartford, CT | $88,513 | $42.55 |
| 6 | Oklahoma City, OK | $88,451 | $42.52 |
| 7 | Reston, VA | $85,947 | $41.32 |
| 8 | Lehi, UT | $85,383 | $41.05 |
| 9 | Amarillo, TX | $84,304 | $40.53 |
| 10 | Troy, MI | $84,138 | $40.45 |
| 11 | Baltimore, MD | $83,892 | $40.33 |
| 12 | Minneapolis, MN | $82,787 | $39.80 |
| 13 | New York, NY | $82,363 | $39.60 |
| 14 | Little Rock, AR | $81,534 | $39.20 |
| 15 | Kansas City, MO | $79,603 | $38.27 |
| 16 | Atlanta, GA | $76,598 | $36.83 |
| 17 | Carmel, IN | $73,147 | $35.17 |
| 18 | High Point, NC | $72,716 | $34.96 |
| 19 | Hendersonville, TN | $72,185 | $34.70 |
| 20 | Tallahassee, FL | $70,481 | $33.89 |
A planning engineer's salary ranges from $61,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $110,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $110,000 | $9,167 | $53 |
| 75th Percentile | $96,000 | $8,000 | $46 |
| Average | $82,521 | $6,877 | $40 |
| 25th Percentile | $70,000 | $5,833 | $34 |
| 10th Percentile | $61,000 | $5,083 | $29 |
The highest paying types of planning engineers are senior staff engineer, reliability engineer, and senior quality engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Support Engineer | $90,379 | $7,532 | $43.45 | 201,554 |
| Process Improvement Engineer | $82,473 | $6,873 | $39.65 | 55,438 |
| Project Controls Engineer | $86,685 | $7,224 | $41.68 | 38,974 |
| Quality Control Engineer | $70,845 | $5,904 | $34.06 | 109,745 |
| Industrial Engineer | $76,501 | $6,375 | $36.78 | 46,756 |
| Co-Operations Engineer | $42,618 | $3,552 | $20.49 | 86,804 |
Top companies hiring planning engineers now:
Planning engineer salaries at Meta and Apple are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average planning engineer salary at companies like ConocoPhillips and BP America Inc are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $128,046 | $61.56 |
| 2 | Apple | $123,555 | $59.40 |
| 3 | ConocoPhillips | $114,430 | $55.01 |
| 4 | BP America Inc | $110,662 | $53.20 |
| 5 | Dropbox | $110,200 | $52.98 |
| 6 | Marathon Petroleum | $109,025 | $52.42 |
| 7 | Cybersource | $106,413 | $51.16 |
| 8 | NVIDIA | $103,770 | $49.89 |
| 9 | Uber Technologies | $103,749 | $49.88 |
| 10 | $102,232 | $49.15 | |
| 11 | California Resources | $101,879 | $48.98 |
| 12 | Rivian | $98,923 | $47.56 |
| 13 | Pacific Gas and Electric | $97,650 | $46.95 |
| 14 | MUFG EMEA | $97,239 | $46.75 |
| 15 | Southern California Edison | $95,991 | $46.15 |
| 16 | KLA | $94,335 | $45.35 |
| 17 | Daimler Trucks North America | $94,331 | $45.35 |
| 18 | Tesla | $94,022 | $45.20 |
| 19 | Occidental Petroleum | $93,553 | $44.98 |
| 20 | W. R. Grace & Co | $93,498 | $44.95 |
The average planning engineer salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Energy | $86,256 | $41.47 |
| 2 | Utilities | $85,590 | $41.15 |
| 3 | Technology | $84,419 | $40.59 |
| 4 | Automotive | $83,013 | $39.91 |
| 5 | Construction | $80,473 | $38.69 |
| 6 | Manufacturing | $77,989 | $37.49 |
| 7 | Transportation | $75,529 | $36.31 |
The average planning engineer salary has risen by $10,864 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average planning engineer earned $71,657 annually, but today, they earn $82,521 a year. That works out to a 6% change in pay for planning engineers over the last decade.
Compare planning engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare planning engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $82,500 | $39.67 | +1.0% |
| 2024 | $81,700 | $39.26 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $80,700 | $38.82 | +1.3% |
| 2022 | $79,700 | $38.30 | +1.8% |
| 2021 | $78,200 | $37.60 | +1.0% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Electric Power | Regional Transmission Planning Engineer (Staff To Consulting Level) | Columbus, OH | 06/29/2025 | $155,761 |
| Westar Energy | Power System Planning and Studies Engineer | Kansas City, MO | 06/29/2025 | $112,500 |
| Actalent | Distribution Planning Engineer | Lake Oswego, OR | 06/29/2025 | $83,480 |
| New York ISO | Planning Engineer, Transmission Integration | Rensselaer, NY | 06/29/2025 | $76,200 |
| Actalent | Transmission Planning Engineer | Oakland, CA | 06/29/2025 | $83,480 |
| Exelon | General Engineer-Capacity Planning | Oakbrook Terrace, IL | 06/28/2025 | $90,400 |
| ICF International, Inc. | Distribution Planning Engineer-Remote | Chicago, IL | 06/28/2025 | $73,722 |
| Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Planning & Optimization Engineer | Los Angeles, CA | 06/28/2025 | $119,900 |
| Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Planning & Optimization Engineer | Anacortes, WA | 06/28/2025 | $119,900 |
| Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Planning & Optimization Engineer | San Antonio, TX | 06/28/2025 | $119,900 |
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