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The average salary for a Project Controls Engineer in the United States is approximately $86,685 per year, translating to about $42 per hour. Salaries can vary significantly depending on geographical location, with states like California and Texas frequently offering higher pay due to demand in the construction and engineering sectors. Experience also plays a crucial role; entry-level positions typically start lower, around $60,000, while seasoned professionals can earn upwards of $100,000.
In terms of industries, those in energy and construction tend to command higher salaries, reflecting the complexity and scope of projects they manage. Additionally, individuals with certifications such as PMP or those proficient in software like Primavera P6 may find themselves in higher-paying roles, enhancing their marketability.
To maximize earning potential, it’s advisable to seek positions in metropolitan areas or industries experiencing growth. For example, the demand for Project Controls Engineers is increasing in renewable energy projects, leading to competitive salary offers. By leveraging specialized skills and targeting the right sectors, professionals in this field can significantly boost their overall compensation.
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| Experience level | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level project controls engineer | $77,600 | $37.30 |
| Mid-level project controls engineer | $96,500 | $46.41 |
| Senior-level project controls engineer | $122,000 | $58.60 |
The average project controls engineer salary in California, Washington, and Rhode Island are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average project controls engineer salary states are West Virginia, Louisiana, and Montana.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | $92,368 | $44.41 |
| 2 | Rhode Island | $104,526 | $50.25 |
| 3 | Michigan | $88,561 | $42.58 |
| 4 | Missouri | $91,761 | $44.12 |
| 5 | Washington | $105,360 | $50.65 |
| 6 | California | $106,058 | $50.99 |
| 7 | New Mexico | $88,268 | $42.44 |
| 8 | District of Columbia | $97,410 | $46.83 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $86,334 | $41.51 |
| 10 | Arizona | $93,040 | $44.73 |
| 11 | North Carolina | $82,431 | $39.63 |
| 12 | Nevada | $83,743 | $40.26 |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | $82,082 | $39.46 |
| 14 | Colorado | $89,035 | $42.81 |
| 15 | Florida | $92,354 | $44.40 |
| 16 | Idaho | $83,283 | $40.04 |
| 17 | Indiana | $80,490 | $38.70 |
| 18 | Hawaii | $84,834 | $40.79 |
| 19 | Alaska | $90,046 | $43.29 |
| 20 | Alabama | $78,475 | $37.73 |
| 21 | Maine | $80,984 | $38.93 |
| 22 | Virginia | $86,047 | $41.37 |
| 23 | Wyoming | $75,215 | $36.16 |
| 24 | Minnesota | $78,795 | $37.88 |
| 25 | Maryland | $88,453 | $42.53 |
| 26 | New Jersey | $89,766 | $43.16 |
| 27 | Vermont | $78,639 | $37.81 |
| 28 | Massachusetts | $86,655 | $41.66 |
| 29 | Oklahoma | $79,083 | $38.02 |
| 30 | Delaware | $83,061 | $39.93 |
| 31 | North Dakota | $72,951 | $35.07 |
| 32 | Mississippi | $78,532 | $37.76 |
| 33 | Ohio | $73,232 | $35.21 |
| 34 | Arkansas | $73,954 | $35.55 |
| 35 | Utah | $78,550 | $37.76 |
| 36 | Georgia | $80,034 | $38.48 |
| 37 | Nebraska | $70,602 | $33.94 |
| 38 | Tennessee | $68,646 | $33.00 |
| 39 | Wisconsin | $57,335 | $27.56 |
| 40 | Kansas | $68,354 | $32.86 |
| 41 | Iowa | $68,328 | $32.85 |
| 42 | Oregon | $74,781 | $35.95 |
| 43 | Montana | $57,673 | $27.73 |
| 44 | New York | $75,493 | $36.29 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $67,421 | $32.41 |
| 46 | Illinois | $74,524 | $35.83 |
| 47 | Connecticut | $72,329 | $34.77 |
| 48 | West Virginia | $60,558 | $29.11 |
| 49 | South Dakota | $56,432 | $27.13 |
| 50 | Louisiana | $59,125 | $28.43 |
| 51 | Kentucky | $55,368 | $26.62 |
The highest-paying cities for project controls engineers are San Francisco, CA, Federal Way, WA, and Washington, DC.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $115,434 | $55.50 |
| 2 | Federal Way, WA | $105,946 | $50.94 |
| 3 | Washington, DC | $97,424 | $46.84 |
| 4 | Phoenix, AZ | $93,270 | $44.84 |
| 5 | Orlando, FL | $93,005 | $44.71 |
| 6 | San Antonio, TX | $92,593 | $44.52 |
| 7 | Wentzville, MO | $91,740 | $44.11 |
| 8 | Newark, NJ | $89,730 | $43.14 |
| 9 | Warren, MI | $88,785 | $42.69 |
| 10 | Denver, CO | $88,686 | $42.64 |
| 11 | Columbia, MD | $88,496 | $42.55 |
| 12 | Boston, MA | $86,696 | $41.68 |
| 13 | Charlotte, NC | $81,985 | $39.42 |
| 14 | Atlanta, GA | $79,657 | $38.30 |
| 15 | Ogden, UT | $77,345 | $37.19 |
| 16 | New York, NY | $75,649 | $36.37 |
| 17 | Chicago, IL | $74,701 | $35.91 |
| 18 | Mason, OH | $72,462 | $34.84 |
A project controls engineer's salary ranges from $63,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $119,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $119,000 | $9,917 | $57 |
| 75th Percentile | $102,000 | $8,500 | $49 |
| Average | $86,685 | $7,224 | $42 |
| 25th Percentile | $73,000 | $6,083 | $35 |
| 10th Percentile | $63,000 | $5,250 | $30 |
The highest paying types of project controls engineers are staff design engineer, controls project manager, and senior controls engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Trainee | $60,235 | $5,020 | $28.96 | 79,966 |
| Customer Engineer | $101,212 | $8,434 | $48.66 | 44,709 |
| Staff Design Engineer | $128,071 | $10,673 | $61.57 | 154,963 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Radio Frequency Engineer | $88,301 | $7,358 | $42.45 | 35,158 |
| Planning Engineer | $82,521 | $6,877 | $39.67 | 56,792 |
Top companies hiring project controls engineers now:
Project controls engineer salaries at BP America Inc and Marathon Petroleum are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average project controls engineer salary at companies like Sandia National Labs and Los Alamos National Laboratory are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BP America Inc | $135,734 | $65.26 |
| 2 | Marathon Petroleum | $114,225 | $54.92 |
| 3 | Sandia National Labs | $110,193 | $52.98 |
| 4 | Los Alamos National Laboratory | $103,461 | $49.74 |
| 5 | General Motors | $102,484 | $49.27 |
| 6 | Texas Instruments | $102,193 | $49.13 |
| 7 | Populus Group | $100,819 | $48.47 |
| 8 | CertainTeed | $99,262 | $47.72 |
| 9 | Technip USA Corporation | $98,003 | $47.12 |
| 10 | Vanderlande | $95,379 | $45.86 |
| 11 | Exxon Mobil | $94,952 | $45.65 |
| 12 | Praxair | $94,739 | $45.55 |
| 13 | Amazon | $94,721 | $45.54 |
| 14 | Woods Services | $94,249 | $45.31 |
| 15 | Parsons | $94,014 | $45.20 |
| 16 | Ch2M Hill | $93,534 | $44.97 |
| 17 | Baxter International | $93,347 | $44.88 |
| 18 | Pro2Serve | $93,213 | $44.81 |
| 19 | Corning Incorporated | $92,451 | $44.45 |
| 20 | Kiewit | $92,438 | $44.44 |
The average project controls engineer salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Energy | $94,074 | $45.23 |
| 2 | Technology | $89,267 | $42.92 |
| 3 | Professional | $87,583 | $42.11 |
| 4 | Manufacturing | $86,102 | $41.40 |
| 5 | Government | $85,252 | $40.99 |
| 6 | Construction | $84,382 | $40.57 |
The average project controls engineer salary has risen by $12,929 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average project controls engineer earned $73,756 annually, but today, they earn $86,685 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for project controls engineers over the last decade.
Compare project controls engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare project controls engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $86,700 | $41.68 | +1.8% |
| 2024 | $85,100 | $40.91 | +2.7% |
| 2023 | $82,800 | $39.80 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | $82,400 | $39.60 | +2.9% |
| 2021 | $80,000 | $38.45 | +0.9% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier | Controls Project Engineer | Willowbrook, IL | 06/30/2025 | $92,856 |
| Kion Group | Controls Project Engineer | Plano, TX | 06/30/2025 | $82,875 |
| Arcadis | Project Controls Engineer | New York, NY | 06/29/2025 | $105,000 |
| M&J Engineering | Project Controls Engineer, Wmata | Arlington, VA | 06/29/2025 | $100,000 |
| Actalent | Project Controls Engineer | Rockville, MD | 06/29/2025 | $135,000 |
| Granite Construction Inc. | Project Controls Engineer | Everett, WA | 06/28/2025 | $85,602 |
| Evoke Consulting | Project Controls Engineer-Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project (WTP) | Richland, WA | 06/27/2025 | $60,000 |
| Parsons Corporation | Project Controls Engineer/Specialist Senior | New York, NY | 06/25/2025 | $72,900 |
| Siemens Corporation | Project Controls Engineer | Sacramento, CA | 06/25/2025 | $136,282 |
| Parsons Commercial Technology Group Inc. | Project Controls Engineer/Specialist Senior | New York, NY | 06/25/2025 | $72,900 |
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