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Project engineer salary
Average project engineer salary
$75,050
Understanding Project Engineer Salaries
In the field of project engineering, the average salary is around $75,050 per year. This figure reflects the diverse opportunities available for project engineers across various industries. Salaries can fluctuate based on experience, with entry-level positions typically earning less than their more seasoned counterparts. For instance, an entry-level project engineer may start at approximately $60,000, while those with extensive experience can earn upwards of $90,000.
Additionally, geographical factors play a significant role in salary variations. States like California and Texas often offer higher salaries due to the demand for skilled engineers. The highest-paying states for project engineers include:
- California
- New York
- Texas
- Florida
Project engineers working in specialized fields such as construction, energy, or technology may also see enhanced compensation packages. Understanding these dynamics allows aspiring project engineers to navigate their careers effectively, ensuring they maximize their earning potential.
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Where can a Project Engineer earn more?
Project engineer salaries by experience level
Project engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average project engineer salary by state
The average project engineer salary in Washington, Maryland, and California are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average project engineer salary states are Wyoming, Mississippi, and Nebraska.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for project engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico | $82,853 | $39.83 |
| 2 | Texas | $81,745 | $39.30 |
| 3 | Washington | $86,370 | $41.52 |
| 4 | West Virginia | $84,049 | $40.41 |
| 5 | Idaho | $79,415 | $38.18 |
| 6 | California | $85,922 | $41.31 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $84,971 | $40.85 |
| 8 | Louisiana | $82,719 | $39.77 |
| 9 | Vermont | $79,722 | $38.33 |
| 10 | Michigan | $75,351 | $36.23 |
| 11 | Tennessee | $78,280 | $37.63 |
| 12 | Maryland | $86,093 | $41.39 |
| 13 | Delaware | $81,981 | $39.41 |
| 14 | Arizona | $78,944 | $37.95 |
| 15 | Connecticut | $82,516 | $39.67 |
| 16 | District of Columbia | $87,369 | $42.00 |
| 17 | Maine | $78,338 | $37.66 |
| 18 | New Hampshire | $76,027 | $36.55 |
| 19 | Rhode Island | $80,449 | $38.68 |
| 20 | Virginia | $80,634 | $38.77 |
| 21 | Nevada | $76,164 | $36.62 |
| 22 | Oregon | $79,307 | $38.13 |
| 23 | Ohio | $73,556 | $35.36 |
| 24 | Alabama | $73,307 | $35.24 |
| 25 | Indiana | $72,726 | $34.96 |
| 26 | South Dakota | $74,193 | $35.67 |
| 27 | New York | $82,193 | $39.52 |
| 28 | North Dakota | $72,360 | $34.79 |
| 29 | Oklahoma | $75,407 | $36.25 |
| 30 | Colorado | $77,409 | $37.22 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania | $75,232 | $36.17 |
| 32 | Illinois | $77,840 | $37.42 |
| 33 | Alaska | $79,581 | $38.26 |
| 34 | New Jersey | $80,481 | $38.69 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | $70,213 | $33.76 |
| 36 | Minnesota | $71,625 | $34.44 |
| 37 | Missouri | $71,831 | $34.53 |
| 38 | Iowa | $70,939 | $34.11 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $72,358 | $34.79 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $68,168 | $32.77 |
| 41 | Utah | $72,673 | $34.94 |
| 42 | Georgia | $73,200 | $35.19 |
| 43 | Kansas | $68,181 | $32.78 |
| 44 | North Carolina | $71,799 | $34.52 |
| 45 | Kentucky | $69,271 | $33.30 |
| 46 | Nebraska | $67,747 | $32.57 |
| 47 | Mississippi | $67,985 | $32.69 |
| 48 | Florida | $69,734 | $33.53 |
| 49 | Arkansas | $63,953 | $30.75 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $64,985 | $31.24 |
| 51 | Montana | $63,593 | $30.57 |
Highest paying cities for project engineers
The highest-paying cities for project engineers are Richmond, CA, Washington, DC, and Seattle, WA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond, CA | $91,529 | $44.00 |
| 2 | Washington, DC | $87,389 | $42.01 |
| 3 | Seattle, WA | $86,779 | $41.72 |
| 4 | Baltimore, MD | $86,201 | $41.44 |
| 5 | Boston, MA | $84,996 | $40.86 |
| 6 | New York, NY | $82,408 | $39.62 |
| 7 | Austin, TX | $81,938 | $39.39 |
| 8 | Richmond, VA | $80,540 | $38.72 |
| 9 | Redmond, OR | $79,191 | $38.07 |
| 10 | Phoenix, AZ | $79,052 | $38.01 |
| 11 | Portland, ME | $78,815 | $37.89 |
| 12 | Chicago, IL | $77,966 | $37.48 |
| 13 | Denver, CO | $77,334 | $37.18 |
| 14 | Detroit, MI | $75,475 | $36.29 |
| 15 | Las Vegas, NV | $75,371 | $36.24 |
| 16 | Tulsa, OK | $74,884 | $36.00 |
| 17 | Columbus, OH | $73,566 | $35.37 |
| 18 | Columbus, GA | $73,246 | $35.21 |
| 19 | Richmond, IN | $73,086 | $35.14 |
| 20 | Raleigh, NC | $72,422 | $34.82 |
Project Engineers are the most in-demand in these five cities:
Project engineer salary details
A project engineer's salary ranges from $55,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $100,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a project engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $100,000 | $8,333 | $48 |
| 75th Percentile | $87,000 | $7,250 | $42 |
| Average | $75,050 | $6,254 | $36 |
| 25th Percentile | $64,000 | $5,333 | $31 |
| 10th Percentile | $55,000 | $4,583 | $26 |
Highest paying project engineer jobs
The highest paying types of project engineers are staff engineer, project lead engineer, and tool engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Design Engineer | $75,821 | $6,318 | $36.45 | 120,258 |
| Research And Development Engineer | $100,169 | $8,347 | $48.16 | 187,910 |
| Manufacturing Engineer | $78,522 | $6,543 | $37.75 | 115,384 |
| Mechanical Engineer | $75,352 | $6,279 | $36.23 | 105,618 |
| Product Development Engineer | $86,075 | $7,173 | $41.38 | 202,155 |
| Design Engineer | $77,134 | $6,428 | $37.08 | 138,173 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for project engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring project engineers now:
Which companies pay project engineers the most?
Project engineer salaries at Apple and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average project engineer salary at companies like Google and Mayo Clinic are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | $134,563 | $64.69 |
| 2 | Meta | $129,077 | $62.06 |
| 3 | $126,175 | $60.66 | |
| 4 | Mayo Clinic | $124,666 | $59.94 |
| 5 | BP America Inc | $121,974 | $58.64 |
| 6 | Microsoft | $121,341 | $58.34 |
| 7 | Applied Materials | $116,232 | $55.88 |
| 8 | Intuitive Surgical | $114,114 | $54.86 |
| 9 | ConocoPhillips | $113,212 | $54.43 |
| 10 | BGC Partners | $113,178 | $54.41 |
| 11 | Panasonic Avionics | $112,716 | $54.19 |
| 12 | Bunge | $111,099 | $53.41 |
| 13 | Amazon | $110,549 | $53.15 |
| 14 | Bayer | $110,447 | $53.10 |
| 15 | Genentech | $110,406 | $53.08 |
| 16 | Avid | $110,244 | $53.00 |
| 17 | Marathon Petroleum | $109,957 | $52.86 |
| 18 | Joby Aviation | $106,320 | $51.12 |
| 19 | FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies | $105,756 | $50.84 |
| 20 | Dolby Laboratories | $105,459 | $50.70 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Project Engineer salary by industry
The average project engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average project engineer salary in the energy industry is $85,761, the highest of any industry.
- The average project engineer salary in the finance industry is $81,333.
- Project engineers in the government industry earn an average salary of $70,715, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for project engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Energy | $85,761 | $41.23 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $81,333 | $39.10 |
| 3 | Technology | $80,988 | $38.94 |
| 4 | Automotive | $79,720 | $38.33 |
| 5 | Professional | $77,739 | $37.37 |
| 6 | Construction | $76,871 | $36.96 |
| 7 | Government | $70,715 | $34.00 |
High paying project engineer jobs
Project engineer salary trends
The average project engineer salary has risen by $9,098 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average project engineer earned $65,952 annually, but today, they earn $75,050 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for project engineers over the last decade.
Compare project engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average project engineer salary over time
Compare project engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Project engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $75,100 | $36.08 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $73,600 | $35.39 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $72,700 | $34.97 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $71,500 | $34.37 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $70,100 | $33.69 | +0.7% |
Recently added project engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imeg Consultants | Mechanical Project Engineer-Hospitality & Housing Focus | Denver, CO | 06/30/2025 | $92,000 |
| Solectron Corp | Automation Project Engineer | Buffalo Grove, IL | 06/30/2025 | $82,300 |
| PDG Website-New | Project Engineer, Bridge Design | Buffalo, NY | 06/30/2025 | $105,000 |
| Martin/Martin | Project Engineer-Structural | San Francisco, CA | 06/30/2025 | $118,000 |
| Beta | Highway Project Engineer | New Hampshire | 06/30/2025 | $88,000 |
| Atkins | Aviation Project Engineer | Mesa, AZ | 06/30/2025 | $110,000 |
| Blue Origin | Engines Project Engineer II, Combustion Devices IPT | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $96,480 |
| Kion Group | Mechanical Project Engineer | Plano, TX | 06/30/2025 | $67,125 |
| Actalent | Project Engineer Opportunity | Stamford, CT | 06/30/2025 | $100,000 |
| Mdlz | Automation Project Engineer | Portland, OR | 06/30/2025 | $106,300 |
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