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Chief engineer salary
Average chief engineer salary
$108,050
Average Chief Engineer Salary
The Chief Engineer role is pivotal in various industries, with an average salary of $108,050 per year. This figure can vary based on experience, education, and geographic location. For instance, chief engineers in metropolitan areas often command higher salaries due to the demand for skilled professionals.
Salary by State
In states like California, Texas, and New York, salaries are generally higher, reflecting the cost of living and the concentration of engineering firms. For example, chief engineers in California can earn well above the national average, driven by the technology and construction sectors.
Industries Offering Competitive Salaries
Industries such as aerospace, manufacturing, and oil and gas typically offer the highest salaries for chief engineers. These sectors demand extensive technical knowledge and leadership skills, leading to increased compensation for experienced professionals.
Job Opportunities
As a chief engineer, numerous opportunities are available across various sectors. Pursuing advanced certifications can further enhance job prospects and salary potential. Stay informed about industry trends and salary benchmarks to navigate your career effectively.
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Where can a Chief Engineer earn more?
Chief engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average chief engineer salary by state
The highest-paying states for chief engineers are California, Texas, and Arizona. The lowest average chief engineer salary states are Vermont, Wyoming, and North Dakota.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for chief engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $148,092 | $71.20 |
| 2 | Arizona | $134,296 | $64.57 |
| 3 | Texas | $134,990 | $64.90 |
| 4 | District of Columbia | $125,785 | $60.47 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $120,247 | $57.81 |
| 6 | Virginia | $120,617 | $57.99 |
| 7 | Nevada | $126,496 | $60.82 |
| 8 | Maryland | $123,286 | $59.27 |
| 9 | New Mexico | $116,387 | $55.96 |
| 10 | Alabama | $123,326 | $59.29 |
| 11 | Utah | $109,608 | $52.70 |
| 12 | Michigan | $109,597 | $52.69 |
| 13 | Colorado | $107,151 | $51.51 |
| 14 | Connecticut | $107,361 | $51.62 |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | $110,166 | $52.96 |
| 16 | Delaware | $103,008 | $49.52 |
| 17 | Rhode Island | $101,872 | $48.98 |
| 18 | Tennessee | $107,082 | $51.48 |
| 19 | Oregon | $100,250 | $48.20 |
| 20 | New Jersey | $106,532 | $51.22 |
| 21 | West Virginia | $103,661 | $49.84 |
| 22 | Indiana | $101,971 | $49.02 |
| 23 | Illinois | $101,511 | $48.80 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $100,838 | $48.48 |
| 25 | Louisiana | $103,540 | $49.78 |
| 26 | Kentucky | $100,741 | $48.43 |
| 27 | Alaska | $101,283 | $48.69 |
| 28 | New York | $95,946 | $46.13 |
| 29 | Washington | $91,803 | $44.14 |
| 30 | Georgia | $95,737 | $46.03 |
| 31 | Ohio | $92,860 | $44.64 |
| 32 | Kansas | $94,164 | $45.27 |
| 33 | Florida | $93,815 | $45.10 |
| 34 | Minnesota | $88,946 | $42.76 |
| 35 | Oklahoma | $94,936 | $45.64 |
| 36 | Hawaii | $99,112 | $47.65 |
| 37 | Iowa | $93,037 | $44.73 |
| 38 | Missouri | $94,419 | $45.39 |
| 39 | Mississippi | $93,314 | $44.86 |
| 40 | New Hampshire | $86,377 | $41.53 |
| 41 | North Carolina | $87,032 | $41.84 |
| 42 | Wyoming | $85,213 | $40.97 |
| 43 | Maine | $92,125 | $44.29 |
| 44 | Vermont | $85,515 | $41.11 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $89,832 | $43.19 |
| 46 | Montana | $85,781 | $41.24 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $85,702 | $41.20 |
| 48 | North Dakota | $84,627 | $40.69 |
| 49 | Idaho | $82,563 | $39.69 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $79,744 | $38.34 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $73,495 | $35.33 |
Highest paying cities for chief engineers
The highest-paying cities for chief engineers are Palo Alto, CA, Midland, TX, and Phoenix, AZ.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palo Alto, CA | $160,400 | $77.12 |
| 2 | Midland, TX | $143,423 | $68.95 |
| 3 | Phoenix, AZ | $137,622 | $66.16 |
| 4 | Las Vegas, NV | $128,177 | $61.62 |
| 5 | Washington, DC | $126,499 | $60.82 |
| 6 | Huntsville, AL | $124,925 | $60.06 |
| 7 | Bethesda, MD | $124,085 | $59.66 |
| 8 | Boston, MA | $120,516 | $57.94 |
| 9 | Alexandria, VA | $119,716 | $57.56 |
| 10 | Philadelphia, PA | $111,052 | $53.39 |
| 11 | Salt Lake City, UT | $108,749 | $52.28 |
| 12 | Colorado Springs, CO | $108,443 | $52.14 |
| 13 | Indianapolis, IN | $102,504 | $49.28 |
| 14 | Anchorage, AK | $102,279 | $49.17 |
| 15 | Chicago, IL | $101,657 | $48.87 |
| 16 | Oshkosh, WI | $100,144 | $48.15 |
| 17 | Portland, OR | $99,007 | $47.60 |
| 18 | New York, NY | $96,334 | $46.31 |
| 19 | Atlanta, GA | $95,712 | $46.02 |
| 20 | Orlando, FL | $95,006 | $45.68 |
Chief engineer salary details
A chief engineer's salary ranges from $65,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $177,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a chief engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $177,000 | $14,750 | $85 |
| 75th Percentile | $140,000 | $11,667 | $67 |
| Average | $108,050 | $9,004 | $52 |
| 25th Percentile | $83,000 | $6,917 | $40 |
| 10th Percentile | $65,000 | $5,417 | $31 |
Highest paying chief engineer jobs
The highest paying types of chief engineers are senior principal engineer, principal engineer, and contracting engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead Design Engineer | $108,490 | $9,041 | $52.16 | 118,073 |
| Integration Engineer | $99,674 | $8,306 | $47.92 | 103,437 |
| Operations Engineer | $91,522 | $7,627 | $44.00 | 155,188 |
| Principal Engineer | $130,213 | $10,851 | $62.60 | 312,683 |
| Team Lead Engineer | $114,867 | $9,572 | $55.22 | 235,155 |
| Facility Engineer | $89,623 | $7,469 | $43.09 | 94,268 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for chief engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Daisy Huang
Assistant Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Top companies hiring chief engineers now:
Which companies pay chief engineers the most?
Chief engineer salaries at BGC Partners and Kaiser Permanente are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average chief engineer salary at companies like Google and Amazon are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BGC Partners | $163,391 | $78.55 |
| 2 | Kaiser Permanente | $155,607 | $74.81 |
| 3 | $152,788 | $73.46 | |
| 4 | Amazon | $152,054 | $73.10 |
| 5 | Brookfield Properties | $149,972 | $72.10 |
| 6 | Macy's | $142,642 | $68.58 |
| 7 | BXP | $140,157 | $67.38 |
| 8 | Hireology | $138,954 | $66.80 |
| 9 | Hines Corporation | $132,812 | $63.85 |
| 10 | Amd | $131,300 | $63.13 |
| 11 | Booz Allen Hamilton | $130,823 | $62.90 |
| 12 | Newmark Grubb Knight Frank | $129,958 | $62.48 |
| 13 | Martin Midstream GP | $128,795 | $61.92 |
| 14 | Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies (sgt) | $128,718 | $61.88 |
| 15 | Ball | $128,551 | $61.80 |
| 16 | Harvard University | $127,325 | $61.21 |
| 17 | Parsons | $127,128 | $61.12 |
| 18 | Spanish Broadcasting System | $126,857 | $60.99 |
| 19 | MITRE | $126,831 | $60.98 |
| 20 | ITT | $126,289 | $60.72 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Chief Engineer salary by industry
The average chief engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average chief engineer salary in the transportation industry is $114,862, the highest of any industry.
- The average chief engineer salary in the finance industry is $114,348.
- Chief engineers in the hospitality industry earn an average salary of $77,065, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for chief engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transportation | $114,862 | $55.22 |
| 2 | Technology | $114,348 | $54.98 |
| 3 | Manufacturing | $111,314 | $53.52 |
| 4 | Energy | $107,052 | $51.47 |
| 5 | Automotive | $106,129 | $51.02 |
| 6 | Professional | $102,647 | $49.35 |
| 7 | Real Estate | $94,960 | $45.65 |
| 8 | Hospitality | $77,065 | $37.05 |
High paying chief engineer jobs
Chief engineer salary trends
The average chief engineer salary has risen by $13,099 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average chief engineer earned $94,951 annually, but today, they earn $108,050 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for chief engineers over the last decade.
Compare chief engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average chief engineer salary over time
Compare chief engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Chief engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $108,000 | $51.95 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $106,000 | $50.95 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $105,000 | $50.34 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $103,000 | $49.48 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $101,000 | $48.51 | +0.7% |
Recently added chief engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonesta Hotels | Dual Chief Engineer | San Francisco, CA | 06/30/2025 | $100,000 |
| Jeppesen | SLS Associate Chief Engineer | New Orleans, LA | 06/30/2025 | $164,990 |
| Jeppesen | Ground Chief Engineer for Milsatcom Program | El Segundo, CA | 06/30/2025 | $186,150 |
| Nrel | Chief Cyber Engineer | Golden, CO | 06/30/2025 | $140,900 |
| Perspecta | Chief Engineer & Innovation Officer | Houston, TX | 06/29/2025 | $146,000 |
| Warwick Hotel | Chief Engineer | Seattle, WA | 06/29/2025 | $90,000 |
| Get It-Executive | Modernization Chief Engineer-Remote | Myrtle Point, OR | 06/29/2025 | $115,000 |
| IHG Career | Chief Engineer at Hotel Indigo Naperville Riverwalk | Naperville, IL | 06/29/2025 | $73,000 |
| Northrop Grumman | Staff Chief Engineer | Baltimore, MD | 06/28/2025 | $163,200 |
| Cushman & Wakefield Inc. | Senior Chief Engineer | Washington, MA | 06/28/2025 | $82,110 |
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