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Controls designer salary
Average controls designer salary
$91,944
Average Controls Designer Salary
As of October 2025, the average salary for controls designers stands at approximately $91,944 per year. This figure reflects a competitive compensation landscape driven by the growing need for automation experts across various sectors, including manufacturing, energy, and technology.
Salary by Experience Level
Entry-level controls designers can expect to earn lower salaries, while those with more than five years of experience often see significant increases. Experience plays a vital role in salary determination, with seasoned professionals frequently commanding salaries upwards of $100,000.
Top Paying Locations
Locations such as California and Texas are known for higher salary offerings. Understanding the salary variations by state can help job seekers target regions with the best compensation packages. For instance, states like Washington and Massachusetts also report competitive salaries for this profession.
Job Market Insights
The demand for controls designers is expected to rise as automation technology advances. Professionals seeking to enhance their earning potential should consider pursuing certifications or specialized training to stay competitive in this evolving job market.
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Where can a Controls Designer earn more?
Controls designer salaries by experience level
| Experience level | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level controls designer | $82,300 | $39.56 |
| Mid-level controls designer | $102,000 | $49.23 |
| Senior-level controls designer | $129,000 | $62.15 |
Controls designer salary estimates from across the web
Average controls designer salary by state
The highest-paying states for controls designers are Rhode Island, California, and Michigan. The lowest average controls designer salary states are New York, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for controls designers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | $104,571 | $50.27 |
| 2 | California | $108,078 | $51.96 |
| 3 | Texas | $98,913 | $47.55 |
| 4 | Washington | $95,468 | $45.90 |
| 5 | Arizona | $93,811 | $45.10 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $111,016 | $53.37 |
| 7 | New Mexico | $91,294 | $43.89 |
| 8 | Alabama | $89,356 | $42.96 |
| 9 | District of Columbia | $97,025 | $46.65 |
| 10 | Colorado | $91,684 | $44.08 |
| 11 | Utah | $87,144 | $41.90 |
| 12 | Oklahoma | $90,536 | $43.53 |
| 13 | Connecticut | $90,546 | $43.53 |
| 14 | Maryland | $90,247 | $43.39 |
| 15 | Massachusetts | $87,180 | $41.91 |
| 16 | Maine | $86,879 | $41.77 |
| 17 | Oregon | $85,222 | $40.97 |
| 18 | Virginia | $86,669 | $41.67 |
| 19 | North Dakota | $86,500 | $41.59 |
| 20 | New Hampshire | $84,296 | $40.53 |
| 21 | Delaware | $88,645 | $42.62 |
| 22 | North Carolina | $83,149 | $39.98 |
| 23 | Minnesota | $84,173 | $40.47 |
| 24 | Indiana | $83,492 | $40.14 |
| 25 | Alaska | $90,779 | $43.64 |
| 26 | Hawaii | $91,222 | $43.86 |
| 27 | Nevada | $82,389 | $39.61 |
| 28 | Tennessee | $82,556 | $39.69 |
| 29 | New Jersey | $87,540 | $42.09 |
| 30 | Wyoming | $82,171 | $39.51 |
| 31 | Vermont | $84,013 | $40.39 |
| 32 | Missouri | $78,804 | $37.89 |
| 33 | Mississippi | $81,082 | $38.98 |
| 34 | Louisiana | $81,635 | $39.25 |
| 35 | Arkansas | $80,517 | $38.71 |
| 36 | Illinois | $78,970 | $37.97 |
| 37 | Iowa | $75,643 | $36.37 |
| 38 | Georgia | $76,003 | $36.54 |
| 39 | Kansas | $76,049 | $36.56 |
| 40 | Idaho | $80,441 | $38.67 |
| 41 | Ohio | $72,464 | $34.84 |
| 42 | Pennsylvania | $73,647 | $35.41 |
| 43 | New York | $69,353 | $33.34 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $75,372 | $36.24 |
| 45 | Wisconsin | $66,551 | $32.00 |
| 46 | Florida | $73,236 | $35.21 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $72,074 | $34.65 |
| 48 | Kentucky | $67,157 | $32.29 |
| 49 | West Virginia | $65,671 | $31.57 |
| 50 | Montana | $61,519 | $29.58 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $62,161 | $29.89 |
Highest paying cities for controls designers
The highest-paying cities for controls designers are San Jose, CA, Royal Oak, MI, and Austin, TX.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose, CA | $116,710 | $56.11 |
| 2 | Royal Oak, MI | $104,747 | $50.36 |
| 3 | Austin, TX | $99,402 | $47.79 |
| 4 | Chandler, AZ | $93,675 | $45.04 |
| 5 | Englewood, CO | $91,581 | $44.03 |
| 6 | Huntsville, AL | $87,903 | $42.26 |
| 7 | Manassas, VA | $86,762 | $41.71 |
| 8 | Salt Lake City, UT | $86,660 | $41.66 |
| 9 | Albany, OR | $85,499 | $41.11 |
| 10 | Saint Paul, MN | $84,209 | $40.49 |
| 11 | Chattanooga, TN | $82,747 | $39.78 |
| 12 | Las Vegas, NV | $81,991 | $39.42 |
| 13 | North Chicago, IL | $79,140 | $38.05 |
| 14 | Saint Louis, MO | $78,884 | $37.92 |
| 15 | Savannah, GA | $75,663 | $36.38 |
| 16 | Greenville, SC | $75,519 | $36.31 |
| 17 | Kissimmee, FL | $73,901 | $35.53 |
| 18 | Pittsburgh, PA | $72,711 | $34.96 |
| 19 | Toledo, OH | $72,266 | $34.74 |
| 20 | Albany, NY | $69,079 | $33.21 |
Controls designer salary details
A controls designer's salary ranges from $69,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $121,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a controls designer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $121,000 | $10,083 | $58 |
| 75th Percentile | $106,000 | $8,833 | $51 |
| Average | $91,944 | $7,662 | $44 |
| 25th Percentile | $79,000 | $6,583 | $38 |
| 10th Percentile | $69,000 | $5,750 | $33 |
Highest paying controls designer jobs
The highest paying types of controls designers are staff design engineer, asic design engineer, and circuit design engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Trainee | $60,235 | $5,020 | $28.96 | 79,966 |
| Telecommunication Engineer | $80,789 | $6,732 | $38.84 | 28,331 |
| Radio Frequency Engineer | $88,301 | $7,358 | $42.45 | 35,158 |
| Special Project Engineer | $70,934 | $5,911 | $34.10 | 90,999 |
| Telecom Engineer | $81,384 | $6,782 | $39.13 | 33,530 |
| Customer Engineer | $101,212 | $8,434 | $48.66 | 44,709 |
Top companies hiring controls designers now:
Which companies pay controls designers the most?
Controls designer salaries at Visteon and Nestlé are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average controls designer salary at companies like Burns & McDonnell and General Electric are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visteon | $103,671 | $49.84 |
| 2 | Nestlé | $95,510 | $45.92 |
| 3 | Burns & McDonnell | $94,675 | $45.52 |
| 4 | General Electric | $94,150 | $45.26 |
| 5 | Morrell Group | $93,710 | $45.05 |
| 6 | Ampirical | $92,856 | $44.64 |
| 7 | SSOE Group | $92,536 | $44.49 |
| 8 | The Walt Disney Company | $88,070 | $42.34 |
| 9 | Fives | $86,461 | $41.57 |
| 10 | Jacobs Engineering Group | $86,442 | $41.56 |
| 11 | START | $85,775 | $41.24 |
| 12 | Magneti Marelli | $85,690 | $41.20 |
| 13 | Gulfstream Aerospace | $85,570 | $41.14 |
| 14 | Barry-Wehmiller | $85,555 | $41.13 |
| 15 | Randstad North America, Inc. | $85,467 | $41.09 |
| 16 | Page Southerland Page | $82,706 | $39.76 |
| 17 | Volition Brewing | $82,634 | $39.73 |
| 18 | Amec Foster Wheeler | $82,634 | $39.73 |
| 19 | Jacobs Enterprises | $82,627 | $39.72 |
| 20 | Bernhard Link Theatrical Llc | $82,623 | $39.72 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Controls Designer salary by industry
The average controls designer salary varies across industries:
- The average controls designer salary in the technology industry is $88,405, the highest of any industry.
- The average controls designer salary in the finance industry is $88,042.
- Controls designers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $82,688, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for controls designers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $88,405 | $42.50 |
| 2 | Energy | $88,042 | $42.33 |
| 3 | Professional | $85,429 | $41.07 |
| 4 | Construction | $82,795 | $39.81 |
| 5 | Manufacturing | $82,688 | $39.75 |
High paying controls designer jobs
Controls designer salary trends
The average controls designer salary has risen by $13,714 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average controls designer earned $78,230 annually, but today, they earn $91,944 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for controls designers over the last decade.
Compare controls designer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average controls designer salary over time
Compare controls designer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Controls designer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $91,900 | $44.20 | +1.8% |
| 2024 | $90,300 | $43.39 | +2.7% |
| 2023 | $87,800 | $42.21 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | $87,400 | $42.00 | +2.9% |
| 2021 | $84,800 | $40.78 | +0.9% |
Recently added controls designer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Careers | STSI | Instrumentation & Controls Designer, Senior | Denver, CO | 06/26/2025 | $102,263 |
| Manpowergroup | Controls Hardware Designer (Eplan) | Wixom, MI | 06/21/2025 | $73,045 |
| Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Leader In Toledo, Ohio | Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) Designer | Hillsboro, OR | 06/10/2025 | $50,000 |
| Worley | Senior Instrumentation & Controls Designer | Denver, CO | 06/06/2025 | $103,163 |
| Worleyparsons Ltd. | Senior Instrumentation & Controls Designer | Denver, CO | 06/05/2025 | $103,163 |
| TRC Companies, Inc. | Protection & Controls Designer | Franklin, TN | 06/03/2025 | $74,880 |
| Caldwell Electrical Contractors | Control Panel Designer | Gainesville, GA | 05/29/2025 | $70,000 |
| Kelly Science, Engineering, Technology & Telecom | Controls Designer | Gallatin, TN | 05/28/2025 | $100,000 |
| Actalent | Protection and Controls Designer | Birmingham, AL | 05/28/2025 | $65,219 |
| TRC Companies, Inc. | Protection & Controls Designer | Franklin, TN | 05/26/2025 | $74,880 |
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