How much does an engineering internship make?

The average engineering internship salary in the United States is $41,918. Engineering internship salaries typically range between $27,000 and $63,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for engineering interns is $20.15 per hour. Engineering internship salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Engineering interns earn the highest average salary in California.

Engineering internship salary

Q: What state pays Engineering Interns the most?

California pays Engineering Interns the most in the United States, with an average salary of $60,561 per year, or $29.12 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an engineering internship?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an engineering internship if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in California you should be paid close to $57,753 per year.

Q: What is a good starting salary for an Engineering Internship?

A good starting salary for an engineering internship is $28,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for an engineering internship in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for engineering interns is $43,836, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for an engineering internship can vary by state.

Q: Do business interns get paid?

Yes, the majority of business interns get paid for the duration of their internship. Compensation often depends on the company and duties associated with the internship and can come in several forms.

Q: Do internship students get a salary?

Yes, internship students usually get a salary. The majority of internships offer some form of compensation, whether it's an hourly wage, academic credit, or stipends to help cover living costs.

Q: How much do mechanical engineering internships pay?

Mechanical engineering internships pay an average of $43,685 per year or $21.00 per hour. The range in pay rates for a mechanical engineering internship can be as low as $34,000 a year to as high as $60,000 a year.

Average engineering internship salary

$41,918

$20.15 hourly rate

Entry-level engineering internship salary

$27,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Understanding Engineering Internship Salaries

The average engineering internship salary in the United States is $41,918 per year. However, this figure varies significantly based on factors like location, industry, and level of experience. For instance, internships in tech-heavy regions or specialized engineering fields often command higher wages.

Salary by State

States such as California and Texas are known for their higher pay rates for engineering interns. Specific data shows interns in California can earn upwards of $45,000 annually. In contrast, states with lower costs of living may offer salaries closer to $35,000.

Industry Variations

Industries like software development, aerospace, and renewable energy frequently offer the highest salaries. Engineering interns in these sectors might see pay rates reflecting the demand for skilled labor in cutting-edge projects.

Conclusion

Understanding the nuances of engineering internship salaries can help candidates target their applications effectively. By focusing on high-paying states and industries, interns can better position themselves for lucrative opportunities.

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Engineering internship salary by:

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Where can an Engineering Internship earn more?

Compare salary by location

89k

69k

49k

29k

Columbus, OH$60,496

Atlanta, GA$38,889

Compare salary by company

107k

87k

67k

47k

27k

Cisco$83,299

Silicon Labs$56,937

Engineering internship salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and Comparably, the average salary for an engineering internship typically falls between $40,299 and $106,581.

zippia

$41,918yearly

glassdoor[1]

$84,613yearly

comparably[2]

$106,581yearly

Salary.com[3]

$66,914yearly

ZipRecruiter[4]

$40,299yearly

Average engineering internship salary by state

The average engineering internship salary in California, Oklahoma, and Alaska are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average engineering internship salary states are Wisconsin, Maine, and Indiana.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for engineering interns

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	District of Columbia	$60,561	$29.12
2	Alaska	$51,509	$24.76
3	Idaho	$49,654	$23.87
4	Arizona	$50,102	$24.09
5	Oregon	$47,392	$22.78
6	California	$57,753	$27.77
7	Washington	$46,925	$22.56
8	Alabama	$46,728	$22.47
9	Oklahoma	$51,985	$24.99
10	Mississippi	$48,603	$23.37
11	North Carolina	$45,585	$21.92
12	Louisiana	$48,939	$23.53
13	Connecticut	$44,369	$21.33
14	New Mexico	$45,044	$21.66
15	Ohio	$45,643	$21.94
16	New Jersey	$48,168	$23.16
17	Vermont	$42,938	$20.64
18	West Virginia	$44,053	$21.18
19	Nevada	$44,609	$21.45
20	Florida	$44,591	$21.44
21	Illinois	$44,532	$21.41
22	Maryland	$43,481	$20.90
23	Arkansas	$42,257	$20.32
24	Colorado	$42,132	$20.26
25	Pennsylvania	$43,401	$20.87
26	Virginia	$41,478	$19.94
27	Hawaii	$49,735	$23.91
28	Iowa	$41,556	$19.98
29	North Dakota	$39,094	$18.80
30	New Hampshire	$40,995	$19.71
31	New York	$42,592	$20.48
32	Utah	$38,084	$18.31
33	Wyoming	$36,964	$17.77
34	Texas	$38,917	$18.71
35	Delaware	$37,671	$18.11
36	Kansas	$40,108	$19.28
37	Missouri	$41,609	$20.00
38	Massachusetts	$38,469	$18.49
39	Michigan	$36,316	$17.46
40	Georgia	$38,796	$18.65
41	Nebraska	$36,444	$17.52
42	South Dakota	$36,197	$17.40
43	South Carolina	$36,736	$17.66
44	Maine	$35,484	$17.06
45	Kentucky	$37,077	$17.83
46	Rhode Island	$34,697	$16.68
47	Wisconsin	$35,789	$17.21
48	Minnesota	$35,827	$17.22
49	Montana	$32,636	$15.69
50	Indiana	$34,749	$16.71
51	Tennessee	$33,420	$16.07

Top engineering internship jobs near you

Highest paying cities for engineering interns

The highest-paying cities for engineering interns are Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, and Oklahoma City, OK.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Washington, DC	$60,496	$29.08
2	San Francisco, CA	$59,577	$28.64
3	Oklahoma City, OK	$52,251	$25.12
4	Phoenix, AZ	$50,206	$24.14
5	Baton Rouge, LA	$48,974	$23.55
6	Hillsboro, OR	$47,487	$22.83
7	Olympia, WA	$47,484	$22.83
8	Tallahassee, FL	$47,368	$22.77
9	Cincinnati, OH	$46,780	$22.49
10	Raleigh, NC	$45,571	$21.91
11	Albuquerque, NM	$45,029	$21.65
12	Chicago, IL	$44,465	$21.38
13	Pittsburgh, PA	$43,524	$20.93
14	New York, NY	$42,764	$20.56
15	Colorado Springs, CO	$42,661	$20.51
16	Des Moines, IA	$41,668	$20.03
17	Washington, UT	$41,271	$19.84
18	Bismarck, ND	$39,664	$19.07
19	Fort Worth, TX	$39,227	$18.86
20	Atlanta, GA	$38,889	$18.70

Engineering Interns are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Engineering internship salary details

An engineering internship's salary ranges from $27,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $63,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average engineering internship salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an engineering internship's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$63,000	$5,250	$30
75th Percentile	$52,000	$4,333	$25
Average	$41,918	$3,493	$20
25th Percentile	$33,000	$2,750	$16
10th Percentile	$27,000	$2,250	$13

Highest paying engineering internship jobs

The highest paying types of engineering interns are engineering supervisor, student engineer, and engineering associate.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Co-Operations Engineer	$42,618	$3,552	$20.49	86,804
Student Engineer	$71,947	$5,996	$34.59	98,036
Engineering Technician	$60,273	$5,023	$28.98	111,343
Engineering Supervisor	$97,535	$8,128	$46.89	57,046
Engineering Trainee	$60,235	$5,020	$28.96	79,966
Engineering Aide	$67,852	$5,654	$32.62	93,789

Top companies hiring engineering interns now:

Which companies pay engineering interns the most?

Engineering internship salaries at Cisco and Qorvo are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average engineering internship salary at companies like Achronix and City Of San Mateo are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Cisco	$83,299	$40.05
2	Qorvo	$70,768	$34.02
3	Achronix	$68,628	$32.99
4	City Of San Mateo	$65,190	$31.34
5	City of Cincinnati	$64,446	$30.98
6	OCC	$62,786	$30.19
7	Stanley Consultants	$62,734	$30.16
8	Hensel Phelps	$61,255	$29.45
9	Granite Construction	$60,748	$29.21
10	City of Anaheim	$60,697	$29.18
11	Nabors Industries	$60,481	$29.08
12	Transphorm	$59,880	$28.79
13	Google	$59,037	$28.38
14	TriMet	$58,970	$28.35
15	Algolia	$58,777	$28.26
16	Cyient	$58,770	$28.25
17	Schneider Electric Industrial Services	$58,289	$28.02
18	Wayfair	$58,088	$27.93
19	FireEye	$57,434	$27.61
20	Silicon Labs	$56,937	$27.37

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$44,000$42,600$41,200$39,800$38,400$37,000

MaleFemale

Engineering Internship salary by industry

The average engineering internship salary varies across industries:

The average engineering internship salary in the telecommunication industry is $45,479, the highest of any industry.
The average engineering internship salary in the finance industry is $43,555.
Engineering interns in the government industry earn an average salary of $34,550, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for engineering interns

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Telecommunication	$45,479	$21.86
2	Energy	$43,555	$20.94
3	Automotive	$41,723	$20.06
4	Hospitality	$40,542	$19.49
5	Technology	$40,305	$19.38
6	Manufacturing	$40,184	$19.32
7	Professional	$38,408	$18.47
8	Government	$34,550	$16.61

High paying engineering internship jobs

Engineering internship salary trends

The average engineering internship salary has risen by $5,566 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average engineering internship earned $36,352 annually, but today, they earn $41,918 a year. That works out to a 8% change in pay for engineering interns over the last decade.

Compare engineering internship salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average engineering internship salary over time

Compare engineering internship salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Engineering internship salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$41,900	$20.15	+1.2%
2024	$41,400	$19.90	+1.6%
2023	$40,800	$19.59	+1.8%
2022	$40,000	$19.24	+3.2%
2021	$38,700	$18.62	+1.4%

Recently added engineering internship salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
HNTB	Intern Engineer-WED (FOR Current/Previous Hntb Interns Only)	Los Angeles, CA	06/30/2025	$52,321
Imerys USA	Mine Engineer Intern	Fernley, NV	06/30/2025	$31,305
Gannett Fleming	Intern-Bridge Engineering	Denver, CO	06/29/2025	$41,740
Global Channel Management, Inc.	Equipment Engineer Intern	Rocky Hill, CT	06/29/2025	$56,349
A and G, Inc.	Internship-Engineering	Bingen, WA	06/28/2025	$50,610
Airbus	Internship-Engineering	Bingen, WA	06/28/2025	$50,610
Mercedes-Benz Group	Internship In Supplier Part Quality Engineering (International Student)	Vance, AL	06/28/2025	$37,566
Parsons Corporation	Roadway Engineering Intern-Fall 2025	Fort Lauderdale, FL	06/28/2025	$45,664
City of Pacifica, Ca	Engineering Intern (20639406)	Pacifica, CA	06/28/2025	$34,436
Parsons Commercial Technology Group Inc.	Roadway Engineering Intern-Fall 2025	Fort Lauderdale, FL	06/28/2025	$45,664

Engineering internship salary FAQs

What state pays Engineering Interns the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an engineering internship?

What is a good starting salary for an Engineering Internship?

Do business interns get paid?

Do internship students get a salary?

How much do mechanical engineering internships pay?

Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.

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Updated December 15, 2025

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