How much does a process engineer make?

The average process engineer salary in the United States is $82,443. Process engineer salaries typically range between $62,000 and $108,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for process engineers is $39.64 per hour. Process engineer salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Process engineers earn the highest average salary in New Mexico.

Process engineer salary

Q: What state pays Process Engineers the most?

New Mexico pays Process Engineers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $109,409 per year, or $52.60 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a process engineer?

You know if you are being paid fairly as a process engineer 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 $99,397 per year.

Q: What is a good starting salary for a Process Engineer?

A good starting salary for a process engineer is $62,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a process engineer in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for process engineers is $81,843, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a process engineer can vary by state.

Q: Do process engineers make good money?

Yes, process engineers make good money. The median annual wage for a process engineer is over $100,000 but can range from $70,000 to $120,000 annually. This salary is expected to increase by 8% as the demand for process engineers increases.

Q: How much do engineers typically make?

Process engineers typically make around $70,000 annually. However, this quickly increases as the employee gains experience, making the annual median salary over $100,000. Since process engineers work in high-paying industries, such as gas, oil, and energy, they can leverage their skills and background to have a high starting salary.

Quoted expert

Michael Rudisill

Average process engineer salary

$82,443

$39.64 hourly rate

Entry-level process engineer salary

$62,000 yearly salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Average Process Engineer Salary

The average Process Engineer salary is approximately $82,443 annually, which translates to about $40 per hour. Compensation can vary significantly based on several factors, including geographic location, industry, and years of experience. For example, states like California and Texas often offer higher wages due to demand and cost of living considerations.

Highest Paying States

According to recent data, the highest paying states for Process Engineers include:

California
Texas
New York
Washington

In addition to state, industry choice also affects salary potential. Industries such as pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals tend to offer higher salaries compared to others. For those pursuing a career in this field, understanding the factors influencing salaries can guide effective career planning and negotiation strategies.

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Process engineer salary by:

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Where can a Process Engineer earn more?

Compare salary by location

139k

119k

99k

79k

59k

39k

Columbus, OH$109,229

Indianapolis, IN$68,703

Compare salary by company

150k

130k

110k

90k

70k

Apple$124,141

Chevron$100,240

Process engineer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Indeed, SalaryExpert, Comparably and Payscale, the average salary for a process engineer typically falls between $76,118 and $111,075.

zippia

$82,443yearly

indeed[1]

$91,964yearly

comparably[2]

$111,075yearly

Salary.com[3]

$76,118yearly

payscale[4]

$79,785yearly

SalaryExpert[5]

$107,488yearly

Average process engineer salary by state

The average process engineer salary in New Mexico, California, and Washington are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average process engineer salary states are Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for process engineers

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Arizona	$90,214	$43.37
2	California	$99,397	$47.79
3	Washington	$94,746	$45.55
4	Massachusetts	$90,330	$43.43
5	Texas	$88,286	$42.45
6	Idaho	$86,019	$41.36
7	New Mexico	$109,409	$52.60
8	Oregon	$85,929	$41.31
9	Rhode Island	$87,395	$42.02
10	Wyoming	$85,972	$41.33
11	New Hampshire	$82,929	$39.87
12	Louisiana	$87,760	$42.19
13	Nevada	$85,083	$40.91
14	Michigan	$77,594	$37.30
15	Utah	$77,931	$37.47
16	Delaware	$80,455	$38.68
17	North Dakota	$81,417	$39.14
18	New Jersey	$84,708	$40.73
19	Colorado	$80,356	$38.63
20	Alabama	$76,421	$36.74
21	Minnesota	$75,912	$36.50
22	Montana	$81,424	$39.15
23	Connecticut	$79,864	$38.40
24	Maryland	$80,382	$38.65
25	Virginia	$79,978	$38.45
26	Oklahoma	$78,481	$37.73
27	New York	$79,502	$38.22
28	Florida	$75,572	$36.33
29	Maine	$77,470	$37.25
30	Pennsylvania	$73,162	$35.17
31	North Carolina	$71,189	$34.23
32	District of Columbia	$72,474	$34.84
33	Illinois	$74,703	$35.91
34	South Carolina	$73,831	$35.50
35	Mississippi	$75,037	$36.08
36	Arkansas	$72,919	$35.06
37	West Virginia	$73,239	$35.21
38	Alaska	$77,094	$37.06
39	Missouri	$73,133	$35.16
40	Iowa	$71,217	$34.24
41	Indiana	$68,680	$33.02
42	Ohio	$68,753	$33.05
43	Nebraska	$70,781	$34.03
44	Vermont	$70,896	$34.08
45	Kansas	$69,967	$33.64
46	Hawaii	$75,930	$36.50
47	Tennessee	$69,380	$33.36
48	Georgia	$70,505	$33.90
49	Kentucky	$67,119	$32.27
50	Wisconsin	$65,076	$31.29
51	South Dakota	$66,978	$32.20

Top process engineer jobs near you

Highest paying cities for process engineers

The highest-paying cities for process engineers are Rio Rancho, NM, San Francisco, CA, and Boston, MA.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Rio Rancho, NM	$109,229	$52.51
2	San Francisco, CA	$103,758	$49.88
3	Boston, MA	$90,554	$43.54
4	Phoenix, AZ	$90,302	$43.41
5	San Antonio, TX	$88,790	$42.69
6	Sparks, NV	$88,523	$42.56
7	Baton Rouge, LA	$87,995	$42.31
8	Tualatin, OR	$85,582	$41.15
9	Albany, NY	$80,368	$38.64
10	Denver, CO	$80,192	$38.55
11	Manassas, VA	$79,892	$38.41
12	Lehi, UT	$78,107	$37.55
13	Tulsa, OK	$77,071	$37.05
14	Chicago, IL	$74,726	$35.93
15	Greenville, SC	$73,431	$35.30
16	Saint Louis, MO	$73,073	$35.13
17	Greenville, NC	$71,691	$34.47
18	Atlanta, GA	$70,220	$33.76
19	Pittsburgh, PA	$69,869	$33.59
20	Indianapolis, IN	$68,703	$33.03

Process Engineers are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Process engineer salary details

A process engineer's salary ranges from $62,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $108,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average process engineer salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a process engineer's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$108,000	$9,000	$52
75th Percentile	$95,000	$7,917	$46
Average	$82,443	$6,870	$40
25th Percentile	$71,000	$5,917	$34
10th Percentile	$62,000	$5,167	$30

Highest paying process engineer jobs

The highest paying types of process engineers are senior process engineer, tool engineer, and research and development engineer.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Research And Development Engineer	$100,169	$8,347	$48.16	187,910
Manufacturing Engineer	$78,522	$6,543	$37.75	115,384
Quality Control Engineer	$70,845	$5,904	$34.06	109,745
Quality Engineer	$79,672	$6,639	$38.30	96,838
Industrial Engineer	$76,501	$6,375	$36.78	46,756
Mechanical Engineer	$75,352	$6,279	$36.23	105,618

How would you rate the starting salaries for process engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Michael Rudisill

Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University

From what we've seen, salaries haven't been reduced, even though demand is down. I would expect wages and salary progression to remain strong as the need for engineering will only continue to grow.

Top companies hiring process engineers now:

Which companies pay process engineers the most?

Process engineer salaries at Apple and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average process engineer salary at companies like PayPal and Cheniere Energy are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Apple	$124,141	$59.68
2	Meta	$123,341	$59.30
3	PayPal	$120,798	$58.08
4	Cheniere Energy	$120,001	$57.69
5	Google	$119,936	$57.66
6	Zoox	$115,743	$55.65
7	BP America Inc	$112,306	$53.99
8	ConocoPhillips	$111,894	$53.80
9	Marathon Oil	$110,668	$53.21
10	Amazon	$109,661	$52.72
11	Sandia National Labs	$107,345	$51.61
12	Western Digital	$106,476	$51.19
13	GoPro	$104,811	$50.39
14	Marathon Petroleum	$104,571	$50.27
15	Phillips 66	$103,501	$49.76
16	Applied Materials	$102,911	$49.48
17	Cruise Automation	$102,095	$49.08
18	Exxon Mobil	$101,907	$48.99
19	Pluralsight	$101,851	$48.97
20	Chevron	$100,240	$48.19

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$85,000$84,400$83,800$83,200$82,600$82,000

MaleFemale

Process Engineer salary by industry

The average process engineer salary varies across industries:

The average process engineer salary in the technology industry is $87,797, the highest of any industry.
The average process engineer salary in the finance industry is $87,259.
Process engineers in the manufacturing industry earn an average salary of $80,661, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for process engineers

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Technology	$87,797	$42.21
2	Energy	$87,259	$41.95
3	Automotive	$81,301	$39.09
4	Manufacturing	$80,661	$38.78

High paying process engineer jobs

Process engineer salary trends

The average process engineer salary has risen by $10,854 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average process engineer earned $71,589 annually, but today, they earn $82,443 a year. That works out to a 6% change in pay for process engineers over the last decade.

Compare process engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average process engineer salary over time

Compare process engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Process engineer salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$82,400	$39.64	+1.0%
2024	$81,600	$39.22	+1.1%
2023	$80,700	$38.78	+1.3%
2022	$79,600	$38.27	+1.8%
2021	$78,100	$37.57	+1.0%

Recently added process engineer salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
BWX Technologies Inc.	Engineer 3-Downblending Process Engineering	Erwin, TN	06/30/2025	$85,000
H.B. Fuller	Process Engineer	Blue Ash, OH	06/30/2025	$90,000
P&G	Iowa City Oral Care Process Engineer	Bode, IA	06/30/2025	$86,000
Bloomenergy	Stack Process Engineer (NCG)	Fremont, CA	06/30/2025	$82,000
Jeppesen	Lean Process Engineer	Saint Charles, MO	06/30/2025	$108,800
Parsons	Mid Level Digital Signal Processing Engineer-Ts/Sci	Chantilly, VA	06/30/2025	$86,700
Solectron Corp	Process Engineer	Buffalo Grove, IL	06/30/2025	$96,400
Tate & Lyle	Process Engineer-Mcintosh, AL, Register YOU Interest	McIntosh, AL	06/30/2025	$78,600
Nextracker	Manufacturing Process Engineer-Mechanical	Fremont, CA	06/30/2025	$100,000
Alkegen	Process Engineer	Tonawanda, NY	06/30/2025	$95,706

Process engineer salary FAQs

What state pays Process Engineers the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a process engineer?

What is a good starting salary for a Process Engineer?

Do process engineers make good money?

How much do engineers typically make?

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

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Updated January 8, 2025

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