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Structural design engineer salary

Average structural design engineer salary

$75,662

$36.38 hourly rate

Entry-level structural design engineer salary
$54,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

Understanding Structural Design Engineer Salaries

The average salary for a Structural Design Engineer in the United States is around $75,662 per year, translating to approximately $36 per hour. Factors influencing salary include experience level, geographic location, and the specific industry in which one works. For instance, engineers with over ten years of experience typically command higher salaries.

Additionally, certain states such as California and Texas offer higher average salaries due to the cost of living and demand for engineering professionals. For example, California's average salary for this role may exceed $90,000, reflecting its competitive job market.

In terms of career advancement, structural design engineers can explore various roles. Positions like Project Manager or Senior Engineer often come with increased responsibilities and significantly higher salaries. By staying informed about industry trends and continuously enhancing skills, professionals can improve their earning potential and job satisfaction.

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Where can a Structural Design Engineer earn more?

Compare salary by location
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131k
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31k
Columbus, OH$105,488
Greenville, NC$61,409
Compare salary by company
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158k
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Google$133,529
Aurora Flight Sciences$88,165

Structural design engineer salaries by experience level

Structural design engineer salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor and Payscale, the average salary for a structural design engineer typically falls between $74,082 and $115,826.
zippia
$75,662yearly
glassdoor[1]
$115,826yearly
Salary.com[2]
$79,658yearly
payscale[3]
$74,082yearly

Average structural design engineer salary by state

The highest-paying states for structural design engineers are California, Oklahoma, and Washington. The lowest average structural design engineer salary states are Montana, Maryland, and Wyoming.

  • State view
  • County view
Average salary:

Highest paying states for structural design engineers

RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
1California$95,744$46.03
2Washington$88,968$42.77
3Oregon$83,303$40.05
4Texas$80,634$38.77
5Alaska$82,611$39.72
6Alabama$76,930$36.99
7Oklahoma$89,332$42.95
8Arizona$75,635$36.36
9Nevada$79,918$38.42
10Louisiana$86,290$41.49
11Utah$76,707$36.88
12Idaho$77,966$37.48
13Kentucky$81,616$39.24
14South Carolina$77,809$37.41
15Maine$75,611$36.35
16Delaware$75,234$36.17
17Mississippi$77,517$37.27
18Colorado$75,083$36.10
19District of Columbia$74,978$36.05
20Kansas$74,419$35.78
21Massachusetts$73,982$35.57
22Connecticut$74,422$35.78
23Vermont$71,905$34.57
24Minnesota$73,416$35.30
25New Jersey$78,407$37.70
26New York$74,314$35.73
27New Mexico$72,786$34.99
28North Dakota$68,412$32.89
29Virginia$69,723$33.52
30Pennsylvania$71,185$34.22
31Iowa$68,466$32.92
32Michigan$66,332$31.89
33Hawaii$67,788$32.59
34Rhode Island$70,117$33.71
35West Virginia$68,516$32.94
36Wisconsin$66,179$31.82
37New Hampshire$67,794$32.59
38Illinois$68,156$32.77
39Georgia$66,581$32.01
40Missouri$68,253$32.81
41Montana$64,004$30.77
42Maryland$63,562$30.56
43Wyoming$61,729$29.68
44Tennessee$65,752$31.61
45Ohio$64,214$30.87
46Nebraska$65,208$31.35
47Florida$64,632$31.07
48Indiana$64,107$30.82
49North Carolina$61,094$29.37
50South Dakota$60,266$28.97
51Arkansas$60,614$29.14

Highest paying cities for structural design engineers

The highest-paying cities for structural design engineers are San Francisco, CA, Oklahoma City, OK, and Seattle, WA.

RankCityAvg. salaryHourly rate
1San Francisco, CA$105,488$50.72
2Oklahoma City, OK$90,030$43.28
3Seattle, WA$89,250$42.91
4Austin, TX$80,836$38.86
5Columbia, SC$77,992$37.50
6Wichita, KS$75,876$36.48
7Denver, CO$74,841$35.98
8New York, NY$74,476$35.81
9McLean, VA$69,715$33.52
10Tallahassee, FL$68,400$32.88
11Chicago, IL$68,210$32.79
12Saint Louis, MO$68,097$32.74
13Columbus, GA$67,258$32.34
14Dearborn, MI$66,447$31.95
15Columbus, OH$64,135$30.83
16Indianapolis, IN$64,110$30.82
17Columbia, MD$63,563$30.56
18Greenville, NC$61,409$29.52

Structural design engineer salary details

A structural design engineer's salary ranges from $54,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $104,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average structural design engineer salary graph
Average structural design engineer salary graph, trends, and summary

What is a structural design engineer's salary?

PercentileAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rate
90th Percentile$104,000$8,667$50
75th Percentile$89,000$7,417$43
Average$75,662$6,305$36
25th Percentile$63,000$5,250$30
10th Percentile$54,000$4,500$26

Highest paying structural design engineer jobs

The highest paying types of structural design engineers are system design engineer, senior design engineer, and resident engineer.

Job titleAnnual salaryMonthly salaryHourly rateJob openings
Civil Engineering Internship$52,597$4,383$25.29109,733
Engineer$92,076$7,673$44.27618,207
Civil Engineer$70,950$5,912$34.1126,803
Landscape Designer$55,516$4,626$26.6949,449
Civil Designer$58,421$4,868$28.0957,036
Office Engineer$89,581$7,465$43.0759,644

Top companies hiring structural design engineers now:

  1. Bell Flight jobs (14)
  2. CTS Corporation jobs (77)
  3. Airbus jobs (12)
  4. Fluor Corporation jobs (21)
  5. Spirit AeroSystems jobs (41)

Which companies pay structural design engineers the most?

Structural design engineer salaries at Google and Amazon are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average structural design engineer salary at companies like Joby Aviation and Nucor are highly competitive.

RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rate
1Google$133,529$64.20
2Amazon$128,291$61.68
3Joby Aviation$118,725$57.08
4Nucor$102,439$49.25
5Tesla$102,069$49.07
6Woods Services$100,890$48.50
7Parsons$97,463$46.86
8Faraday Technology$96,880$46.58
9Constellation Energy Partners$95,532$45.93
10Volvo Construction Equipment$95,350$45.84
11General Electric$94,219$45.30
12Intel$93,662$45.03
13CTS Corporation$91,826$44.15
14Fluor Corporation$91,158$43.83
15Spirit AeroSystems$90,480$43.50
16Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display)$89,814$43.18
17BASF$89,644$43.10
18Cenergy International Services$89,293$42.93
19Lockheed Martin$88,273$42.44
20Aurora Flight Sciences$88,165$42.39

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$71,000$70,400$69,800$69,200$68,600$68,000
MaleFemale

Structural Design Engineer salary by industry

The average structural design engineer salary varies across industries:

  • The average structural design engineer salary in the manufacturing industry is $88,526, the highest of any industry.
  • The average structural design engineer salary in the finance industry is $86,420.
  • Structural design engineers in the professional industry earn an average salary of $74,669, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for structural design engineers

RankIndustryAverage salaryHourly rate
1Manufacturing$88,526$42.56
2Transportation$86,420$41.55
3Technology$84,315$40.54
4Construction$80,896$38.89
5Energy$80,866$38.88
6Professional$74,669$35.90

High paying structural design engineer jobs

Structural design engineer salary trends

The average structural design engineer salary has risen by $9,038 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average structural design engineer earned $66,624 annually, but today, they earn $75,662 a year. That works out to a 6% change in pay for structural design engineers over the last decade.

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

Average structural design engineer salary over time

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

Structural design engineer salary by year

YearAvg. salaryHourly rate% Change
2025$75,700$36.38+1.7%
2024$74,400$35.76+0.5%
2023$74,000$35.58+2.2%
2022$72,400$34.82+1.5%
2021$71,400$34.31+1.6%

Recently added structural design engineer salaries

CompanyJobLocationDate addedSalary
JeppesenStructures Design Engineer (Mid-Level or Senior)El Segundo, CA06/30/2025$120,700
JeppesenStructural Design Engineer (Associate, Experienced, or Senior)Hazelwood, MO06/30/2025$113,050
Blue OriginSR Structural Design Engineer-New Glenn Stage 2 & PASeattle, WA06/30/2025$140,959
RelativityVehicle Structures Design Engineer IILong Beach, CA06/29/2025$112,000
Imeg ConsultantsStructural Engineer-Project DesignerMinneapolis, MN06/29/2025$83,000
Graham & AssociatesDesign Engineer-Civil StructuralWichita, KS06/29/2025$70,000
Graham & AssociatesStructural Engineer-DesignHouston, TX06/29/2025$145,000
Ispace, Inc.Structural Design Engineer IIEnglewood, CO06/29/2025$101,000
ActalentStructural Engineer-Bridge DesignMilwaukee, WI06/28/2025$60,000
JGMS Inc.Senior Structural Design EngineerHouston, TX06/28/2025$107,000

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