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Test & development engineer salary
Average test & development engineer salary
$80,977
Understanding the Salary of Test & Development Engineers
The average salary for a Test & Development Engineer stands at $80,977 annually, with variations based on experience and location. For instance, engineers with more years of experience generally command higher salaries, reflecting their advanced skills and contributions to projects.
Salary by State
Engineers in states like California and New York often see higher average salaries due to the cost of living and demand for technology skills. For example, California's average salary for this role can reach $95,000, while New York averages around $88,000.
Top Paying Cities
Major cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston are recognized for offering some of the highest salaries for Test & Development Engineers, often exceeding the national average by a significant margin.
Industry Opportunities
Industries ranging from software development to automotive often provide lucrative job opportunities. Engineers specializing in testing and development play a crucial role in product reliability and innovation, making this a rewarding career choice.
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Where can a Test & Development Engineer earn more?
Average test & development engineer salary by state
The average test & development engineer salary in California, Washington, and Utah are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average test & development engineer salary states are Florida, Maine, and Louisiana.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for test & development engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $102,111 | $49.09 |
| 2 | California | $110,429 | $53.09 |
| 3 | Utah | $99,797 | $47.98 |
| 4 | Alabama | $84,452 | $40.60 |
| 5 | Montana | $83,265 | $40.03 |
| 6 | Nevada | $90,351 | $43.44 |
| 7 | Arizona | $82,136 | $39.49 |
| 8 | District of Columbia | $92,281 | $44.37 |
| 9 | Oregon | $90,028 | $43.28 |
| 10 | Kentucky | $83,957 | $40.36 |
| 11 | Texas | $78,288 | $37.64 |
| 12 | Idaho | $83,716 | $40.25 |
| 13 | Virginia | $82,900 | $39.86 |
| 14 | New Hampshire | $84,683 | $40.71 |
| 15 | Alaska | $78,306 | $37.65 |
| 16 | South Dakota | $75,842 | $36.46 |
| 17 | Connecticut | $87,980 | $42.30 |
| 18 | New Jersey | $91,186 | $43.84 |
| 19 | North Dakota | $74,824 | $35.97 |
| 20 | Wyoming | $81,314 | $39.09 |
| 21 | Massachusetts | $77,497 | $37.26 |
| 22 | Iowa | $75,440 | $36.27 |
| 23 | Ohio | $75,100 | $36.11 |
| 24 | Michigan | $71,462 | $34.36 |
| 25 | West Virginia | $73,703 | $35.43 |
| 26 | Rhode Island | $76,715 | $36.88 |
| 27 | Delaware | $76,462 | $36.76 |
| 28 | Nebraska | $72,448 | $34.83 |
| 29 | Hawaii | $74,967 | $36.04 |
| 30 | Mississippi | $74,298 | $35.72 |
| 31 | Colorado | $75,157 | $36.13 |
| 32 | Maryland | $75,268 | $36.19 |
| 33 | New Mexico | $70,469 | $33.88 |
| 34 | Wisconsin | $71,687 | $34.46 |
| 35 | Pennsylvania | $70,816 | $34.05 |
| 36 | Georgia | $70,631 | $33.96 |
| 37 | Maine | $66,646 | $32.04 |
| 38 | Minnesota | $73,200 | $35.19 |
| 39 | Kansas | $67,472 | $32.44 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $68,618 | $32.99 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $65,643 | $31.56 |
| 42 | South Carolina | $70,834 | $34.05 |
| 43 | Florida | $67,228 | $32.32 |
| 44 | Indiana | $67,352 | $32.38 |
| 45 | North Carolina | $70,582 | $33.93 |
| 46 | New York | $74,398 | $35.77 |
| 47 | Illinois | $73,064 | $35.13 |
| 48 | Vermont | $68,010 | $32.70 |
| 49 | Louisiana | $65,779 | $31.62 |
| 50 | Missouri | $63,534 | $30.55 |
| 51 | Oklahoma | $64,237 | $30.88 |
Highest paying cities for test & development engineers
The highest-paying cities for test & development engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Hillsboro, OR.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $123,802 | $59.52 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $102,841 | $49.44 |
| 3 | Hillsboro, OR | $90,017 | $43.28 |
| 4 | Meridian, ID | $84,437 | $40.59 |
| 5 | Chandler, AZ | $81,981 | $39.41 |
| 6 | Austin, TX | $78,998 | $37.98 |
| 7 | Pittsfield, MA | $77,509 | $37.26 |
| 8 | Baltimore, MD | $75,460 | $36.28 |
| 9 | Longmont, CO | $75,049 | $36.08 |
| 10 | Buffalo Grove, IL | $73,420 | $35.30 |
| 11 | Eden Prairie, MN | $73,210 | $35.20 |
| 12 | Troy, MI | $71,580 | $34.41 |
| 13 | Philadelphia, PA | $71,329 | $34.29 |
| 14 | Alpharetta, GA | $71,067 | $34.17 |
| 15 | Morrisville, NC | $71,019 | $34.14 |
| 16 | Orlando, FL | $68,240 | $32.81 |
Test & development engineer salary details
A test & development engineer's salary ranges from $61,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $106,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a test & development engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $106,000 | $8,833 | $51 |
| 75th Percentile | $93,000 | $7,750 | $45 |
| Average | $80,977 | $6,748 | $39 |
| 25th Percentile | $70,000 | $5,833 | $34 |
| 10th Percentile | $61,000 | $5,083 | $29 |
Highest paying test & development engineer jobs
The highest paying types of test & development engineers are performance engineer, system test engineer, and software engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Assurance | $51,313 | $4,276 | $24.67 | 69,366 |
| Quality Analyst | $71,957 | $5,996 | $34.59 | 110,980 |
| Quality Assurance Analyst | $73,532 | $6,128 | $35.35 | 108,078 |
| Quality Assurance Lead | $94,758 | $7,897 | $45.56 | 82,242 |
| Quality Assurance Tester | $74,140 | $6,178 | $35.64 | 82,396 |
| Tester | $65,202 | $5,433 | $31.35 | 52,595 |
Top companies hiring test & development engineers now:
Which companies pay test & development engineers the most?
Test & development engineer salaries at Meta and TikTok are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average test & development engineer salary at companies like Google and Apple are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $168,735 | $81.12 |
| 2 | TikTok | $154,370 | $74.22 |
| 3 | $153,929 | $74.00 | |
| 4 | Apple | $146,687 | $70.52 |
| 5 | Microsoft | $139,591 | $67.11 |
| 6 | Citi | $136,578 | $65.66 |
| 7 | Palo Alto Networks | $132,344 | $63.63 |
| 8 | Amazon | $130,882 | $62.92 |
| 9 | Nutanix | $125,807 | $60.48 |
| 10 | GoDaddy | $125,717 | $60.44 |
| 11 | Cisco | $123,046 | $59.16 |
| 12 | Cirrus Logic | $115,297 | $55.43 |
| 13 | Broadcom | $109,666 | $52.72 |
| 14 | Charles Schwab | $108,635 | $52.23 |
| 15 | Finisar | $106,520 | $51.21 |
| 16 | 2k | $106,290 | $51.10 |
| 17 | ServiceNow | $104,606 | $50.29 |
| 18 | Infineon Technologies | $103,354 | $49.69 |
| 19 | SAS Institute | $103,052 | $49.54 |
| 20 | Western Digital | $102,674 | $49.36 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Test & Development Engineer salary by industry
The average test & development engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average test & development engineer salary in the manufacturing industry is $90,094, the highest of any industry.
- The average test & development engineer salary in the finance industry is $89,426.
- Test & development engineers in the automotive industry earn an average salary of $78,512, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for test & development engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manufacturing | $90,094 | $43.31 |
| 2 | Telecommunication | $89,426 | $42.99 |
| 3 | Technology | $89,095 | $42.83 |
| 4 | Automotive | $78,512 | $37.75 |
High paying test & development engineer jobs
Test & development engineer salary trends
The average test & development engineer salary has risen by $13,255 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average test & development engineer earned $67,722 annually, but today, they earn $80,977 a year. That works out to a 10% change in pay for test & development engineers over the last decade.
Compare test & development engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average test & development engineer salary over time
Compare test & development engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Test & development engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $81,000 | $38.93 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $78,300 | $37.65 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $76,500 | $36.80 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $75,000 | $36.08 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $73,300 | $35.26 | +1.5% |
Recently added test & development engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing | Test Requirement Development Engineer (Entry or Associate) | Fort Walton Beach, FL | 06/26/2025 | $79,900 |
| Belcan | RF Test and Development Engineer | Baltimore, MD | 06/26/2025 | $104,350 |
| Insight Global | Secret RF Test and Development Engineer | Baltimore, MD | 06/25/2025 | $98,089 |
| Nvent Electric Plc | NPI Test Development Engineer | Anoka, MN | 06/24/2025 | $76,000 |
| Northrop Grumman | RF Test Development Engineer/Principal RF Test Development Engineer | Baltimore, MD | 06/19/2025 | $105,400 |
| WPP PLC | Sdet-Software Development Engineer In Test-FTE-Fy2025 | Sunnyvale, CA | 06/13/2025 | $106,000 |
| Hogarth Worldwide | Sdet-Software Development Engineer In Test-FTE-Fy2025 | Sunnyvale, CA | 06/10/2025 | $106,000 |
| Apple | Test & Instrumentation Development Engineer | Cupertino, CA | 06/07/2025 | $143,100 |
| Relativity | Vehicle Systems & Integrated Test Team-Staff Stage Development Engineer | Long Beach, CA | 05/27/2025 | $176,000 |
| WPP PLC | Sdet-Software Development Engineer In Test | Sunnyvale, CA | 05/27/2025 | $156,525 |
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