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Best states for a senior staff engineer
- Rank 1 - 10
- 11 - 20
- 21 - 30
- 31 - 40
- 41 - 51
Job opportunities vary from state to state, and architecture and engineering careers are no different. Because we know how difficult it can be to know which states are the best when it comes to senior staff engineer jobs, we decided to crunch some numbers to bring you the best states for senior staff engineers.As senior staff engineers are popular in the U.S., we wanted to bring you a list of the best states for senior staff engineers. In case you are trying to decide where to start your career as a senior staff engineer, or if you are considering moving to a different city or state, we got you covered.
To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for senior staff engineers. California is the best state for senior staff engineers, where the median salary is $150,965.California is the best state, and Monterey is the city with the highest pay for senior staff engineers.
10 best states for senior staff engineers in 2025
1. California
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 14,348 Average annual salary: $150,965 Lowest 10 percent earn: $105,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $216,000 Location Quotient: 1.812. Arizona
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 1,734 Average annual salary: $131,707 Lowest 10 percent earn: $89,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $193,000 Location Quotient: 1.093. Washington
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 2,700 Average annual salary: $133,489 Lowest 10 percent earn: $88,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $202,000 Location Quotient: 1.374. District of Columbia
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 735 Average annual salary: $129,856 Lowest 10 percent earn: $88,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $191,000 Location Quotient: 1.625. New Mexico
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 380 Average annual salary: $136,796 Lowest 10 percent earn: $92,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $202,000 Location Quotient: 0.726. Texas
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 5,215 Average annual salary: $127,790 Lowest 10 percent earn: $85,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $191,000 Location Quotient: 0.957. Massachusetts
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 3,580 Average annual salary: $126,078 Lowest 10 percent earn: $86,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $183,000 Location Quotient: 1.448. New Hampshire
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 433 Average annual salary: $127,249 Lowest 10 percent earn: $87,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $184,000 Location Quotient: 0.919. Utah
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 1,128 Average annual salary: $119,766 Lowest 10 percent earn: $78,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $182,000 Location Quotient: 1.3110. Louisiana
Total senior staff engineer jobs: 555 Average annual salary: $131,198 Lowest 10 percent earn: $87,000 Highest 10 percent earn: $196,000 Location Quotient: 0.64
Senior staff engineer jobsNear Columbus, OH
How Zippia determines the best states to be a senior staff engineer
You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.
Detailed list of the best states for a senior staff engineer
| Rank | State | Average salary | Lowest 10% earn | Population | Job count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $150,965 | $105,000 | 39,536,653 | 14,348 |
| 2 | Arizona | $131,707 | $89,000 | 7,016,270 | 1,734 |
| 3 | Washington | $133,489 | $88,000 | 7,405,743 | 2,700 |
| 4 | District of Columbia | $129,856 | $88,000 | 693,972 | 735 |
| 5 | New Mexico | $136,796 | $92,000 | 2,088,070 | 380 |
| 6 | Texas | $127,790 | $85,000 | 28,304,596 | 5,215 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $126,078 | $86,000 | 6,859,819 | 3,580 |
| 8 | New Hampshire | $127,249 | $87,000 | 1,342,795 | 433 |
| 9 | Utah | $119,766 | $78,000 | 3,101,833 | 1,128 |
| 10 | Louisiana | $131,198 | $87,000 | 4,684,333 | 555 |
| 11 | Nevada | $121,221 | $81,000 | 2,998,039 | 510 |
| 12 | Alabama | $119,238 | $79,000 | 4,874,747 | 995 |
| 13 | Rhode Island | $116,657 | $79,000 | 1,059,639 | 378 |
| 14 | Maine | $122,831 | $85,000 | 1,335,907 | 282 |
| 15 | Oregon | $114,837 | $75,000 | 4,142,776 | 1,640 |
| 16 | Alaska | $129,625 | $92,000 | 739,795 | 133 |
| 17 | Vermont | $114,889 | $78,000 | 623,657 | 216 |
| 18 | West Virginia | $120,897 | $81,000 | 1,815,857 | 211 |
| 19 | Colorado | $111,300 | $73,000 | 5,607,154 | 1,889 |
| 20 | Idaho | $117,485 | $76,000 | 1,716,943 | 318 |
| 21 | Maryland | $113,126 | $76,000 | 6,052,177 | 2,042 |
| 22 | Virginia | $109,302 | $73,000 | 8,470,020 | 2,954 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | $118,122 | $78,000 | 3,930,864 | 414 |
| 24 | New York | $110,554 | $74,000 | 19,849,399 | 3,625 |
| 25 | Connecticut | $110,918 | $75,000 | 3,588,184 | 807 |
| 26 | Hawaii | $120,066 | $90,000 | 1,427,538 | 189 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $97,748 | $65,000 | 12,805,537 | 3,109 |
| 28 | Minnesota | $99,802 | $66,000 | 5,576,606 | 1,797 |
| 29 | Michigan | $100,315 | $66,000 | 9,962,311 | 1,583 |
| 30 | Delaware | $100,730 | $67,000 | 961,939 | 325 |
| 31 | New Jersey | $107,381 | $72,000 | 9,005,644 | 2,009 |
| 32 | Florida | $102,908 | $67,000 | 20,984,400 | 3,186 |
| 33 | Tennessee | $98,620 | $66,000 | 6,715,984 | 901 |
| 34 | Illinois | $97,643 | $65,000 | 12,802,023 | 3,046 |
| 35 | North Carolina | $93,464 | $63,000 | 10,273,419 | 2,190 |
| 36 | Georgia | $94,626 | $63,000 | 10,429,379 | 2,176 |
| 37 | Mississippi | $97,057 | $63,000 | 2,984,100 | 215 |
| 38 | Montana | $94,071 | $61,000 | 1,050,493 | 240 |
| 39 | North Dakota | $93,964 | $62,000 | 755,393 | 139 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $91,377 | $60,000 | 579,315 | 114 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $91,857 | $61,000 | 4,454,189 | 526 |
| 42 | Arkansas | $89,718 | $59,000 | 3,004,279 | 446 |
| 43 | Ohio | $87,242 | $58,000 | 11,658,609 | 2,069 |
| 44 | Iowa | $89,663 | $59,000 | 3,145,711 | 621 |
| 45 | Missouri | $88,518 | $59,000 | 6,113,532 | 1,163 |
| 46 | Indiana | $87,467 | $58,000 | 6,666,818 | 1,283 |
| 47 | Kansas | $88,517 | $58,000 | 2,913,123 | 551 |
| 48 | South Carolina | $90,116 | $60,000 | 5,024,369 | 694 |
| 49 | Nebraska | $87,625 | $58,000 | 1,920,076 | 402 |
| 50 | Wisconsin | $87,444 | $58,000 | 5,795,483 | 979 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $81,722 | $54,000 | 869,666 | 124 |
Highest paying states for senior staff engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. Senior Staff Engineer Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $150,965 |
| 2 | Arizona | $131,707 |
| 3 | Washington | $133,489 |
| 4 | District of Columbia | $129,856 |
| 5 | New Mexico | $136,796 |
| 6 | Texas | $127,790 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $126,078 |
| 8 | New Hampshire | $127,249 |
| 9 | Utah | $119,766 |
| 10 | Louisiana | $131,198 |
| 11 | Nevada | $121,221 |
| 12 | Alabama | $119,238 |
| 13 | Rhode Island | $116,657 |
| 14 | Maine | $122,831 |
| 15 | Oregon | $114,837 |
| 16 | Alaska | $129,625 |
| 17 | Vermont | $114,889 |
| 18 | West Virginia | $120,897 |
| 19 | Colorado | $111,300 |
| 20 | Idaho | $117,485 |
| 21 | Maryland | $113,126 |
| 22 | Virginia | $109,302 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | $118,122 |
| 24 | New York | $110,554 |
| 25 | Connecticut | $110,918 |
| 26 | Hawaii | $120,066 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $97,748 |
| 28 | Minnesota | $99,802 |
| 29 | Michigan | $100,315 |
| 30 | Delaware | $100,730 |
| 31 | New Jersey | $107,381 |
| 32 | Florida | $102,908 |
| 33 | Tennessee | $98,620 |
| 34 | Illinois | $97,643 |
| 35 | North Carolina | $93,464 |
| 36 | Georgia | $94,626 |
| 37 | Mississippi | $97,057 |
| 38 | Montana | $94,071 |
| 39 | North Dakota | $93,964 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $91,377 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $91,857 |
| 42 | Arkansas | $89,718 |
| 43 | Ohio | $87,242 |
| 44 | Iowa | $89,663 |
| 45 | Missouri | $88,518 |
| 46 | Indiana | $87,467 |
| 47 | Kansas | $88,517 |
| 48 | South Carolina | $90,116 |
| 49 | Nebraska | $87,625 |
| 50 | Wisconsin | $87,444 |
| 51 | South Dakota | $81,722 |
Senior staff engineer best states FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025