Best states for a staff design engineer

Q: What is the best state for staff design engineers?

The best state to be a staff design engineer is California based on staff design engineer salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for staff design engineers?

The highest paying state for staff design engineers is Montana based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for staff design engineers?

The worst state for staff design engineers is South Dakota, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

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Are you thinking of becoming a staff design engineer and really want to work at Broadcom? Turns out, your chances to become a staff design engineer are better in some states than others.In order to help you decide which state is the best for staff design engineers, we ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia from best to worst for staff design engineer jobs.

In order to get you the best states for staff design engineers, we looked at our data on jobs and wages -- specifically the average annual wage and the number of available jobs per capita.We found that the Midwest is best for staff design engineers, and the Northeast is the worst. San Francisco, CA is the best city in the country for staff design engineer jobs, where as California is the best state in the country.

10 best states for staff design engineers in 2025

1. California
Total staff design engineer jobs: 12,003
Average annual salary: $131,522
Lowest 10 percent earn: $87,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $198,000
Location Quotient:
1.82
Staff design engineer jobs in California
2. Rhode Island
Total staff design engineer jobs: 282
Average annual salary: $130,280
Lowest 10 percent earn: $91,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $186,000
Location Quotient:
1.03
Staff design engineer jobs in Rhode Island
3. Arizona
Total staff design engineer jobs: 1,512
Average annual salary: $116,808
Lowest 10 percent earn: $76,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $178,000
Location Quotient:
1.14
Staff design engineer jobs in Arizona
4. Texas
Total staff design engineer jobs: 4,409
Average annual salary: $120,426
Lowest 10 percent earn: $78,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $184,000
Location Quotient:
0.96
Staff design engineer jobs in Texas
5. Alabama
Total staff design engineer jobs: 914
Average annual salary: $104,358
Lowest 10 percent earn: $67,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $161,000
Location Quotient:
0.92
Staff design engineer jobs in Alabama
6. New Mexico
Total staff design engineer jobs: 318
Average annual salary: $111,950
Lowest 10 percent earn: $72,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $173,000
Location Quotient:
0.72
Staff design engineer jobs in New Mexico
7. District of Columbia
Total staff design engineer jobs: 534
Average annual salary: $112,604
Lowest 10 percent earn: $75,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $166,000
Location Quotient:
1.41
Staff design engineer jobs in District of Columbia
8. Washington
Total staff design engineer jobs: 2,229
Average annual salary: $105,586
Lowest 10 percent earn: $65,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $169,000
Location Quotient:
1.35
Staff design engineer jobs in Washington
9. Massachusetts
Total staff design engineer jobs: 2,875
Average annual salary: $102,776
Lowest 10 percent earn: $72,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $146,000
Location Quotient:
1.38
Staff design engineer jobs in Massachusetts
10. Connecticut
Total staff design engineer jobs: 671
Average annual salary: $105,827
Lowest 10 percent earn: $73,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $152,000
Location Quotient:
0.9
Staff design engineer jobs in Connecticut

Staff design engineer jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a staff design engineer

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a staff design engineer

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	California	$131,522	$87,000	39,536,653	12,003
2	Rhode Island	$130,280	$91,000	1,059,639	282
3	Arizona	$116,808	$76,000	7,016,270	1,512
4	Texas	$120,426	$78,000	28,304,596	4,409
5	Alabama	$104,358	$67,000	4,874,747	914
6	New Mexico	$111,950	$72,000	2,088,070	318
7	District of Columbia	$112,604	$75,000	693,972	534
8	Washington	$105,586	$65,000	7,405,743	2,229
9	Massachusetts	$102,776	$72,000	6,859,819	2,875
10	Connecticut	$105,827	$73,000	3,588,184	671
11	Maine	$103,023	$74,000	1,335,907	268
12	Hawaii	$118,645	$87,000	1,427,538	149
13	Vermont	$100,201	$71,000	623,657	186
14	Delaware	$102,712	$69,000	961,939	245
15	Colorado	$100,141	$63,000	5,607,154	1,472
16	Virginia	$100,652	$67,000	8,470,020	2,329
17	Maryland	$104,562	$70,000	6,052,177	1,471
18	Alaska	$107,169	$70,000	739,795	120
19	Minnesota	$99,352	$66,000	5,576,606	1,476
20	Michigan	$96,614	$65,000	9,962,311	1,665
21	New Hampshire	$99,787	$70,000	1,342,795	361
22	Oklahoma	$103,815	$66,000	3,930,864	355
23	Nevada	$96,603	$62,000	2,998,039	423
24	North Dakota	$99,635	$66,000	755,393	137
25	Indiana	$97,504	$64,000	6,666,818	1,100
26	Oregon	$94,288	$58,000	4,142,776	1,364
27	North Carolina	$96,833	$64,000	10,273,419	1,716
28	New Jersey	$101,552	$69,000	9,005,644	1,587
29	Louisiana	$98,748	$63,000	4,684,333	458
30	Utah	$90,687	$56,000	3,101,833	823
31	Tennessee	$94,724	$61,000	6,715,984	796
32	Mississippi	$95,895	$61,000	2,984,100	206
33	Illinois	$93,163	$61,000	12,802,023	2,505
34	Arkansas	$92,014	$59,000	3,004,279	361
35	Pennsylvania	$85,506	$58,000	12,805,537	2,699
36	Wyoming	$87,733	$55,000	579,315	111
37	Georgia	$88,563	$57,000	10,429,379	1,853
38	Ohio	$84,953	$56,000	11,658,609	1,755
39	Iowa	$87,364	$57,000	3,145,711	544
40	Missouri	$88,850	$57,000	6,113,532	935
41	New York	$80,711	$55,000	19,849,399	3,003
42	Florida	$88,213	$56,000	20,984,400	2,731
43	South Carolina	$87,996	$57,000	5,024,369	645
44	Kansas	$84,953	$54,000	2,913,123	487
45	Idaho	$84,362	$52,000	1,716,943	253
46	Wisconsin	$78,837	$52,000	5,795,483	918
47	Nebraska	$80,528	$51,000	1,920,076	350
48	Montana	$65,586	$41,000	1,050,493	206
49	Kentucky	$77,399	$50,000	4,454,189	456
50	West Virginia	$76,543	$51,000	1,815,857	184
51	South Dakota	$71,089	$46,000	869,666	115

Highest paying states for staff design engineers

Rank	State	Avg. Staff Design Engineer Salary
1	California	$131,522
2	Rhode Island	$130,280
3	Arizona	$116,808
4	Texas	$120,426
5	Alabama	$104,358
6	New Mexico	$111,950
7	District of Columbia	$112,604
8	Washington	$105,586
9	Massachusetts	$102,776
10	Connecticut	$105,827
11	Maine	$103,023
12	Hawaii	$118,645
13	Vermont	$100,201
14	Delaware	$102,712
15	Colorado	$100,141
16	Virginia	$100,652
17	Maryland	$104,562
18	Alaska	$107,169
19	Minnesota	$99,352
20	Michigan	$96,614
21	New Hampshire	$99,787
22	Oklahoma	$103,815
23	Nevada	$96,603
24	North Dakota	$99,635
25	Indiana	$97,504
26	Oregon	$94,288
27	North Carolina	$96,833
28	New Jersey	$101,552
29	Louisiana	$98,748
30	Utah	$90,687
31	Tennessee	$94,724
32	Mississippi	$95,895
33	Illinois	$93,163
34	Arkansas	$92,014
35	Pennsylvania	$85,506
36	Wyoming	$87,733
37	Georgia	$88,563
38	Ohio	$84,953
39	Iowa	$87,364
40	Missouri	$88,850
41	New York	$80,711
42	Florida	$88,213
43	South Carolina	$87,996
44	Kansas	$84,953
45	Idaho	$84,362
46	Wisconsin	$78,837
47	Nebraska	$80,528
48	Montana	$65,586
49	Kentucky	$77,399
50	West Virginia	$76,543
51	South Dakota	$71,089

Staff design engineer best states FAQs

What is the best state for staff design engineers?

What is the highest paying state for staff design engineers?

What is the worst state for staff design engineers?

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

Search for staff design engineer jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse architecture and engineering jobs

Total staff design engineer jobs:	12,003
Average annual salary:	$131,522
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$87,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$198,000
Location Quotient:	1.82

Best states for a staff design engineer

10 best states for staff design engineers in 2025

1. California

2. Rhode Island

3. Arizona

4. Texas

5. Alabama

6. New Mexico

7. District of Columbia

8. Washington

9. Massachusetts

10. Connecticut