Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Systems engineer salary
Average systems engineer salary
$82,834
Average Systems Engineer Salary
The average salary for a systems engineer stands at approximately $82,834 annually, or about $40 per hour. This figure reflects the demand for skilled professionals in the tech field, where systems engineers play a crucial role in developing and managing complex systems.
Salary by State
Salaries for systems engineers can vary significantly by state. For example, states like California and New York often offer higher compensation due to the cost of living and demand for technology roles. Analyzing pay scales across different regions helps identify where systems engineers can earn more.
Experience Matters
Experience is another key factor influencing salary. Entry-level systems engineers can expect to earn less, while those with several years of experience or specialized skills typically command higher salaries. Continuous learning and staying updated with industry trends can enhance earning potential.
Industries and Opportunities
Systems engineers find opportunities in various industries, including information technology, aerospace, and health care. Each sector may offer distinct salary ranges and benefits. Job seekers should consider both salary and growth prospects when evaluating positions.
Let Zippi find your next systems engineer job
Let Zippi find your next systems engineer job
Where can a Systems Engineer earn more?
Systems engineer salary estimates from across the web
Average systems engineer salary by state
The average systems engineer salary in California, Washington, and Maryland are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average systems engineer salary states are South Dakota, Alaska, and Montana.
- State view
- County view
Highest paying states for systems engineers
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $90,725 | $43.62 |
| 2 | California | $94,433 | $45.40 |
| 3 | Nebraska | $84,333 | $40.54 |
| 4 | Virginia | $84,865 | $40.80 |
| 5 | Maryland | $87,332 | $41.99 |
| 6 | Oregon | $83,353 | $40.07 |
| 7 | Nevada | $84,252 | $40.51 |
| 8 | Delaware | $83,883 | $40.33 |
| 9 | Texas | $80,940 | $38.91 |
| 10 | District of Columbia | $87,802 | $42.21 |
| 11 | Michigan | $80,612 | $38.76 |
| 12 | Vermont | $79,971 | $38.45 |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | $80,584 | $38.74 |
| 14 | Arizona | $77,825 | $37.42 |
| 15 | Massachusetts | $81,550 | $39.21 |
| 16 | West Virginia | $80,166 | $38.54 |
| 17 | Idaho | $79,905 | $38.42 |
| 18 | Alabama | $76,777 | $36.91 |
| 19 | Ohio | $77,774 | $37.39 |
| 20 | New Jersey | $82,728 | $39.77 |
| 21 | Arkansas | $77,376 | $37.20 |
| 22 | Colorado | $77,473 | $37.25 |
| 23 | New York | $81,979 | $39.41 |
| 24 | New Hampshire | $76,834 | $36.94 |
| 25 | Utah | $74,971 | $36.04 |
| 26 | New Mexico | $75,452 | $36.27 |
| 27 | Tennessee | $76,517 | $36.79 |
| 28 | Iowa | $76,265 | $36.67 |
| 29 | Hawaii | $80,120 | $38.52 |
| 30 | Connecticut | $76,235 | $36.65 |
| 31 | Georgia | $75,964 | $36.52 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $74,307 | $35.72 |
| 33 | Minnesota | $75,506 | $36.30 |
| 34 | Indiana | $74,910 | $36.01 |
| 35 | Mississippi | $74,909 | $36.01 |
| 36 | Illinois | $75,914 | $36.50 |
| 37 | Kansas | $73,434 | $35.30 |
| 38 | Rhode Island | $72,522 | $34.87 |
| 39 | Florida | $73,249 | $35.22 |
| 40 | Wyoming | $70,006 | $33.66 |
| 41 | Alaska | $70,556 | $33.92 |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $73,227 | $35.21 |
| 43 | South Carolina | $73,856 | $35.51 |
| 44 | Kentucky | $72,464 | $34.84 |
| 45 | Wisconsin | $72,800 | $35.00 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $70,593 | $33.94 |
| 47 | North Dakota | $69,310 | $33.32 |
| 48 | Louisiana | $73,095 | $35.14 |
| 49 | Montana | $70,491 | $33.89 |
| 50 | Missouri | $71,725 | $34.48 |
| 51 | Maine | $70,466 | $33.88 |
Highest paying cities for systems engineers
The highest-paying cities for systems engineers are San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, and Washington, DC.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $102,767 | $49.41 |
| 2 | Seattle, WA | $91,195 | $43.84 |
| 3 | Washington, DC | $87,893 | $42.26 |
| 4 | Annapolis, MD | $87,485 | $42.06 |
| 5 | Reston, VA | $85,319 | $41.02 |
| 6 | Bellevue, NE | $84,510 | $40.63 |
| 7 | Middletown, NJ | $82,817 | $39.82 |
| 8 | New York, NY | $82,152 | $39.50 |
| 9 | Austin, TX | $81,705 | $39.28 |
| 10 | Middletown, PA | $80,951 | $38.92 |
| 11 | Dearborn, MI | $80,813 | $38.85 |
| 12 | Phoenix, AZ | $77,924 | $37.46 |
| 13 | Columbus, OH | $77,833 | $37.42 |
| 14 | Colorado Springs, CO | $77,689 | $37.35 |
| 15 | Bentonville, AR | $77,175 | $37.10 |
| 16 | Huntsville, AL | $76,756 | $36.90 |
| 17 | Cedar Rapids, IA | $76,707 | $36.88 |
| 18 | Middletown, CT | $76,221 | $36.64 |
| 19 | Chicago, IL | $76,091 | $36.58 |
| 20 | Alpharetta, GA | $76,082 | $36.58 |
Systems Engineers are the most in-demand in these five cities:
Systems engineer salary details
A systems engineer's salary ranges from $62,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $109,000 at the 90th percentile.
What is a systems engineer's salary?
| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $109,000 | $9,083 | $52 |
| 75th Percentile | $95,000 | $7,917 | $46 |
| Average | $82,834 | $6,903 | $40 |
| 25th Percentile | $71,000 | $5,917 | $34 |
| 10th Percentile | $62,000 | $5,167 | $30 |
Highest paying systems engineer jobs
The highest paying types of systems engineers are principal systems engineer, senior systems software engineer, and lead systems engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information Engineer | $105,003 | $8,750 | $50.48 | 151,357 |
| Systems Consultant | $99,659 | $8,305 | $47.91 | 134,337 |
| Systems Administrator | $77,156 | $6,430 | $37.09 | 134,500 |
| Systems Integrator | $102,867 | $8,572 | $49.46 | 98,466 |
| Engineer | $92,076 | $7,673 | $44.27 | 618,207 |
| Systems Developer | $97,230 | $8,102 | $46.75 | 322,419 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for systems engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring systems engineers now:
Which companies pay systems engineers the most?
Systems engineer salaries at The Citadel and Meta are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average systems engineer salary at companies like Airbnb and Cloudflare are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Citadel | $161,812 | $77.79 |
| 2 | Meta | $148,883 | $71.58 |
| 3 | Airbnb | $143,102 | $68.80 |
| 4 | Cloudflare | $140,774 | $67.68 |
| 5 | ByteDance | $139,398 | $67.02 |
| 6 | Apple | $139,178 | $66.91 |
| 7 | $139,011 | $66.83 | |
| 8 | $138,823 | $66.74 | |
| 9 | First Republic Bank | $136,305 | $65.53 |
| 10 | PayPal | $136,280 | $65.52 |
| 11 | Lyft | $134,932 | $64.87 |
| 12 | Palo Alto Networks | $134,056 | $64.45 |
| 13 | Mixpanel | $133,560 | $64.21 |
| 14 | Waymo | $133,246 | $64.06 |
| 15 | Atlassian | $133,122 | $64.00 |
| 16 | eBay | $132,781 | $63.84 |
| 17 | Snowflake Computing | $132,430 | $63.67 |
| 18 | NVIDIA | $131,959 | $63.44 |
| 19 | Practice Fusion | $131,919 | $63.42 |
| 20 | CrowdStrike | $130,973 | $62.97 |
Wage gap by gender, race and education
Systems Engineer salary by industry
The average systems engineer salary varies across industries:
- The average systems engineer salary in the automotive industry is $96,218, the highest of any industry.
- The average systems engineer salary in the finance industry is $93,414.
- Systems engineers in the government industry earn an average salary of $71,845, the lowest of any industry.
Highest paying industries for systems engineers
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Automotive | $96,218 | $46.26 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $93,414 | $44.91 |
| 3 | Telecommunication | $92,759 | $44.60 |
| 4 | Technology | $90,298 | $43.41 |
| 5 | Finance | $86,348 | $41.51 |
| 6 | Government | $71,845 | $34.54 |
High paying systems engineer jobs
Systems engineer salary trends
The average systems engineer salary has risen by $14,080 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average systems engineer earned $68,754 annually, but today, they earn $82,834 a year. That works out to a 9% change in pay for systems engineers over the last decade.
Compare systems engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Average systems engineer salary over time
Compare systems engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Systems engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $82,800 | $39.82 | +3.3% |
| 2024 | $80,100 | $38.51 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $78,300 | $37.64 | +2.2% |
| 2022 | $76,600 | $36.82 | +0.7% |
| 2021 | $76,100 | $36.57 | +1.2% |
Recently added systems engineer salaries
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F5 Networks | Systems Engineer III | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $128,099 |
| Jeppesen | Experienced Systems Engineer (Systems Architecture & DEF) | Saint Charles, MO | 06/30/2025 | $97,750 |
| Jeppesen | Systems Engineer | El Segundo, CA | 06/30/2025 | $157,250 |
| Philips Healthcare | Systems Engineer | New Kensington, PA | 06/30/2025 | $99,000 |
| Sanford Health | Health Systems Engineer-Facilities | Fargo, ND | 06/30/2025 | $72,002 |
| Sierra Nevada | Systems Engineer III | Lone Tree, CO | 06/30/2025 | $108,497 |
| University of Central Florida | Systems Engineer III (Mbse, Edge Ai/Ml, ROS) (Temp) | Orlando, FL | 06/30/2025 | $119,940 |
| Barr Systems | Wind Solar Collection Systems Engineer-Mid Level (Hybrid/Remote) | Minneapolis, MN | 06/30/2025 | $89,000 |
| Blue Origin | Fluids Systems Engineer II-New Glenn | Seattle, WA | 06/30/2025 | $96,310 |
| Symbotic | System Engineer | Woodland, CA | 06/30/2025 | $85,000 |
Systems engineer salary FAQs
Search for systems engineer jobs