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The average salary for a team lead engineer in the United States is $114,867 per year. This figure can fluctuate based on various factors such as geographic location, years of experience, and specific industry sectors. Understanding these differences is crucial for both job seekers and current professionals aiming to negotiate salaries effectively.
Salary increases typically correlate with experience. For instance, entry-level team lead engineers may earn around $85,000, while those with over ten years of experience can see salaries exceeding $130,000.
Team lead engineers in states like California, Washington, and New York often report higher salaries. This is influenced by local demand for technology professionals and cost of living adjustments. For example, California's tech hubs offer competitive compensation to attract talent.
Cities such as San Francisco and Seattle lead in offering the highest salaries. These urban centers not only provide robust job markets but also abundant opportunities for professional growth and networking.
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The average team lead engineer salary in California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are the highest in the U.S. The lowest average team lead engineer salary states are Mississippi, North Dakota, and Arkansas.
| Rank | State | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $151,531 | $72.85 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $132,173 | $63.54 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $130,098 | $62.55 |
| 4 | Arizona | $124,821 | $60.01 |
| 5 | Nevada | $122,853 | $59.06 |
| 6 | Maryland | $122,930 | $59.10 |
| 7 | New York | $127,656 | $61.37 |
| 8 | Virginia | $121,860 | $58.59 |
| 9 | Idaho | $118,048 | $56.75 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $117,919 | $56.69 |
| 11 | District of Columbia | $122,638 | $58.96 |
| 12 | Utah | $113,044 | $54.35 |
| 13 | New Jersey | $135,939 | $65.36 |
| 14 | New Mexico | $121,046 | $58.20 |
| 15 | West Virginia | $121,579 | $58.45 |
| 16 | Oregon | $113,653 | $54.64 |
| 17 | Washington | $113,517 | $54.58 |
| 18 | Texas | $118,149 | $56.80 |
| 19 | Maine | $116,809 | $56.16 |
| 20 | New Hampshire | $112,411 | $54.04 |
| 21 | Colorado | $107,985 | $51.92 |
| 22 | Alabama | $103,470 | $49.75 |
| 23 | Delaware | $105,640 | $50.79 |
| 24 | Georgia | $109,659 | $52.72 |
| 25 | North Carolina | $111,374 | $53.55 |
| 26 | Michigan | $109,847 | $52.81 |
| 27 | Alaska | $102,373 | $49.22 |
| 28 | Illinois | $105,296 | $50.62 |
| 29 | Vermont | $105,069 | $50.51 |
| 30 | Louisiana | $109,498 | $52.64 |
| 31 | Rhode Island | $107,250 | $51.56 |
| 32 | Oklahoma | $101,409 | $48.75 |
| 33 | South Dakota | $102,537 | $49.30 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $104,177 | $50.09 |
| 35 | Minnesota | $96,939 | $46.61 |
| 36 | Kansas | $99,669 | $47.92 |
| 37 | Florida | $99,087 | $47.64 |
| 38 | Ohio | $95,642 | $45.98 |
| 39 | Missouri | $101,382 | $48.74 |
| 40 | Montana | $93,327 | $44.87 |
| 41 | Wyoming | $90,625 | $43.57 |
| 42 | Arkansas | $87,901 | $42.26 |
| 43 | South Carolina | $93,137 | $44.78 |
| 44 | Hawaii | $90,440 | $43.48 |
| 45 | Wisconsin | $92,424 | $44.43 |
| 46 | Indiana | $91,517 | $44.00 |
| 47 | North Dakota | $89,447 | $43.00 |
| 48 | Nebraska | $87,817 | $42.22 |
| 49 | Iowa | $86,931 | $41.79 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $89,524 | $43.04 |
| 51 | Kentucky | $85,691 | $41.20 |
The highest-paying cities for team lead engineers are San Francisco, CA, Jersey City, NJ, and Boston, MA.
| Rank | City | Avg. salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $162,409 | $78.08 |
| 2 | Jersey City, NJ | $136,092 | $65.43 |
| 3 | Boston, MA | $132,361 | $63.64 |
| 4 | New York, NY | $127,936 | $61.51 |
| 5 | Phoenix, AZ | $125,367 | $60.27 |
| 6 | McLean, VA | $123,662 | $59.45 |
| 7 | Washington, DC | $122,631 | $58.96 |
| 8 | Fort Worth, TX | $118,964 | $57.19 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh, PA | $115,085 | $55.33 |
| 10 | Seattle, WA | $113,889 | $54.75 |
| 11 | Raleigh, NC | $112,564 | $54.12 |
| 12 | Salt Lake City, UT | $112,436 | $54.06 |
| 13 | Detroit, MI | $110,383 | $53.07 |
| 14 | Atlanta, GA | $109,802 | $52.79 |
| 15 | Colorado Springs, CO | $108,944 | $52.38 |
| 16 | Chicago, IL | $105,480 | $50.71 |
| 17 | Huntsville, AL | $102,563 | $49.31 |
| 18 | Saint Louis, MO | $101,400 | $48.75 |
| 19 | Olathe, KS | $99,324 | $47.75 |
| 20 | Saint Paul, MN | $97,034 | $46.65 |
A team lead engineer's salary ranges from $84,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $156,000 at the 90th percentile.

| Percentile | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90th Percentile | $156,000 | $13,000 | $75 |
| 75th Percentile | $135,000 | $11,250 | $65 |
| Average | $114,867 | $9,572 | $55 |
| 25th Percentile | $97,000 | $8,083 | $47 |
| 10th Percentile | $84,000 | $7,000 | $40 |
The highest paying types of team lead engineers are senior staff engineer, senior principal engineer, and principal engineer.
| Job title | Annual salary | Monthly salary | Hourly rate | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical Team Lead | $90,219 | $7,518 | $43.37 | 254,215 |
| Consulting Engineer | $97,746 | $8,145 | $46.99 | 125,600 |
| Project Team Lead | $105,306 | $8,775 | $50.63 | 125,539 |
| Principal Engineer | $130,213 | $10,851 | $62.60 | 312,683 |
| Staff Engineer | $107,530 | $8,961 | $51.70 | 277,011 |
| Tool Engineer | $101,135 | $8,428 | $48.62 | 98,936 |
How would you rate the starting salaries for team lead engineers, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?
Michael Rudisill
Department Head and Professor of Engineering Technology, Northern Michigan University
Top companies hiring team lead engineers now:
Team lead engineer salaries at Meta and Google are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average team lead engineer salary at companies like Grubhub and Squarespace are highly competitive.
| Rank | Company | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta | $181,753 | $87.38 |
| 2 | $175,073 | $84.17 | |
| 3 | Grubhub | $159,487 | $76.68 |
| 4 | Squarespace | $159,270 | $76.57 |
| 5 | Apple | $158,007 | $75.96 |
| 6 | Atlassian | $156,756 | $75.36 |
| 7 | BP America Inc | $153,906 | $73.99 |
| 8 | Federal Reserve Bank of New York | $153,482 | $73.79 |
| 9 | Zendesk | $153,030 | $73.57 |
| 10 | Algolia | $148,261 | $71.28 |
| 11 | Fortinet | $147,415 | $70.87 |
| 12 | Chevron | $146,398 | $70.38 |
| 13 | Zscaler | $141,869 | $68.21 |
| 14 | Genesys | $141,585 | $68.07 |
| 15 | Hearst | $140,157 | $67.38 |
| 16 | Datadog | $137,410 | $66.06 |
| 17 | ENERGY RECOVERY, INC. | $137,196 | $65.96 |
| 18 | CyberCoders | $136,487 | $65.62 |
| 19 | #LiveAtTheQ | $136,376 | $65.57 |
| 20 | Volvo Trucks | $136,182 | $65.47 |
The average team lead engineer salary varies across industries:
| Rank | Industry | Average salary | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technology | $117,918 | $56.69 |
| 2 | Manufacturing | $115,779 | $55.66 |
| 3 | Automotive | $114,344 | $54.97 |
| 4 | Professional | $111,148 | $53.44 |
| 5 | Telecommunication | $110,938 | $53.34 |
| 6 | Hospitality | $109,641 | $52.71 |
| 7 | Education | $108,726 | $52.27 |
The average team lead engineer salary has risen by $13,925 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average team lead engineer earned $100,942 annually, but today, they earn $114,867 a year. That works out to a 7% change in pay for team lead engineers over the last decade.
Compare team lead engineer salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.
Compare team lead engineer salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $115,000 | $55.22 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $113,000 | $54.16 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | $111,000 | $53.52 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | $109,000 | $52.60 | +2.0% |
| 2021 | $107,000 | $51.57 | +0.7% |
| Company | Job | Location | Date added | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeppesen | F-18 Tools Team Lead Software Engineer//Flight Simulation | Labs | Berkeley, MO | 06/30/2025 | $161,500 |
| Target | Lead Engineer-Red Team | Brooklyn Park, MN | 06/30/2025 | $128,000 |
| Novartis AG | Team Lead, Engineering Maintenance | Indianapolis, IN | 06/29/2025 | $85,400 |
| Staffmark Group | Team Lead/Project Engineer-Land Development | Fort Mill, SC | 06/29/2025 | $90,000 |
| Perspecta | Blue Team Engineer | Virginia Beach, VA | 06/29/2025 | $104,000 |
| Get It-Professional Services | SEO/ORM Team Leader & Lead Strategist-Remote | Orlando, FL | 06/29/2025 | $50,000 |
| Steampunk | Data Engineering Team Lead | McLean, VA | 06/29/2025 | $150,000 |
| M&T Bank | Engineering Team Lead | Buffalo, NY | 06/27/2025 | $143,666 |
| FCRS = Us469 | Team Lead, Engineering Maintenance | Indianapolis, IN | 06/27/2025 | $85,400 |
| Aecom | Engineering Team Lead | Chicago, IL | 06/26/2025 | $130,000 |
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