Aerospace Engineers
Median $134,960
Occupation · SOC 17-2051
Civil Engineers: pay and where the jobs are
What civil engineers earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$100,840 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $108,670
- Median hourly wage
- $48.48
- Mean hourly wage
- $52.24
- Employment
- 367,840
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 17-2051.
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See where your pay falls among civil engineers nationally and in your state. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
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Use these numbers
How much do civil engineers make?
The median annual wage for civil engineers was $100,840 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $68,240 and the highest-paid 10% more than $163,220. As an hourly rate, the median is $48.48. About 367,840 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in California ($122,500), Alaska ($114,730) and Washington ($110,000). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Louisiana.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for civil engineers looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $68,240 | $32.81 | $5,687 | $4,736 |
| 25th percentile | $79,930 | $38.43 | $6,661 | $5,422 |
| Median | $100,840 | $48.48 | $8,403 | $6,648 |
| 75th percentile | $129,680 | $62.34 | $10,807 | $8,325 |
| 90th percentile | $163,220 | $78.47 | $13,602 | $10,236 |
Civil Engineers: pay by state
53 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$90,911 take-home in national prices
2
$88,350 take-home in national prices
3
$87,432 take-home in national prices
Where a median civil engineer paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 55,180 | $122,500 | $77,980 | $175,940 | $86,255 | $77,904 |
| Alaska | 1,670 | $114,730 | $78,940 | $163,420 | $89,272 | $87,214 |
| Washington | 12,590 | $110,000 | $81,840 | $160,670 | $84,689 | $79,139 |
| Massachusetts | 9,450 | $106,730 | $78,280 | $165,590 | $78,307 | $74,044 |
| Louisiana | 3,780 | $105,380 | $64,570 | $156,610 | $80,190 | $90,911 |
| Oregon | 4,890 | $105,250 | $77,560 | $166,060 | $74,372 | $71,953 |
| New Jersey | 6,900 | $104,660 | $74,640 | $169,220 | $77,351 | $71,092 |
| Nevada | 3,560 | $104,310 | $77,480 | $160,820 | $82,212 | $82,229 |
| New Mexico | 1,350 | $103,900 | $67,100 | $163,570 | $78,163 | $84,765 |
| District of Columbia | 1,650 | $103,880 | $78,780 | $164,200 | $76,048 | $69,197 |
| New York | 17,500 | $103,760 | $77,290 | $169,050 | $76,300 | $70,700 |
| Connecticut | 4,370 | $103,150 | $76,350 | $161,670 | $75,941 | $73,295 |
| Nebraska | 2,360 | $103,150 | $68,950 | $149,980 | $77,582 | $86,104 |
| South Carolina | 7,180 | $101,600 | $67,950 | $156,380 | $75,978 | $81,044 |
| Minnesota | 4,710 | $101,480 | $65,840 | $159,230 | $74,397 | $75,438 |
| Colorado | 13,290 | $101,420 | $76,810 | $165,230 | $75,979 | $73,728 |
| Kentucky | 2,690 | $100,930 | $65,660 | $143,680 | $76,419 | $84,761 |
| North Carolina | 12,810 | $100,730 | $70,760 | $160,520 | $76,183 | $80,766 |
| Maryland | 5,240 | $100,680 | $75,550 | $152,730 | $75,166 | $71,615 |
| Delaware | 920 | $100,220 | $74,560 | $153,100 | $73,660 | $73,802 |
| Mississippi | 1,770 | $100,170 | $49,840 | $162,240 | $76,025 | $87,432 |
| Illinois | 13,910 | $99,760 | $69,590 | $157,410 | $74,218 | $74,249 |
| Rhode Island | 1,270 | $99,300 | $77,800 | $151,020 | $74,480 | $72,820 |
| Alabama | 5,370 | $99,010 | $63,930 | $168,370 | $74,421 | $83,785 |
| Oklahoma | 2,180 | $98,760 | $66,550 | $153,470 | $74,409 | $84,707 |
| New Hampshire | 1,620 | $98,710 | $64,270 | $139,060 | $78,272 | $75,143 |
| South Dakota | 1,440 | $98,700 | $70,050 | $127,090 | $78,265 | $88,350 |
| Florida | 23,750 | $98,570 | $58,640 | $166,680 | $78,174 | $75,593 |
| Indiana | 4,030 | $98,270 | $64,200 | $140,130 | $75,093 | $80,461 |
| North Dakota | 1,380 | $98,190 | $63,290 | $143,740 | $77,251 | $86,839 |
| Idaho | 2,630 | $98,030 | $67,250 | $141,020 | $73,707 | $77,185 |
| Pennsylvania | 15,870 | $97,850 | $67,930 | $141,310 | $74,595 | $76,451 |
| Maine | 1,240 | $97,820 | $71,080 | $132,600 | $72,184 | $74,379 |
| Virginia | 11,350 | $97,120 | $74,000 | $150,710 | $72,384 | $71,593 |
| Kansas | 2,880 | $96,880 | $63,260 | $150,640 | $72,379 | $80,360 |
| Texas | 34,870 | $96,860 | $63,240 | $164,330 | $76,971 | $79,305 |
| Utah | 5,670 | $96,830 | $62,130 | $149,410 | $72,641 | $73,476 |
| Iowa | 2,500 | $96,430 | $64,900 | $135,480 | $73,656 | $83,927 |
| Ohio | 10,560 | $96,220 | $65,170 | $144,620 | $74,311 | $80,099 |
| Tennessee | 5,790 | $95,910 | $65,090 | $154,100 | $76,303 | $83,055 |
| Vermont | 770 | $95,600 | $68,720 | $129,390 | $72,279 | $73,786 |
| Wisconsin | 7,410 | $94,600 | $67,590 | $131,040 | $71,274 | $75,747 |
| Hawaii | 2,640 | $94,280 | $62,900 | $131,810 | $69,404 | $63,123 |
| Montana | 1,870 | $93,070 | $62,230 | $129,020 | $70,407 | $74,391 |
| Missouri | 5,760 | $92,750 | $64,950 | $139,210 | $70,658 | $77,802 |
| Michigan | 7,760 | $92,100 | $63,920 | $130,400 | $69,959 | $72,709 |
| Wyoming | 990 | $90,590 | $67,870 | $133,920 | $72,560 | $78,282 |
| Arizona | 5,940 | $89,660 | $63,740 | $138,030 | $70,058 | $69,587 |
| West Virginia | 1,300 | $86,930 | $51,640 | $132,960 | $66,893 | $74,743 |
| Arkansas | 1,870 | $85,020 | $44,810 | $132,460 | $65,983 | $75,898 |
| Georgia | 9,400 | $84,240 | $62,850 | $153,690 | $64,638 | $67,126 |
| Guam | 640 | $67,410 | $50,560 | $100,130 | — | — |
| Puerto Rico | 1,750 | $61,060 | $44,010 | $100,010 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 17-2051. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.