Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors
Median $115,160
Occupation · SOC 17-2141
Mechanical Engineers: pay and where the jobs are
What mechanical engineers earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$104,110 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $113,610
- Median hourly wage
- $50.05
- Mean hourly wage
- $54.62
- Employment
- 296,810
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 17-2141.
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How much do mechanical engineers make?
The median annual wage for mechanical engineers was $104,110 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $73,990 and the highest-paid 10% more than $164,340. As an hourly rate, the median is $50.05. About 296,810 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in New Mexico ($157,710), District of Columbia ($133,300) and California ($130,900). New Mexico also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for mechanical 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 | $73,990 | $35.57 | $6,166 | $5,073 |
| 25th percentile | $84,130 | $40.45 | $7,011 | $5,668 |
| Median | $104,110 | $50.05 | $8,676 | $6,839 |
| 75th percentile | $132,590 | $63.75 | $11,049 | $8,491 |
| 90th percentile | $164,340 | $79.01 | $13,695 | $10,299 |
Mechanical 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
$122,179 take-home in national prices
2
$101,723 take-home in national prices
3
$98,895 take-home in national prices
Where a median mechanical engineer paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 2,710 | $157,710 | $103,780 | $203,140 | $112,664 | $122,179 |
| District of Columbia | 510 | $133,300 | $86,820 | $195,190 | $94,015 | $85,545 |
| California | 30,530 | $130,900 | $82,070 | $203,620 | $91,106 | $82,285 |
| Delaware | 610 | $125,130 | $65,890 | $168,180 | $89,374 | $89,546 |
| Colorado | 7,190 | $124,430 | $75,100 | $170,810 | $91,000 | $88,305 |
| Alaska | 380 | $124,340 | $76,890 | $174,320 | $95,981 | $93,769 |
| Maryland | 6,550 | $122,870 | $79,670 | $176,680 | $89,657 | $85,421 |
| Louisiana | 1,890 | $119,540 | $70,350 | $181,550 | $89,726 | $101,723 |
| Massachusetts | 7,680 | $119,300 | $79,570 | $166,480 | $86,464 | $81,757 |
| Wyoming | 230 | $117,750 | $71,730 | $151,810 | $91,667 | $98,895 |
| Rhode Island | 1,560 | $116,230 | $79,000 | $195,190 | $85,579 | $83,671 |
| Texas | 22,080 | $112,410 | $75,810 | $175,210 | $87,910 | $90,576 |
| New Jersey | 4,180 | $112,300 | $79,160 | $162,800 | $82,207 | $75,555 |
| Washington | 8,240 | $110,430 | $79,400 | $167,680 | $84,986 | $79,416 |
| Vermont | 530 | $107,330 | $83,820 | $150,380 | $79,757 | $81,420 |
| Connecticut | 4,600 | $105,090 | $77,340 | $157,980 | $77,180 | $74,491 |
| Michigan | 34,630 | $104,890 | $76,310 | $159,840 | $78,413 | $81,496 |
| South Carolina | 5,780 | $104,580 | $74,260 | $166,340 | $77,919 | $83,115 |
| Virginia | 7,470 | $104,180 | $77,840 | $160,770 | $76,944 | $76,104 |
| New Hampshire | 2,760 | $103,660 | $72,740 | $165,500 | $81,755 | $78,486 |
| Oregon | 2,920 | $103,470 | $78,100 | $162,550 | $73,286 | $70,903 |
| Illinois | 11,790 | $102,680 | $72,150 | $160,160 | $76,128 | $76,159 |
| Nevada | 1,410 | $102,680 | $75,960 | $160,210 | $81,065 | $81,082 |
| Utah | 3,370 | $102,500 | $73,070 | $160,640 | $76,378 | $77,255 |
| New York | 8,590 | $102,440 | $74,990 | $160,220 | $75,450 | $69,912 |
| Maine | 890 | $102,430 | $78,440 | $137,280 | $75,072 | $77,354 |
| Oklahoma | 2,270 | $101,850 | $70,070 | $136,110 | $76,444 | $87,023 |
| Kentucky | 4,170 | $101,050 | $65,370 | $139,810 | $76,500 | $84,850 |
| North Carolina | 9,560 | $100,720 | $71,260 | $155,550 | $76,177 | $80,759 |
| Georgia | 5,290 | $100,620 | $71,940 | $156,320 | $75,344 | $78,244 |
| Arizona | 5,050 | $100,270 | $71,030 | $159,040 | $77,257 | $76,737 |
| Alabama | Not published | $100,230 | $72,110 | $162,420 | $75,231 | $84,698 |
| Florida | 10,740 | $99,980 | $66,260 | $153,950 | $79,166 | $76,552 |
| Indiana | 8,690 | $99,590 | $66,330 | $143,090 | $75,983 | $81,414 |
| Tennessee | 3,930 | $99,550 | $64,150 | $156,150 | $78,863 | $85,842 |
| Missouri | 4,870 | $99,330 | $64,750 | $142,100 | $74,977 | $82,559 |
| Minnesota | 5,890 | $99,140 | $75,870 | $151,580 | $72,921 | $73,940 |
| Ohio | 14,390 | $99,100 | $69,160 | $138,020 | $76,258 | $82,198 |
| Hawaii | 530 | $98,740 | $66,110 | $141,500 | $72,203 | $65,668 |
| Mississippi | 1,570 | $98,000 | $62,210 | $136,990 | $74,585 | $85,776 |
| Pennsylvania | 13,550 | $97,920 | $65,770 | $150,950 | $74,642 | $76,499 |
| Iowa | 3,470 | $97,700 | $71,050 | $137,540 | $74,501 | $84,890 |
| West Virginia | 760 | $97,390 | $64,640 | $143,030 | $73,773 | $82,430 |
| Wisconsin | 7,470 | $95,870 | $64,850 | $130,360 | $72,092 | $76,616 |
| Montana | 500 | $94,190 | $65,820 | $133,270 | $71,132 | $75,156 |
| Idaho | 1,070 | $93,190 | $63,660 | $141,020 | $70,558 | $73,888 |
| South Dakota | 560 | $88,380 | $65,130 | $134,140 | $71,005 | $80,154 |
| Nebraska | 950 | $88,060 | $61,860 | $136,870 | $67,653 | $75,084 |
| North Dakota | 790 | $86,330 | $63,930 | $136,060 | $69,139 | $77,720 |
| Kansas | 4,630 | $86,260 | $72,210 | $131,660 | $65,500 | $72,723 |
| Arkansas | 1,410 | $80,180 | $57,650 | $131,840 | $62,758 | $72,187 |
| Puerto Rico | 490 | $72,240 | $48,880 | $131,550 | — | — |
| Guam | 140 | $61,510 | $49,700 | $103,300 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 17-2141. *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.