Civil Engineering Salaries State by State

Let’s Review the Civil Engineering Salaries in the USA, State by State.

Civil engineering is one of the oldest of all engineering disciplines. Today it may no longer be the most sought-after of jobs but it is quite a prestigious career to build. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, civil engineers have an eleven percent job outlook for the years between 2016 and 2026. Civil engineering salaries don’t reach those of electrical or civil engineering, and the market demand varies from state to state, so in this article, we’ll aim to lay down a foundation for you to know what a typical civil engineering salary looks like in the state or city that you want to work in. Here's what you need to know:

How Much is the Average Entry-Level Civil Engineering Salary?

Though civil engineering may not offer the highest-paid majors in the United States, pursuing a degree in this engineering discipline will offer you a stable longer career. This is primarily due to the very high demand for civil engineers, which is caused by many senior engineers retiring from their full-time careers. Civil engineers who start their first professional job can expect an average of $59,545 per year. Several factors will impact your earning potential, this includes your specialty skills, industry experience and emphasis on materials, structural mechanics, structural design, civil software, and data analytics.

Today’s civil engineers need to be tech-savvy to expect to earn a lot of money; this includes transportation and traffic solutions, air pollution control, wastewater management, and river engineering. For this reason, entry-level civil engineering salaries can vary from state to state. You can expect an average entry-level annual salary of $66,171 in San Diego, California, according to Payscale. While the same entry-level civil engineering job pays $55,789 in Miami, Florida.

What is the Average Salary of a Civil Engineer?

The average civil engineering salary varies across states, industries and projects. According to PayScale, the average annual salary civil engineers make is $64,785. However, Paysa highlights higher average earnings for civil engineers with an average civil engineering salary of $75,046 per year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics places the average salary for a civil engineer even higher with salaries reaching an average of $93,720 per year as of May 2018 for civil engineers.

After graduating with a civil engineering degree, there are many different career paths you can explore. That's because civil engineers often work with the design, development, construction and commissioning of building, roads, and bridges, as well as municipal and urban infrastructure systems such as city sewage design, water distribution systems, wastewater treatment and traffic management. These career paths also offer earning potentials that are different from one another. For instance, civil engineers who work in Oil & Gas Extraction made an average of $120,330 per year compared to civil engineers working for State Government, earning an average of $85,870 per year.

Which Industries are Civil Engineers in Most Demand?

Data from the Labor of Bureau Statistics' May 2018 report also highlights that some of the top-paying industries for civil engineers include Scientific Research and Development Services ($121,830 per year), Oil and Gas Extraction ($120,330), and Waste Treatment & Disposal sector ($117,340). Some of the top employers of civil engineers include University of Rhode Island ($167K), Foresite Group ($108K), University of Colorado Boulder ($107K), University of Illinois ($107K), and University of New Hampshire ($103K) according to Paysa.

Civil engineering jobs can be found in almost every state in the United States. But the top states hiring civil engineers include California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2018 report. The largest metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in civil engineering include New York which pays an average salary of $107, 470; Los Angeles which pays an average salary of $108,340, and San Francisco, where the average salary goes up to $116,950. Other great state for civil engineering jobs include Houston, TX; Washington, DC; and Chicago, IL.

Civil Engineering Salaries State-by-State

Civil engineering salaries in each state differ from one another. For example, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics May 2018 report highlights that the average per hour rate for civil engineers in Alaska was $60.32 compared to an hourly mean wage of $36.04 for civil engineers who worked in Vermont. There wide salary ranges and the difference in locations, and cost of living, make it tough to decide which state is best to work as a civil engineer. In the list below, we have gathered detailed information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2018 data and salary map. According to the BLS, civil engineering salaries in each state include:

 Final Thoughts

With the recent technology transformations, innovations in 3D printing, sustainable design, and virtual reality solutions, civil engineers are even in higher demand than they were before. Tomorrow high earning civil engineers are those who embrace tech tool and invest time to specialize in alternative fields and applications of civil engineering.

The great part about building a civil engineering career is that you can expect to build fundamental skills that will always remain in demand, no matter where in the world you live. You can count on a steady salary too. Although it doesn’t reach the higher-than-average salaries for software industry roles, but civil engineering jobs will give you more stability and security because there are fewer people trained with your skills.

The United States would be a great place for you to work. By reviewing civil engineering salaries state-by-state, you can have better insight into the typical salary for civil engineers in the location you plan to work. Best of luck in choosing the right place to work and live a civil engineer.