Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX · CBSA 26420
Chemical Engineer Salary in Houston
VerifiedPublished metro-area wages for chemical engineers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, from the BLS OEWS May 2024 release — with the local distribution set against Texas and the national benchmark.
Chemical Engineers in Houston earn a median of $152,290 per year, per BLS OEWS May 2024. The middle 50% earn $125,200–$179,140; the top 10% earn $211,090. That is 25% above the national median and 13% above the Texas median. BLS reports 1,800 employed locally.
Median wage
Verified$152,290
+25% vs national
Top 10% earn
$211,090
90th percentile
Employed in metro
1,800
Reliability Moderate (18.5% RSE)
Chemical Engineer pay — Houston vs Texas vs national
All three distributions are published BLS percentiles on a single shared scale.
| Percentile | Annual wage | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileentry / low | $98,880 | +26% |
| 25th percentile | $125,200 | +30% |
| Median50th percentile | $152,290 | +25% |
| 75th percentile | $179,140 | +18% |
| 90th percentiletop earners | $211,090 | +16% |
| Meanaverage | $157,790 | +23% |
How concentrated chemical engineers are in Houston
Location quotient compares local concentration to the national rate. Above 1.00 means this metro employs the occupation more densely than the country overall.
Location quotient
4.21
Jobs per 1,000
0.56
Metro rank (pay)
#2 of 81
All engineering roles
$123,124
At a location quotient of 4.21, Houston is a genuine hub for this discipline — the occupation is roughly 4.2× as concentrated here as nationally, which usually means deeper employer competition and more lateral options.
Frequently asked questions
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Source details
Published wage from BLS OEWS May 2024 for SOC 17-2041 (Chemical Engineers), Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (metro area).
Benchmarks come from published government wage data via BLS OEWS. Local and emerging-role figures are labeled estimates. Full methodology →