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District of Columbia engineer salary

Estimate

Updated March 2025

What engineers earn across District of Columbia, from published wage data — explore it city by city and discipline by discipline.

Typical pay

$138,532

District of Columbia

Top earners

$194,910

Higher end

vs national

+15% vs national

U.S. $120,395

Cities

2

in this state

Engineers in District of Columbia earn a blended median of $138,532 per year, +15% vs national, with top earners near $194,910. That blends 10 engineering occupations across 14,800 published jobs in District of Columbia. Per-discipline figures below are published wage data, not modeled.

Engineering pay by role in District of Columbia

Published wage data for each discipline in District of Columbia. Disciplines without published data for this state are not listed.

19results

Engineering salaries by city in District of Columbia

Open a city for its full role breakdown — or add a city we don't cover yet.

Top-paying

Washington, D.C.

$144,482

+20% vs national

View Washington, D.C. salaries

More cities in District of Columbia

We don't publish a separate estimate for these yet. Use the District of Columbia estimate above as your starting point — and add your pay to put your city on the map.

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Washington

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What affects engineering pay in District of Columbia

  • ▹Local market. District of Columbia pay runs +15% vs national for the typical engineer, driven by local demand and living costs.
  • ▹Discipline mix. Software, petroleum, and engineering-management roles pull averages up; civil and environmental roles sit lower. Use the role table above for specifics.
  • ▹Metro concentration. Pay clusters in Washington, D.C., which run above the statewide estimate.
  • ▹Remote & experience.Remote roles often anchor to a company's HQ market rather than District of Columbia; seniority can swing pay ±35% around the median.

Engineer salaries in District of Columbia — FAQ

How much do engineers make in District of Columbia?
Engineers in District of Columbia earn a blended median of $138,532 per year — 15% above the national average — across 10 engineering occupations and 14,800 jobs. There is no single BLS "engineer" occupation, so this blends the published medians of the engineering occupations reported for the area, weighted by local employment (BLS OEWS May 2024).
What is the highest-paying engineering job in District of Columbia?
Nuclear Engineers have the highest published median in District of Columbia, at $189,800 per year, per BLS OEWS May 2024.
Is District of Columbia a good state for engineers?
Engineering pay in District of Columbia runs 15% above the national average, across 14,800 engineering jobs. That combination of pay level and employment base makes it a competitive market.
Which cities in District of Columbia pay engineers the most?
Engineering pay is highest in Washington, D.C. ($144,482), based on published BLS metro-area wages.
Source details

BLS publishes no single "engineer" occupation. This blends the published medians of 10 engineering occupations in District of Columbia, weighted by local employment (14,800 jobs).

Benchmarks come from published government wage data via BLS OEWS. Local and emerging-role figures are labeled estimates. Full methodology →

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