Top engineering pay
Highest-paid engineering jobs
VerifiedUpdated January 2025
Engineering occupations ranked by national median pay. Newer roles like AI and ML can pay more but are estimates, shown separately.
Top median
$165,370
Engineering Manager
Top 90th pct
$239,200
Engineering Manager
U.S. engineer median
$116,537
all disciplines
Benchmark roles
13
national benchmarks
The highest-paid engineering occupation by national median wage is Engineering Manager at $165,370, followed by petroleum, aerospace, and nuclear engineering. Top earners (90th percentile) reach $239,200 in engineering manager. These are verified national benchmarks. Newer roles like AI and machine-learning engineering can pay more but are estimates, shown separately below.
Ranked by median pay
National median pay for each engineering occupation.
| # | Engineering role | Median | Top earners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engineering Manager | $165,370 | $239,200 |
| 2 | Petroleum Engineer | $135,690 | $222,840 |
| 3 | Software Engineer | $132,270 | $208,620 |
| 4 | Aerospace Engineer | $130,720 | $175,480 |
| 5 | Nuclear Engineer | $125,460 | $185,550 |
| 6 | Chemical Engineer | $112,100 | $187,430 |
| 7 | Electrical Engineer | $111,910 | $173,910 |
| 8 | Materials Engineer | $104,100 | $169,180 |
| 9 | Industrial Engineer | $101,140 | $146,850 |
| 10 | Biomedical Engineer | $100,730 | $158,040 |
| 11 | Environmental Engineer | $100,090 | $153,200 |
| 12 | Mechanical Engineer | $99,510 | $157,900 |
| 13 | Civil Engineer | $95,890 | $150,640 |
Emerging & specialized roles
Newer titles aren't tracked as their own category yet, so each is mapped to the closest established role and labeled an estimate — separate from the ranking above.
| Role | Est. median | Est. 90th | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Engineer | $150,000 | $245,000 | Mapped est. |
| Machine Learning Engineer | $148,000 | $240,000 | Mapped est. |
| Senior Engineer | $140,000 | $215,000 | Mapped est. |
| DevOps Engineer | $132,000 | $200,000 | Mapped est. |
| Cloud Engineer | $128,000 | $198,000 | Mapped est. |
| Data Engineer | $126,000 | $197,000 | Mapped est. |
| Robotics Engineer | $118,000 | $180,000 | Mapped est. |
| Systems Engineer | $112,620 | $168,570 | Mapped est. |
| Entry-Level Engineer | $72,000 | $95,000 | Mapped est. |
Source details
National wage from BLS OEWS May 2024 for SOC 11-9041. Median and 90th-percentile annual wages. Roles are ranked by national median annual pay. The top-earners column shows the 90th percentile. Emerging roles are estimates and excluded from the ranking.
Benchmarks come from published government wage data via BLS OEWS. Local and emerging-role figures are labeled estimates. Full methodology →