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Washington · SOC 17-2171

Petroleum Engineer Salary in Washington

Verified

Published wages for petroleum engineers in Washington, straight from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2024 release — the full percentile distribution, employment concentration, and metro detail.

Petroleum Engineers in Washington earn a median of $129,660 per year ($142,570 mean), per BLS OEWS May 2024. The middle 50% earn $122,350–$170,870; the top 10% earn $198,850. That is 8% below the national median of $141,280, ranking Washington #13 of 23 states that publish this occupation.

Median wage

Verified

$129,660

-8% vs national

Top 10% earn

$198,850

90th percentile

Employed in state

170

Reliability Good (6.6% RSE)

Exhibit 1

Petroleum Engineer pay distribution — Washington vs national

Verified

Every figure below is a published BLS percentile. Bars share one scale, so the two distributions compare directly.

Washington170 employed
$104,210$129,660$198,850
United States18,970 employed
$78,840$141,280$228,790
PercentileAnnual wagevs national
10th percentileentry / low$104,210+32%
25th percentile$122,350+14%
Median50th percentile$129,660-8%
75th percentile$170,870-11%
90th percentiletop earners$198,850-13%
Meanaverage$142,570-7%
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 — SOC 17-2171 (Petroleum Engineers), Washington · n = 170 employed · 6.6% RSE on employment. Official release.
Exhibit 2

Washington engineering labor market

Estimate

Concentration and pay level across all engineering occupations BLS publishes for this state.

Location quotient

0.39

Jobs per 1,000

0.05

State rank (pay)

#13 of 23

All engineering roles

$150,511

A location quotient of 0.39 means petroleum engineers are less concentrated here than the national average, so openings are thinner even where pay is competitive.

Method: Employment-weighted average of 13 published BLS OEWS May 2024 occupation medians for Washington. Every input is a published BLS figure; the weighting is ours.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a petroleum engineer make in Washington?
The median annual wage for petroleum engineers in Washington is $129,660, according to BLS OEWS May 2024. The middle 50% earn between $122,350 and $170,870, and the top 10% earn over $198,850.
Is Washington a good state for petroleum engineers?
Washington pays 8% below the national median for this occupation and ranks 13 of 23 states with published data. BLS reports 170 petroleum engineers employed in the state.
What is the highest salary for a petroleum engineer in Washington?
BLS reports the 90th-percentile wage in Washington at $198,850 per year. Individual pay above that range exists but is not captured in the published percentiles.
Source details

Published wage from BLS OEWS May 2024 for SOC 17-2171 (Petroleum Engineers), Washington (state).

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

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