Pay for mechanical engineers in every state, what it comes to after tax, and how far it goes after local prices and rent.
Mechanical engineers earn a median of $104,110 a year, or $50.05 an hour, 104.2% more than the $50,980 median for all jobs. Pay is highest in New Mexico ($157,710) and lowest in Arkansas ($80,180). Occupation code 17-2141 in the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey.
Half of the 296,810 mechanical engineers in the survey earn between $84,130 and $132,590. The bottom tenth earn under $73,990, the figure the Bureau itself uses as a rough guide to starting pay, and the top tenth more than $164,340. The average is $113,610; it sits above the median because the top earners pull it up.
| Nationally | Per year | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $73,990 | $35.57 |
| Bottom quarter earn less than | $84,130 | $40.45 |
| Median | $104,110 | $50.05 |
| Top quarter earn more than | $132,590 | $63.75 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $164,340 | $79.01 |
Hourly figures divide the yearly ones by 2,080 hours, the survey's own full-time year. Convert any salary.
The highest state medians are in New Mexico ($157,710), District of Columbia ($133,300), California ($130,900), Delaware ($125,130) and Colorado ($124,430). The lowest are in Arkansas ($80,180), Kansas ($86,260), North Dakota ($86,330), Nebraska ($88,060) and South Dakota ($88,380).
Higher pay often comes with higher prices. Adjusted for each state's price level, pay goes furthest in New Mexico ($171,030 at national prices), Louisiana ($135,522), Wyoming ($127,035), Delaware ($125,371) and Alaska ($121,474).
The most mechanical engineers work in Michigan (34,630), California (30,530) and Texas (22,080). Relative to all jobs, the work is most common in Michigan (7.9 per 1,000 jobs), New Hampshire (4.0) and Kansas (3.2).
On the national median of $104,110, a single filer in a state with no income tax takes home about $82,071 a year after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, or $3,157 every two weeks. On each state's own median and taxes, take-home ranges from $62,637 in Arkansas to $111,875 in New Mexico. Work out your own paycheck.
The typical rent in each state's median county takes a median 17.9% of a mechanical engineer's gross pay, and stays under the usual 30% guideline in 50 of the 50 states and DC. With 10% down at a 7.03% mortgage rate, a single mechanical engineer earning the state median could afford the typical home in its median county in 26 of the 50 states and DC, under the 28% guideline. On the national median alone, that guideline stretches to about $305,619. Try it with your own numbers, or see where this pay covers the typical rent.
| Alabama | $100,230 | $48.19 | −3.7% | $112,842 | $74,370 | 16.4% | — |
| Alaska | $124,340 | $59.78 | +19.4% | $121,474 | $96,252 | 17.6% | 380 |
| Arizona | $100,270 | $48.21 | −3.7% | $99,596 | $76,863 | 20.0% | 5,050 |
| Arkansas | $80,180 | $38.55 | −23.0% | $92,228 | $62,637 | 16.4% | 1,410 |
| California | $130,900 | $62.94 | +25.7% | $118,226 | $92,124 | 22.5% | 30,530 |
| Colorado | $124,430 | $59.82 | +19.5% | $120,745 | $90,839 | 19.5% | 7,190 |
| Connecticut | $105,090 | $50.52 | +0.9% | $101,428 | $77,705 | 22.8% | 4,600 |
| Delaware | $125,130 | $60.16 | +20.2% | $125,371 | $89,550 | 18.1% | 610 |
| District of Columbia | $133,300 | $64.09 | +28.0% | $121,291 | $92,646 | 22.8% | 510 |
| Florida | $99,980 | $48.07 | −4.0% | $96,679 | $79,166 | 22.9% | 10,740 |
| Georgia | $100,620 | $48.37 | −3.4% | $104,494 | $74,595 | 20.0% | 5,290 |
| Hawaii | $98,740 | $47.47 | −5.2% | $89,804 | $71,898 | 38.5% | 530 |
| Idaho | $93,190 | $44.80 | −10.5% | $97,587 | $69,450 | 19.9% | 1,070 |
| Illinois | $102,680 | $49.37 | −1.4% | $102,723 | $75,983 | 14.1% | 11,790 |
| Indiana | $99,590 | $47.88 | −4.3% | $106,709 | $75,954 | 14.3% | 8,690 |
| Iowa | $97,700 | $46.97 | −6.2% | $111,324 | $73,849 | 12.7% | 3,470 |
| Kansas | $86,260 | $41.47 | −17.1% | $95,772 | $64,788 | 17.6% | 4,630 |
| Kentucky | $101,050 | $48.58 | −2.9% | $112,080 | $76,382 | 14.9% | 4,170 |
| Louisiana | $119,540 | $57.47 | +14.8% | $135,522 | $89,340 | 13.4% | 1,890 |
| Maine | $102,430 | $49.25 | −1.6% | $105,544 | $74,085 | 19.4% | 890 |
| Maryland | $122,870 | $59.07 | +18.0% | $117,065 | $89,407 | 18.9% | 6,550 |
| Massachusetts | $119,300 | $57.36 | +14.6% | $112,806 | $86,793 | 24.6% | 7,680 |
| Michigan | $104,890 | $50.43 | +0.7% | $109,014 | $78,162 | 15.3% | 34,630 |
| Minnesota | $99,140 | $47.66 | −4.8% | $100,526 | $72,316 | 15.6% | 5,890 |
| Mississippi | $98,000 | $47.12 | −5.9% | $112,705 | $74,253 | 17.7% | 1,570 |
| Missouri | $99,330 | $47.75 | −4.6% | $109,374 | $74,221 | 15.6% | 4,870 |
| Montana | $94,190 | $45.28 | −9.5% | $99,519 | $70,222 | 19.4% | 500 |
| Nebraska | $88,060 | $42.34 | −15.4% | $97,733 | $67,074 | 17.7% | 950 |
| Nevada | $102,680 | $49.37 | −1.4% | $102,702 | $81,065 | 21.2% | 1,410 |
| New Hampshire | $103,660 | $49.84 | −0.4% | $99,515 | $81,755 | 24.1% | 2,760 |
| New Jersey | $112,300 | $53.99 | +7.9% | $103,212 | $82,806 | 24.5% | 4,180 |
| New Mexico | $157,710 | $75.82 | +51.5% | $171,030 | $111,875 | 11.2% | 2,710 |
| New York | $102,440 | $49.25 | −1.6% | $94,921 | $75,421 | 18.1% | 8,590 |
| North Carolina | $100,720 | $48.42 | −3.3% | $106,779 | $75,668 | 19.3% | 9,560 |
| North Dakota | $86,330 | $41.51 | −17.1% | $97,045 | $68,825 | 16.8% | 790 |
| Ohio | $99,100 | $47.64 | −4.8% | $106,819 | $76,538 | 15.7% | 14,390 |
| Oklahoma | $101,850 | $48.97 | −2.2% | $115,945 | $76,113 | 14.9% | 2,270 |
| Oregon | $103,470 | $49.74 | −0.6% | $100,105 | $72,887 | 19.8% | 2,920 |
| Pennsylvania | $97,920 | $47.08 | −5.9% | $100,357 | $74,711 | 16.1% | 13,550 |
| Rhode Island | $116,230 | $55.88 | +11.6% | $113,639 | $85,897 | 25.4% | 1,560 |
| South Carolina | $104,580 | $50.28 | +0.5% | $111,553 | $77,919 | 17.5% | 5,780 |
| South Dakota | $88,380 | $42.49 | −15.1% | $99,767 | $71,005 | 17.6% | 560 |
| Tennessee | $99,550 | $47.86 | −4.4% | $108,360 | $78,863 | 17.9% | 3,930 |
| Texas | $112,410 | $54.05 | +8.0% | $115,819 | $87,910 | 15.7% | 22,080 |
| Utah | $102,500 | $49.28 | −1.5% | $103,678 | $76,378 | 20.4% | 3,370 |
| Vermont | $107,330 | $51.60 | +3.1% | $109,567 | $78,810 | 19.8% | 530 |
| Virginia | $104,180 | $50.09 | +0.1% | $103,042 | $76,388 | 21.1% | 7,470 |
| Washington | $110,430 | $53.09 | +6.1% | $103,193 | $86,518 | 19.9% | 8,240 |
| West Virginia | $97,390 | $46.82 | −6.5% | $108,819 | $73,681 | 13.6% | 760 |
| Wisconsin | $95,870 | $46.09 | −7.9% | $101,886 | $71,797 | 15.2% | 7,470 |
| Wyoming | $117,750 | $56.61 | +13.1% | $127,035 | $91,667 | 13.6% | 230 |
Click a column to sort it. “After local prices” divides the median by the state's price level (national average = 100). Take-home is for a single filer on the state median with no retirement or health deductions. Rent share is a year of the typical rent in the state's median county against the median pay. A dash means the survey publishes no figure.
Civil Engineer $100,840 · Industrial Engineer $102,440 · Electrical Engineer $120,630 · Architect $99,280