How much do civil engineers make?

Civil Engineer salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Civil Engineers (SOC 17-2051) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Civil engineers in the US earned a median of $100,840 a year ($48.48 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $79,930 to $129,680.

Median annual pay: $100,840; Mean $108,670
Median hourly pay: $48.48; Mean $52.24
Typical range (10th–90th): $68.2K–$163K; $68,240 to $163,220
US jobs: 367,840; +6.4% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a civil engineer: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Louisiana

Civil Engineer pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$68,240
25th percentile$79,930
Median$100,840
75th percentile$129,680
90th percentile$163,220

Half of all civil engineers earned more than $100,840 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $68,240; the top 10% made over $163,220. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $79,930 to $129,680.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$68,240	$32.81	$5,687
25th	$79,930	$38.43	$6,661
Median (50th)	$100,840	$48.48	$8,403
75th	$129,680	$62.34	$10,807
90th	$163,220	$78.47	$13,602
Mean (average)	$108,670	$52.24	$9,056

Civil Engineer salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for civil engineers by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. California $122,500
2. Alaska $114,730
3. Washington $110,000
4. Massachusetts $106,730
5. Louisiana $105,380

Lowest-paying states

51. Georgia $84,240
50. Arkansas $85,020
49. West Virginia $86,930
48. Arizona $89,660
47. Wyoming $90,590

Best after cost of living: Louisiana. Its median of $105,380 is worth about $119,469 at national-average prices, more than in California once prices are counted.


Alabama	$99,010	24	$111,469	8	$47.60	5,370	2.54
Alaska	$114,730	2	$112,086	6	$55.16	1,670	5.13
Arizona	$89,660	48	$89,057	49	$43.10	5,940	1.83
Arkansas	$85,020	50	$97,795	36	$40.88	1,870	1.43
California	$122,500	1	$110,639	10	$58.89	55,180	3.03
Colorado	$101,420	16	$98,416	33	$48.76	13,290	4.63
Connecticut	$103,150	12	$99,556	32	$49.59	4,370	2.58
Delaware	$100,220	20	$100,413	28	$48.19	920	1.90
District of Columbia	$103,880	10	$94,521	48	$49.94	1,650	2.34
Florida	$98,570	28	$95,316	46	$47.39	23,750	2.39
Georgia	$84,240	51	$87,483	50	$40.50	9,400	1.92
Hawaii	$94,280	43	$85,747	51	$45.33	2,640	4.20
Idaho	$98,030	31	$102,656	22	$47.13	2,630	3.06
Illinois	$99,760	22	$99,802	30	$47.96	13,910	2.28
Indiana	$98,270	29	$105,294	16	$47.25	4,030	1.26
Iowa	$96,430	38	$109,877	12	$46.36	2,500	1.60
Kansas	$96,880	35	$107,563	14	$46.58	2,880	2.01
Kentucky	$100,930	17	$111,947	7	$48.53	2,690	1.34
Louisiana	$105,380	5	$119,469	1	$50.66	3,780	1.95
Maine	$97,820	33	$100,793	26	$47.03	1,240	1.94
Maryland	$100,680	19	$95,923	44	$48.41	5,240	1.90
Massachusetts	$106,730	4	$100,920	25	$51.31	9,450	2.60
Michigan	$92,100	46	$95,721	45	$44.28	7,760	1.76
Minnesota	$101,480	15	$102,899	20	$48.79	4,710	1.60
Mississippi	$100,170	21	$115,200	2	$48.16	1,770	1.52
Missouri	$92,750	45	$102,128	23	$44.59	5,760	1.96
Montana	$93,070	44	$98,336	34	$44.75	1,870	3.67
Nebraska	$103,150	13	$114,480	3	$49.59	2,360	2.30
Nevada	$104,310	8	$104,332	18	$50.15	3,560	2.29
New Hampshire	$98,710	26	$94,763	47	$47.46	1,620	2.36
New Jersey	$104,660	7	$96,190	41	$50.32	6,900	1.61
New Mexico	$103,900	9	$112,675	4	$49.95	1,350	1.55
New York	$103,760	11	$96,144	42	$49.89	17,500	1.81
North Carolina	$100,730	18	$106,789	15	$48.43	12,810	2.59
North Dakota	$98,190	30	$110,377	11	$47.21	1,380	3.21
Ohio	$96,220	39	$103,714	19	$46.26	10,560	1.90
Oklahoma	$98,760	25	$112,428	5	$47.48	2,180	1.27
Oregon	$105,250	6	$101,828	24	$50.60	4,890	2.48
Pennsylvania	$97,850	32	$100,285	29	$47.04	15,870	2.62
Rhode Island	$99,300	23	$97,086	40	$47.74	1,270	2.53
South Carolina	$101,600	14	$108,374	13	$48.85	7,180	3.11
South Dakota	$98,700	27	$111,417	9	$47.45	1,440	3.14
Tennessee	$95,910	40	$104,398	17	$46.11	5,790	1.76
Texas	$96,860	36	$99,797	31	$46.57	34,870	2.48
Utah	$96,830	37	$97,943	35	$46.56	5,670	3.27
Vermont	$95,600	41	$97,593	38	$45.96	770	2.53
Virginia	$97,120	34	$96,060	43	$46.69	11,350	2.76
Washington	$110,000	3	$102,791	21	$52.89	12,590	3.55
West Virginia	$86,930	49	$97,132	39	$41.79	1,300	1.85
Wisconsin	$94,600	42	$100,537	27	$45.48	7,410	2.52
Wyoming	$90,590	47	$97,733	37	$43.55	990	3.51

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for civil engineers

368 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$130,280	$117,983	3,170
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$130,160	$112,582	10,990
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$130,150	$122,012	5,590
Mankato, MN	$128,220	$140,971	50
Redding, CA	$126,000	$125,144	380
Napa, CA	$123,440	$109,672	180
Walla Walla, WA	$123,030	$124,879	190
Vallejo, CA	$122,510	$112,934	300
Salinas, CA	$122,160	$112,030	250
Kennewick-Richland, WA	$121,370	$121,274	630

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	16,340	$108,640	$95,662
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	15,590	$107,330	$95,351
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	12,140	$100,950	$102,353
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	10,990	$130,160	$112,582
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	9,760	$100,160	$96,684
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	9,130	$104,710	$98,987
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	8,470	$101,780	$93,476
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	8,010	$96,920	$94,015
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	7,970	$107,670	$99,450
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	7,680	$116,480	$104,811

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves civil engineer pay: employers and settings

Who you work for is the clearest pay divider for civil engineers. Government pays well here: local government engineers earn a median of $113,640; the federal executive branch pays $117,790. State government pays $102,440; that is about the same as the consulting firms that employ more than half of all civil engineers ($100,640). Contractors pay less, $82,400 in nonresidential building construction and $94,940 in highway, street and bridge construction, though field roles can come with overtime.

Location matters as well. California has the highest state median at $122,500, followed by Alaska at $114,730, Washington at $110,000, Massachusetts at $106,730, and Louisiana at $105,380. Adjusted for living costs, Louisiana comes out ahead at $119,469. The lowest medians are West Virginia at $86,930, Arkansas at $85,020, and Georgia at $84,240.

The PE license is the main credential that moves pay, because only a PE can sign plans and lead projects for clients. Pay runs from $68,240, the 10th percentile, to $163,220, the 90th. The upper end mostly reflects licensed engineers in project management, principal and public works director roles, specialized structural or geotechnical work and high-cost states, not years alone.

Where civil engineers work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	54.8%	$100,640
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	10.3%	$102,440
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	10.1%	$113,640
Nonresidential Building Construction	7.5%	$82,400
Federal Executive Branch	2.8%	$117,790
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction	1.5%	$94,940

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	280,850	$99,330
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	10,150	$117,830
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	39,510	$102,610
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	37,340	$113,550

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Civil Engineer pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$101K $82.2K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $82,220 in 2015 to $100,840 in 2025, up 23% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $111,145 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay fell 9% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What civil engineers do

A civil engineer plans and designs the things a community is built on: roads and bridges, water and sewer systems, dams and levees, airports, rail lines, and the foundations and frames of buildings. Most specialize. Structural engineers size beams, columns and connections so a building or bridge carries its loads; geotechnical engineers study soil and rock; transportation engineers lay out highways and intersections; water resources engineers handle stormwater, flooding and treatment plants.

More than half work for engineering consulting firms, producing calculations, drawings and specifications for public agencies and developers. Roughly one in five works directly for a state or local government, often a state department of transportation, a county or a city public works department. Others work for contractors, managing construction from the field side. The job is mostly office work with computer models and design software, broken up by site visits, inspections and public meetings. A licensed professional engineer (PE) signs and seals the final plans and takes legal responsibility for them.

A typical day

Run calculations for loads, soil bearing, pipe flow or traffic volumes to size a design
Turn designs into plan sheets and specifications using CAD and modeling software
Review survey data, soil borings and site maps before laying out a project
Estimate quantities and construction costs for budgets and bids
Visit job sites to check that work matches the plans and answer contractors' questions
Check designs against building codes, environmental permits and safety rules
Present projects to city councils, review boards or the public and respond to comments

Also called: civil engineering, structural engineer, city engineer, county engineer, design engineer, engineer, geotechnical engineer, licensed engineer.

How to become a civil engineer

Full guide

To become a civil engineer, you earn a 4-year bachelor's degree in civil engineering from an ABET-accredited program and pass the FE exam to start working as an engineer intern. To become a licensed PE, you then add about 4 years of supervised experience and pass the PE Civil exam, roughly 8 years in total.

Typical time: 8 years (to PE license); Fastest: 4 years (entry-level job)
Minimum education: Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from an ABET-accredited program
License: Not required for entry-level work under supervision; a PE license is required in all states to sign plans or offer engineering services to the public
Typical training cost: $45.3K–$56.5K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a civil engineer: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 8 years (to PE license); Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $45.3K–$56.5K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $100,840; $49,860 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 45–56%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($49,860 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year to 1.1 years after training ends (8 years (to pe license) in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for civil engineers

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +6.4%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 380,600; 405,100 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 22,700; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 1.9%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects civil engineering jobs to grow 6.4% from 2025 to 2035, from 380,600 to 405,100, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. Aging bridges, roads and water systems need repair and replacement, and more wastewater treatment and water-loss work is expected. Because so many projects are publicly funded, hiring can rise and fall with federal, state and local budgets. About 22,700 openings are expected each year, mostly to replace engineers who retire or move into other work.

Related careers and their pay

Construction Manager$114,990
Architect$99,280
Electrical Engineer$120,630
Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians$64,950
Construction and Building Inspectors$74,690

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Civil Engineer salary FAQ

How much do civil engineers make an hour?

The median hourly wage for civil engineers was $48.48 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $32.81 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $78.47. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays civil engineers the most?

California has the highest median pay for civil engineers, $122,500 a year, followed by Alaska ($114,730) and Washington ($110,000). After adjusting for each state's price level, Louisiana comes out ahead at about $119,469 in national-average dollars.

Do civil engineers make $200,000 a year?

Few do: based on the BLS percentiles, fewer than 10% of civil engineers earn more than $200,000 a year. The median is $100,840, and the top 10% earn more than $163,220. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What is the difference between a civil engineer and a structural engineer?

Structural engineering is a specialty within civil engineering. Most structural engineers earn a civil engineering degree, then focus on designing buildings, bridges and other structures to resist gravity, wind and earthquakes. Some states license structural engineers separately and require extra exams beyond the PE Civil exam, typically the NCEES PE Structural exam. Civil engineering as a whole also covers roads, water, soils and construction.

Do civil engineers need a PE license?

Not to start. Entry-level civil engineers work under the supervision of a licensed engineer. But a PE license is needed to sign and seal plans, offer services to the public or lead most projects, and many government and consulting roles expect it after a few years. In practice, most civil engineers who stay in design pursue the PE, which takes an ABET degree, the FE and PE exams and about four years of experience.

Is civil engineering a stable career?

Generally, yes. About one in five civil engineers works directly for state or local government, and much private consulting work comes from public infrastructure projects. BLS expects 6.4% growth through 2035. The main risk is that public projects depend on government funding, so hiring can slow when budgets tighten, and work tied to private development, such as commercial buildings, follows the construction cycle.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 17-2051
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (17-2051.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Civil Engineers, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
FE Exam, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying · checked October 28, 2026
PE Civil Exam, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying · checked October 28, 2026
What Programs Does ABET Accredit?, ABET · checked October 28, 2026
Licensure, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying · checked October 28, 2026
PE Structural Exam, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026

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