The Best-Paying American Cities for Civil Engineers

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All businesses and economies are built on infrastructure. Networks of roads, rail, bridges, ports, utilities, and more make it possible to provide goods and services across the country. Quality infrastructure helps lower the cost of supplies and transportation, which helps stimulate further economic growth. By one estimate, every dollar spent on infrastructure generates $3 in additional economic return.

Unfortunately, the quality of infrastructure in the U.S. has been in a period of decline. The American Society of Civil Engineers currently rates U.S. infrastructure at a C- level on its annual report card, and for most of the last 25 years, the U.S. has struggled to score higher than a D overall. Low levels of investment in new infrastructure and growing backlogs of maintenance needs for existing systems have contributed to the country’s low marks in recent years.

But recently, the federal government has acted to address the nation’s infrastructure needs. One of the Biden Administration and Congress’s major accomplishments in 2021 was a bipartisan law intended to modernize U.S. infrastructure, enacted last November. The $1.2 trillion package included significant investments ranging from traditional infrastructure needs like roads, bridges, rail, and water and electricity distribution to emerging priorities including broadband, electric vehicle chargers, and climate resilience. Implementation of the bill is poised to directly create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the U.S. economy each year and allow other businesses that rely on infrastructure to grow and expand in the years ahead.

The infrastructure bill will bring much-needed investment after decades of declining spending relative to GDP. After World War II, the U.S. government invested heavily in physical infrastructure like the Interstate Highway System, dams, and ports, which set up the U.S. for an economic boom. Government spending on infrastructure as a percentage of GDP peaked at 7.08% in 1961 and has declined over time. Following a brief increase with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in response to the Great Recession, U.S. government infrastructure spending has been flat at around 3.5% of GDP for the last decade.

The new legislation also represents an opportunity for infrastructure professionals, including engineers. Civil engineers, who design, operate, construct, and maintain infrastructure projects, will be critical in carrying out new projects in the years ahead. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated in 2020 that civil engineering jobs would grow by 8% by 2030, a number that could increase with new demand.

Civil engineers are also currently the lowest-paid of the largest engineering disciplines at a median annual wage of $88,570. Part of the reason is that many civil engineering projects are publicly funded, which means bidders must keep costs low. But with heightened demand for their skillset, civil engineers could also potentially see wage growth in the years ahead.

Wages for civil engineers vary by location, which can reflect factors like the demand for infrastructure projects, the supply of engineers, and cost of living. For example, California—a high-cost state with many large cities that have significant infrastructure needs—is one of the best-paying states for civil engineers at $101,332. In contrast, civil engineers in a smaller, more rural state like Vermont only earn $76,455 per year, after adjusting for cost of living.

At the metro level, population growth, density, and geography are also factors. Many of the best-paying cities for engineers are sprawling metros that have more roads and bridges, quickly growing locations that need infrastructure to support the population, or a location like New Orleans, which has unique needs for flood control due to its location on the Mississippi River.

Here are the best-paying U.S. metropolitan areas for civil engineers.

The Best-Paying Large Metros for Civil Engineers

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15. Rochester, NY

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $91,617
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $90,060
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $79,510
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $42,430
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): -23.0%

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14. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $91,872
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $89,300
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $77,160
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $37,690
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): -13.0%

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13. Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $93,679
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $86,840
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $72,200
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $37,110
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): -69.0%

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12. Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $96,083
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $88,300
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $71,920
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $39,330
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): -11.0%

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11. Pittsburgh, PA

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $98,798
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $94,550
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $79,070
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $43,200
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): +46.0%

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10. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $98,903
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $110,870
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $123,400
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $69,620
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): +5.0%

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9. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $100,145
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $117,570
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $101,430
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $61,790
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): +95.0%

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8. Jacksonville, FL

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $100,426
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $96,710
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $79,280
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $38,280
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): +8.0%

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7. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $100,965
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $112,980
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $95,120
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $45,550
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): +10.0%

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6. Oklahoma City, OK

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $104,520
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $98,040
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $81,070
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $39,080
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): -48.0%

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5. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $104,706
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $108,580
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $84,270
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $39,630
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): -7.0%

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4. Tulsa, OK

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $104,758
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $97,320
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $80,350
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $38,210
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): +16.0%

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3. New Orleans-Metairie, LA

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $113,488
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $109,970
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $86,010
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $38,280
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): -5.0%

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2. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $117,078
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $124,220
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $102,230
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $48,070
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): +129.0%

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1. Fresno, CA

Median annual wage for civil engineers (adjusted): $118,246
Median annual wage for civil engineers (actual): $118,010
Median annual wage for all architecture & engineering jobs (actual): $90,870
Median annual wage for all jobs (actual): $37,050
Concentration of civil engineers (compared to average): +8.0%

Detailed Findings & Methodology

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities datasets. To determine the best-paying locations for civil engineers, researchers calculated the median annual wage for civil engineers, adjusted for cost-of-living differences. In the event of a tie, the location with the higher median annual wage for civil engineers, unadjusted, was ranked higher. To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included. Additionally, metros were grouped into cohorts based on population size: small (100,000–349,999), midsize (350,000–999,999), and large (1,000,000 or more). Note, only states and metropolitan areas with sufficient occupational and wage data were included.