Civil Engineer salary
What a civil engineer actually earns, from 864 live job postings blended with the official US OEWS (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics) wage anchor. Pick a market for its median and range, then read the seniority split, the trend, and the country comparison below. Updated 2026-07-23.
Switch the market above to see civil engineer pay in the 2 countries our sources cover, each with its own cost of living. The trend, seniority, and state detail below are United States data, where the official record runs deepest.
What the number means
Civil engineering trades the highest ceilings for the steadiest ground. The blended US median is about 93,000 dollars with an OEWS median of 99,590, and unemployment sits at 1.5 percent, because civil work is public-money work: the backlog of roads, water, and site infrastructure does not follow the private construction cycle that whipsaws other building careers. Pay rose 14 percent since 2019, supported by sustained infrastructure spending. The number that moves a civil engineer’s pay is the PE license, which is not optional for responsible charge, the point at which an engineer can sign and seal work and take on the roles that pay the top of the band. For anyone weighing engineering disciplines for stability, civil is the answer: less upside than software or petroleum, far less volatility, and a demand floor set by the fact that the country’s infrastructure keeps aging whether the economy grows or not.
Open civil engineer roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
- Supervisory Civil Engineer (Hydraulics)U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Albuquerque, New Mexico$133k–$165kJul 21
- Civil Engineer (Hydraulics & Hydrologic)U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Nashville, Tennessee$100k–$127kJul 21
- CIVIL ENGINEER (STRUCTURAL) - DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITYFederal Energy Regulatory Commission · Washington, District of Columbia$144k–$187kJul 21
- Civil Engineer, Entry LevelDlrgroup · Des Moines, Iowa, United States; Omaha, Nebraska, United StaJul 21
- Civil EngineerARMY TRANSPORTATION · Scott AFB, Illinois$109k–$142kJul 20
- Supervisory Civil Engineer (Hydraulic/Hydrologic)U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Portland, Oregon$130k–$158kJul 17
By seniority
Posted-median pay by seniority signal in the title, from our corpus. Noisy at the edges where sample sizes are small.
By country
- United States$75,433 – $114,051 · median $92,518
- United Kingdom$52,430 – $67,279 · median $59,495
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- Californiamedian $118,450
- Alaskamedian $107,240
- Washingtonmedian $105,090
- Oregonmedian $103,070
- New Yorkmedian $102,440
- Louisianamedian $102,350
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Move into or out of civil engineer
- architect → civil engineermeasured route
Related salaries
- Mechanical Engineer salary$112,411 median
- Architect salary$85,593 median
- Project Manager salary$116,325 median
Quick answers
How much do civil engineers make?
The blended US median is about 93,000 dollars, with the official BLS OEWS median at 99,590 and a typical range of 76,000 to 116,000.
Is civil engineering a stable job?
One of the steadiest: unemployment is 1.5 percent, because civil work is public-money infrastructure that does not follow the private construction cycle.
Do civil engineers need a PE license?
For responsible charge, yes. The PE license gates the ability to sign and seal work and the senior roles that pay the top of the band.
Method: bands are the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles of live US postings with stated pay, shrunk toward the official OEWS anchor by sample size (the “blended” figure). Trend is the OEWS annual median for SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code 17-2051. Unemployment is the 2025 BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) CPS (Current Population Survey) annual-average rate for “Civil engineers.” Live corpus 864 observations, 2026-07-23. Definitions in the glossary.