Mechanical Engineer salary
What a mechanical engineer actually earns, from 1,433 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 mechanical engineer pay in the 5 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
Mechanical engineering is the steady middle of the engineering pay band and one of its most secure corners. The blended US median is about 112,000 dollars with an OEWS median of 102,320, and unemployment runs 1.3 percent, low even by engineering standards, because the discipline underpins manufacturing, energy, aerospace, and building systems all at once. Pay rose 16 percent since 2019, a real gain driven less by any single boom than by the breadth of industries that need the skill. The spread inside the band is mostly about sector and sign-off: product and manufacturing roles cluster in the middle, while the PE license and senior responsible-charge seats pull the top. If your pay has flattened, the two levers are the license, which gates the higher-responsibility roles, and the industry, which moves the baseline more than the title does.
Open mechanical engineer roles
Live openings tagged to this occupation, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
- Senior R&D EngineerART2HIRE · UkraineRemoteJul 23
- Senior Design Engineer, Design SystemCelonis · Madrid, SpainJul 23
- Mechanical EngineerNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · Seattle, Washington$84k–$131kJul 21
- Mechanical Engineer (Facilities) - Mid Level (Georgia)National Security Agency/Central Security Service · Fort Gordon, Georgia$105k–$153kJul 21
- Mechanical Engineer (Hydropower)U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Rufus, Oregon$100k–$119kJul 21
- Principal Systems Design EngineerServiceNow · Mountain View, USJul 21
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$91,796 – $137,950 · median $112,411
- United Kingdom$56,535 – $80,110 · median $67,217
- Ireland$54,362 – $73,939 · median $61,009
- Australia$61,376 – $99,739 · median $76,754
- Canada$65,977 – $85,591 · median $74,892
Top-paying US states
OEWS median by state, highest first.
- Alaskamedian $129,990
- Californiamedian $126,370
- Marylandmedian $111,740
- Washingtonmedian $109,370
- Texasmedian $108,240
- Coloradomedian $108,060
Is your offer fair?
Run a specific number through FairElephant, which weighs it against this data, your location, and remote market rates.
Move into or out of mechanical engineer
- architect → mechanical engineermeasured route
Related salaries
- Civil Engineer salary$92,518 median
- Architect salary$85,593 median
- Electrician salary$67,953 median
Quick answers
How much do mechanical engineers make?
The blended US median is about 112,000 dollars, with the official BLS OEWS median at 102,320 and a typical range of 92,000 to 135,000.
Is mechanical engineering a secure career?
Yes: unemployment is 1.3 percent, low even for engineering, because the skill underpins manufacturing, energy, aerospace, and building systems.
What raises a mechanical engineer’s salary?
The PE license, which gates higher-responsibility roles, and the industry: aerospace and energy pay above the baseline more than a title change does.
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 17-2141. Unemployment is the 2025 BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) CPS (Current Population Survey) annual-average rate for “Mechanical engineers.” Live corpus 1,433 observations, 2026-07-23. Definitions in the glossary.