Best US Cities for Civil Engineers
Top US cities for Civil Engineers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $111,000 | 1.45× | +$22,000 |
| 2 | Honolulu, HI | $109,900 | 1.30× | +$20,900 |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $106,100 | 1.35× | +$17,100 |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | $105,800 | 1.22× | +$16,800 |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $105,300 | 1.21× | +$16,300 |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $104,700 | 1.32× | +$15,700 |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $103,700 | 1.18× | +$14,700 |
| 8 | Long Beach, CA | $103,700 | 1.18× | +$14,700 |
| 9 | Anaheim, CA | $103,700 | 1.18× | +$14,700 |
| 10 | Irvine, CA | $103,700 | 1.30× | +$14,700 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $111,000 | $53/hr |
| 2 | Honolulu, HI | $109,900 | $53/hr |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $106,100 | $51/hr |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | $105,800 | $51/hr |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $105,300 | $51/hr |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $104,700 | $50/hr |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $103,700 | $50/hr |
| 8 | Long Beach, CA | $103,700 | $50/hr |
| 9 | Anaheim, CA | $103,700 | $50/hr |
| 10 | Irvine, CA | $103,700 | $50/hr |
| 11 | Denver, CO | $103,100 | $50/hr |
| 12 | Chula Vista, CA | $102,100 | $49/hr |
| 13 | Aurora, CO | $101,500 | $49/hr |
| 14 | Chandler, AZ | $101,000 | $49/hr |
| 15 | Charleston, SC | $99,900 | $48/hr |
| 16 | Boston, MA | $99,800 | $48/hr |
| 17 | Portland, OR | $99,500 | $48/hr |
| 18 | Orlando, FL | $99,300 | $48/hr |
| 19 | Yonkers, NY | $98,800 | $48/hr |
| 20 | North Las Vegas, NV | $98,800 | $48/hr |
| 21 | Boise, ID | $98,800 | $48/hr |
| 22 | Anchorage, AK | $98,800 | $48/hr |
| 23 | Colorado Springs, CO | $98,200 | $47/hr |
| 24 | Scottsdale, AZ | $97,800 | $47/hr |
| 25 | Mesa, AZ | $97,100 | $47/hr |
| 26 | Chicago, IL | $96,900 | $47/hr |
| 27 | Austin, TX | $96,900 | $47/hr |
| 28 | Hialeah, FL | $96,900 | $47/hr |
| 29 | Houston, TX | $96,600 | $46/hr |
| 30 | Fort Worth, TX | $96,600 | $46/hr |
| 31 | Tucson, AZ | $96,600 | $46/hr |
| 32 | Albuquerque, NM | $95,600 | $46/hr |
| 33 | Phoenix, AZ | $95,400 | $46/hr |
| 34 | Henderson, NV | $95,400 | $46/hr |
| 35 | Reno, NV | $95,400 | $46/hr |
| 36 | Gilbert, AZ | $95,400 | $46/hr |
| 37 | Miami, FL | $94,900 | $46/hr |
| 38 | Detroit, MI | $94,500 | $45/hr |
| 39 | Virginia Beach, VA | $94,300 | $45/hr |
| 40 | El Paso, TX | $93,900 | $45/hr |
| 41 | Newark, NJ | $93,900 | $45/hr |
| 42 | Sacramento, CA | $93,900 | $45/hr |
| 43 | Riverside, CA | $93,900 | $45/hr |
| 44 | Nashville, TN | $93,800 | $45/hr |
| 45 | Louisville, KY | $93,400 | $45/hr |
| 46 | Charlotte, NC | $92,800 | $45/hr |
| 47 | Oklahoma City, OK | $92,800 | $45/hr |
| 48 | Toledo, OH | $92,200 | $44/hr |
| 49 | Glendale, AZ | $92,200 | $44/hr |
| 50 | Garland, TX | $92,200 | $44/hr |
| 51 | Spokane, WA | $92,200 | $44/hr |
| 52 | Arlington, TX | $91,800 | $44/hr |
| 53 | Baltimore, MD | $91,400 | $44/hr |
| 54 | Stockton, CA | $91,400 | $44/hr |
| 55 | Frisco, TX | $91,400 | $44/hr |
| 56 | Milwaukee, WI | $91,300 | $44/hr |
| 57 | Wichita, KS | $91,100 | $44/hr |
| 58 | Las Vegas, NV | $91,000 | $44/hr |
| 59 | Minneapolis, MN | $91,000 | $44/hr |
| 60 | Plano, TX | $91,000 | $44/hr |
| 61 | San Antonio, TX | $90,700 | $44/hr |
| 62 | Grand Rapids, MI | $90,700 | $44/hr |
| 63 | Lexington, KY | $90,200 | $43/hr |
| 64 | Greensboro, NC | $90,200 | $43/hr |
| 65 | Knoxville, TN | $90,200 | $43/hr |
| 66 | Philadelphia, PA | $90,000 | $43/hr |
| 67 | Atlanta, GA | $90,000 | $43/hr |
| 68 | Tampa, FL | $90,000 | $43/hr |
| 69 | Salt Lake City, UT | $90,000 | $43/hr |
| 70 | Cleveland, OH | $89,700 | $43/hr |
| 71 | St. Louis, MO | $89,700 | $43/hr |
| 72 | Indianapolis, IN | $89,100 | $43/hr |
| 73 | Wilmington, DE | $89,000 | $43/hr |
| 74 | Raleigh, NC | $89,000 | $43/hr |
| 75 | St. Paul, MN | $89,000 | $43/hr |
| 76 | Chesapeake, VA | $89,000 | $43/hr |
| 77 | Fresno, CA | $89,000 | $43/hr |
| 78 | Worcester, MA | $89,000 | $43/hr |
| 79 | Dallas, TX | $88,500 | $43/hr |
| 80 | Bakersfield, CA | $88,500 | $43/hr |
| 81 | St. Petersburg, FL | $88,500 | $43/hr |
| 82 | Madison, WI | $88,500 | $43/hr |
| 83 | Birmingham, AL | $88,100 | $42/hr |
| 84 | Lubbock, TX | $88,100 | $42/hr |
| 85 | Norfolk, VA | $88,000 | $42/hr |
| 86 | Jacksonville, FL | $87,500 | $42/hr |
| 87 | Fort Wayne, IN | $87,000 | $42/hr |
| 88 | Mobile, AL | $87,000 | $42/hr |
| 89 | Pittsburgh, PA | $86,600 | $42/hr |
| 90 | Tallahassee, FL | $86,600 | $42/hr |
| 91 | New Orleans, LA | $86,100 | $41/hr |
| 92 | Columbus, OH | $85,100 | $41/hr |
| 93 | Cincinnati, OH | $85,100 | $41/hr |
| 94 | Kansas City, MO | $85,100 | $41/hr |
| 95 | Corpus Christi, TX | $85,100 | $41/hr |
| 96 | Buffalo, NY | $85,100 | $41/hr |
| 97 | Winston-Salem, NC | $84,600 | $41/hr |
| 98 | Omaha, NE | $84,100 | $40/hr |
| 99 | Memphis, TN | $83,600 | $40/hr |
| 100 | Lincoln, NE | $83,600 | $40/hr |
Does location actually decide Civil Engineer pay?
Civil Engineer work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $83,600 in Lincoln to $111,000 in San Francisco — a spread of 33%.
One practical constraint: this is a licensed occupation (PE license required to sign off on public infrastructure plans). Because licenses do not automatically transfer across state lines, the metros on this list are not equally reachable — some will require you to re-qualify before you can work at all.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $111,000 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $75,000 a year after housing. In Lincoln, $83,600 against $950 leaves about $72,200. The top still wins after rent, but by $2,800 rather than the $27,400 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); Honolulu (U.S. Pacific Fleet/Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Queen's Health Systems); Oakland (Kaiser Permanente (HQ), Port of Oakland). A Civil Engineer at a large employer in a metro where engineering work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.