Best US Cities for Electrical Engineers
Top US cities for Electrical Engineers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $133,500 | 1.45× | +$26,500 |
| 2 | Honolulu, HI | $132,200 | 1.30× | +$25,200 |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $127,600 | 1.35× | +$20,600 |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | $127,100 | 1.22× | +$20,100 |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $126,600 | 1.21× | +$19,600 |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $125,800 | 1.32× | +$18,800 |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $124,700 | 1.18× | +$17,700 |
| 8 | Long Beach, CA | $124,700 | 1.18× | +$17,700 |
| 9 | Anaheim, CA | $124,700 | 1.18× | +$17,700 |
| 10 | Irvine, CA | $124,700 | 1.30× | +$17,700 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $133,500 | $64/hr |
| 2 | Honolulu, HI | $132,200 | $64/hr |
| 3 | Oakland, CA | $127,600 | $61/hr |
| 4 | Los Angeles, CA | $127,100 | $61/hr |
| 5 | San Diego, CA | $126,600 | $61/hr |
| 6 | New York City, NY | $125,800 | $60/hr |
| 7 | Seattle, WA | $124,700 | $60/hr |
| 8 | Long Beach, CA | $124,700 | $60/hr |
| 9 | Anaheim, CA | $124,700 | $60/hr |
| 10 | Irvine, CA | $124,700 | $60/hr |
| 11 | Denver, CO | $124,000 | $60/hr |
| 12 | Chula Vista, CA | $122,700 | $59/hr |
| 13 | Aurora, CO | $122,000 | $59/hr |
| 14 | Chandler, AZ | $121,400 | $58/hr |
| 15 | Charleston, SC | $120,100 | $58/hr |
| 16 | Boston, MA | $119,900 | $58/hr |
| 17 | Portland, OR | $119,700 | $58/hr |
| 18 | Orlando, FL | $119,400 | $57/hr |
| 19 | Yonkers, NY | $118,800 | $57/hr |
| 20 | North Las Vegas, NV | $118,800 | $57/hr |
| 21 | Boise, ID | $118,800 | $57/hr |
| 22 | Anchorage, AK | $118,800 | $57/hr |
| 23 | Colorado Springs, CO | $118,100 | $57/hr |
| 24 | Scottsdale, AZ | $117,600 | $57/hr |
| 25 | Mesa, AZ | $116,800 | $56/hr |
| 26 | Chicago, IL | $116,500 | $56/hr |
| 27 | Austin, TX | $116,500 | $56/hr |
| 28 | Hialeah, FL | $116,500 | $56/hr |
| 29 | Houston, TX | $116,100 | $56/hr |
| 30 | Fort Worth, TX | $116,100 | $56/hr |
| 31 | Tucson, AZ | $116,100 | $56/hr |
| 32 | Albuquerque, NM | $114,900 | $55/hr |
| 33 | Phoenix, AZ | $114,700 | $55/hr |
| 34 | Henderson, NV | $114,700 | $55/hr |
| 35 | Reno, NV | $114,700 | $55/hr |
| 36 | Gilbert, AZ | $114,700 | $55/hr |
| 37 | Miami, FL | $114,100 | $55/hr |
| 38 | Detroit, MI | $113,600 | $55/hr |
| 39 | Virginia Beach, VA | $113,400 | $55/hr |
| 40 | El Paso, TX | $112,900 | $54/hr |
| 41 | Newark, NJ | $112,900 | $54/hr |
| 42 | Sacramento, CA | $112,900 | $54/hr |
| 43 | Riverside, CA | $112,900 | $54/hr |
| 44 | Nashville, TN | $112,800 | $54/hr |
| 45 | Louisville, KY | $112,200 | $54/hr |
| 46 | Oklahoma City, OK | $111,600 | $54/hr |
| 47 | Charlotte, NC | $111,500 | $54/hr |
| 48 | Toledo, OH | $110,900 | $53/hr |
| 49 | Glendale, AZ | $110,900 | $53/hr |
| 50 | Garland, TX | $110,900 | $53/hr |
| 51 | Spokane, WA | $110,900 | $53/hr |
| 52 | Arlington, TX | $110,300 | $53/hr |
| 53 | Baltimore, MD | $109,900 | $53/hr |
| 54 | Stockton, CA | $109,900 | $53/hr |
| 55 | Frisco, TX | $109,900 | $53/hr |
| 56 | Milwaukee, WI | $109,700 | $53/hr |
| 57 | Wichita, KS | $109,700 | $53/hr |
| 58 | Las Vegas, NV | $109,400 | $53/hr |
| 59 | Minneapolis, MN | $109,400 | $53/hr |
| 60 | Plano, TX | $109,400 | $53/hr |
| 61 | San Antonio, TX | $109,100 | $52/hr |
| 62 | Grand Rapids, MI | $109,100 | $52/hr |
| 63 | Lexington, KY | $108,400 | $52/hr |
| 64 | Greensboro, NC | $108,400 | $52/hr |
| 65 | Knoxville, TN | $108,400 | $52/hr |
| 66 | Philadelphia, PA | $108,200 | $52/hr |
| 67 | Atlanta, GA | $108,200 | $52/hr |
| 68 | Tampa, FL | $108,200 | $52/hr |
| 69 | Salt Lake City, UT | $108,200 | $52/hr |
| 70 | Cleveland, OH | $107,800 | $52/hr |
| 71 | St. Louis, MO | $107,800 | $52/hr |
| 72 | Indianapolis, IN | $107,200 | $52/hr |
| 73 | Wilmington, DE | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 74 | Raleigh, NC | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 75 | St. Paul, MN | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 76 | Chesapeake, VA | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 77 | Fresno, CA | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 78 | Worcester, MA | $107,000 | $51/hr |
| 79 | Dallas, TX | $106,400 | $51/hr |
| 80 | Bakersfield, CA | $106,400 | $51/hr |
| 81 | St. Petersburg, FL | $106,400 | $51/hr |
| 82 | Madison, WI | $106,400 | $51/hr |
| 83 | Birmingham, AL | $105,900 | $51/hr |
| 84 | Lubbock, TX | $105,900 | $51/hr |
| 85 | Norfolk, VA | $105,800 | $51/hr |
| 86 | Jacksonville, FL | $105,200 | $51/hr |
| 87 | Fort Wayne, IN | $104,700 | $50/hr |
| 88 | Mobile, AL | $104,700 | $50/hr |
| 89 | Pittsburgh, PA | $104,100 | $50/hr |
| 90 | Tallahassee, FL | $104,100 | $50/hr |
| 91 | New Orleans, LA | $103,500 | $50/hr |
| 92 | Columbus, OH | $102,300 | $49/hr |
| 93 | Cincinnati, OH | $102,300 | $49/hr |
| 94 | Kansas City, MO | $102,300 | $49/hr |
| 95 | Corpus Christi, TX | $102,300 | $49/hr |
| 96 | Buffalo, NY | $102,300 | $49/hr |
| 97 | Winston-Salem, NC | $101,700 | $49/hr |
| 98 | Omaha, NE | $101,100 | $49/hr |
| 99 | Memphis, TN | $100,500 | $48/hr |
| 100 | Lincoln, NE | $100,500 | $48/hr |
Does location actually decide Electrical Engineer pay?
Electrical Engineer work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $100,500 in Lincoln to $133,500 in San Francisco — a spread of 33%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The number that ranks these metros is not the number you live on. In San Francisco, $133,500 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $97,500 a year after housing. In Lincoln, $100,500 against $950 leaves about $89,100. The top still wins after rent, but by $8,400 rather than the $33,000 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
The metros at the top are not simply the expensive ones; they are where the hiring is. 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). Depth of demand for engineering work is what lifts pay above the local baseline, and it is why two equally costly cities can pay this role differently.
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.