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