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Pay by state · 52 areas

Human Factors Engineer and Ergonomist Salary by State (2026)

Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists earn the most in Alaska at $156,510 a year and the least in South Dakota at $93,200 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $102,440. The table below covers all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$156,510Alaska
National median
$102,440BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$93,200South Dakota
Areas reporting
52of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for human factors engineers and ergonomists

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1Alaska$156,510
  2. 2Washington$129,050
  3. 3Oregon$128,290
  4. 4New Mexico$128,090
  5. 5California$124,600

Lowest median pay

  1. 1South Dakota$93,200
  2. 2Mississippi$95,830
  3. 3Kentucky$96,820
  4. 4North Dakota$96,940
  5. 5Wisconsin$96,980

All states

Human Factors Engineer and Ergonomist salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of human factors engineers and ergonomists OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1AKAlaska
$156,510
$117,120$186,790220$152,903
2WAWashington
$129,050
$102,400$155,9206,130$120,593
3OROregon
$128,290
$100,850$165,7805,810$124,118
4NMNew Mexico
$128,090
$96,810$160,2401,140$138,908
5CACalifornia
$124,600
$98,380$154,19032,680$112,536
6HIHawaii
$123,800
$97,190$155,77050$112,596
7LALouisiana
$122,920
$97,520$154,3201,710$139,354
8WYWyoming
$122,070
$93,160$142,500240$131,696
9DEDelaware
$120,190
$100,770$143,000820$120,421
10MDMaryland
$119,930
$98,870$153,3403,900$114,264
11COColorado
$109,750
$95,160$133,2905,200$106,500
12MAMassachusetts
$109,420
$96,100$132,26011,470$103,464
13RIRhode Island
$109,350
$94,830$130,710990$106,912
14WVWest Virginia
$108,360
$84,820$141,370850$121,077
15AZArizona
$108,280
$89,320$135,1507,520$107,552
16TXTexas
$104,560
$86,410$133,49030,980$107,731
17MTMontana
$104,430
$84,300$139,420390$110,339
18CTConnecticut
$104,160
$88,000$128,1206,020$100,531
19UTUtah
$103,940
$88,970$123,0905,520$105,134
20NJNew Jersey
$103,840
$90,480$130,2606,870$95,437
21DCDistrict of Columbia
$103,300
$89,990$122,760160$93,994
22VTVermont
$103,010
$86,060$123,530440$105,157
23MNMinnesota
$102,660
$85,130$129,64017,580$104,095
24NYNew York
$102,640
$84,700$128,23011,810$95,107
25VAVirginia
$102,550
$81,550$130,8105,580$101,430
26NVNevada
$102,090
$82,570$119,7001,570$102,111
27MIMichigan
$101,680
$82,850$127,33030,990$105,678
28FLFlorida
$101,610
$81,480$127,65014,050$98,256
29NHNew Hampshire
$101,310
$86,020$128,2801,940$97,259
30SCSouth Carolina
$101,060
$82,460$123,4907,960$107,798
31MEMaine
$101,030
$86,270$129,9901,030$104,101
32IDIdaho
$100,840
$81,420$129,5801,330$105,598
33ILIllinois
$100,540
$81,710$125,21018,640$100,582
34GAGeorgia
$100,100
$82,140$123,6708,940$103,954
35OHOhio
$100,060
$81,350$123,90023,480$107,853
36ALAlabama
$99,880
$80,920$122,6407,650$112,448
37KSKansas
$99,830
$80,090$122,1903,450$110,838
38PAPennsylvania
$99,560
$80,510$125,19013,180$102,037
39NCNorth Carolina
$99,310
$81,190$121,09011,580$105,284
40MOMissouri
$99,290
$80,050$124,3405,070$109,330
41TNTennessee
$99,080
$80,750$117,1007,440$107,848
42ARArkansas
$98,410
$79,620$120,6801,710$113,197
43NENebraska
$98,170
$79,800$116,2401,160$108,953
44IAIowa
$97,690
$79,680$111,0603,600$111,312
45OKOklahoma
$97,510
$78,250$121,0202,170$111,005
46INIndiana
$97,480
$79,880$114,04011,680$104,448
47WIWisconsin
$96,980
$79,410$111,13013,070$103,066
48NDNorth Dakota
$96,940
$78,890$106,220600$108,972
49KYKentucky
$96,820
$79,390$116,1506,070$107,388
50MSMississippi
$95,830
$78,200$106,2602,450$110,209
51SDSouth Dakota
$93,200
$79,340$109,870830$105,208
52PRPuerto Rico
$81,820
$65,040$103,1302,750N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For human factors engineers and ergonomists, the adjustment does not change the leader: Alaska is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $152,903.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Human Factors Engineer and Ergonomist pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays human factors engineers and ergonomists the most?

Alaska reports the highest median wage for human factors engineers and ergonomists at $156,510 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($129,050) and Oregon ($128,290).

Which state pays human factors engineers and ergonomists the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, South Dakota reports the lowest median for human factors engineers and ergonomists at $93,200 a year, $63,310 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Puerto Rico reports $81,820.

In which states do human factors engineers and ergonomists earn over $100,000?

35 of the 50 states and DC have a median of $100,000 or more (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The highest is Alaska; the lowest of them is Ohio at $100,060. The rest report less, down to $93,200 in South Dakota.

Is the highest-paying state the best for human factors engineers and ergonomists after cost of living?

Yes. Alaska stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $152,903 in national-average dollars from a raw $156,510. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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