Mechanical Engineer Salary by State (2026)

Name: Mechanical Engineer annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Mechanical Engineers earn the most in New Mexico at $157,710 a year and the least in Guam at $61,510 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $104,110. All 53 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $157,710
National median: $104,110
Lowest median: $61,510
States reporting: 53

Top 5 states for Mechanical Engineers

1. New Mexico$157,710 median · $171,030 adjusted · 2,710 employed
2. District of Columbia$133,300 median · $121,291 adjusted · 510 employed
3. California$130,900 median · $118,226 adjusted · 30,530 employed
4. Delaware$125,130 median · $125,371 adjusted · 610 employed
5. Colorado$124,430 median · $120,745 adjusted · 7,190 employed

Lowest-paying states for Mechanical Engineers

53. Guam$61,510 median · no price parity · 140 employed
52. Puerto Rico$72,240 median · no price parity · 490 employed
51. Arkansas$80,180 median · $92,228 adjusted · 1,410 employed
50. Kansas$86,260 median · $95,772 adjusted · 4,630 employed
49. North Dakota$86,330 median · $97,045 adjusted · 790 employed

Mechanical Engineer salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of mechanical engineers 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
#
1	New Mexico	$157,710	$128,080	$162,880	2,710	$171,030
2	District of Columbia	$133,300	$107,300	$166,360	510	$121,291
3	California	$130,900	$102,360	$166,580	30,530	$118,226
4	Delaware	$125,130	$97,920	$128,140	610	$125,371
5	Colorado	$124,430	$95,710	$149,790	7,190	$120,745
6	Alaska	$124,340	$92,280	$157,610	380	$121,474
7	Maryland	$122,870	$98,300	$156,560	6,550	$117,065
8	Louisiana	$119,540	$81,790	$147,560	1,890	$135,522
9	Massachusetts	$119,300	$96,440	$140,590	7,680	$112,806
10	Wyoming	$117,750	$100,060	$140,600	230	$127,035
11	Rhode Island	$116,230	$99,350	$154,690	1,560	$113,639
12	Texas	$112,410	$91,420	$145,090	22,080	$115,819
13	New Jersey	$112,300	$92,750	$136,910	4,180	$103,212
14	Washington	$110,430	$94,560	$139,870	8,240	$103,193
15	Vermont	$107,330	$87,360	$127,100	530	$109,567
16	Connecticut	$105,090	$86,170	$133,540	4,600	$101,428
17	Michigan	$104,890	$87,640	$132,160	34,630	$109,014
18	South Carolina	$104,580	$84,810	$133,480	5,780	$111,553
19	Virginia	$104,180	$85,410	$131,250	7,470	$103,042
20	New Hampshire	$103,660	$84,210	$130,120	2,760	$99,515
21	Oregon	$103,470	$91,270	$130,230	2,920	$100,105
22	Illinois	$102,680	$83,800	$130,730	11,790	$102,723
23	Nevada	$102,680	$86,030	$130,390	1,410	$102,702
24	Utah	$102,500	$84,500	$127,780	3,370	$103,678
25	New York	$102,440	$84,400	$129,410	8,590	$94,921
26	Maine	$102,430	$83,740	$127,300	890	$105,544
27	Oklahoma	$101,850	$82,960	$128,320	2,270	$115,945
28	Kentucky	$101,050	$80,350	$120,690	4,170	$112,080
29	North Carolina	$100,720	$82,490	$125,050	9,560	$106,779
30	Georgia	$100,620	$80,040	$128,350	5,290	$104,494
31	Arizona	$100,270	$82,430	$128,880	5,050	$99,596
32	Alabama	$100,230	$83,800	$128,100	N/A	$112,842
33	Florida	$99,980	$79,090	$128,320	10,740	$96,679
34	Indiana	$99,590	$80,630	$127,700	8,690	$106,709
35	Tennessee	$99,550	$78,730	$127,500	3,930	$108,360
36	Missouri	$99,330	$79,540	$120,990	4,870	$109,374
37	Minnesota	$99,140	$81,860	$128,690	5,890	$100,526
38	Ohio	$99,100	$79,390	$115,770	14,390	$106,819
39	Hawaii	$98,740	$85,820	$119,700	530	$89,804
40	Mississippi	$98,000	$75,510	$127,410	1,570	$112,705
41	Pennsylvania	$97,920	$79,090	$125,270	13,550	$100,357
42	Iowa	$97,700	$79,770	$108,580	3,470	$111,324
43	West Virginia	$97,390	$82,910	$118,490	760	$108,819
44	Wisconsin	$95,870	$77,920	$106,950	7,470	$101,886
45	Montana	$94,190	$79,240	$119,820	500	$99,519
46	Idaho	$93,190	$76,540	$108,570	1,070	$97,587
47	South Dakota	$88,380	$77,160	$106,850	560	$99,767
48	Nebraska	$88,060	$74,820	$108,900	950	$97,733
49	North Dakota	$86,330	$77,990	$114,830	790	$97,045
50	Kansas	$86,260	$79,350	$104,890	4,630	$95,772
51	Arkansas	$80,180	$65,620	$103,850	1,410	$92,228
52	Puerto Rico	$72,240	$50,630	$100,190	490	N/A
53	Guam	$61,510	$51,790	$75,440	140	N/A

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 Mechanical Engineers, that changes the ranking: New Mexico leads on raw pay at $157,710, while New Mexico leads once prices are taken into account at $171,030.

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

Mechanical Engineer pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Mechanical Engineers the most?

New Mexico reports the highest median wage for Mechanical Engineers at $157,710 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by District of Columbia ($133,300) and California ($130,900).

Which state pays Mechanical Engineers the least?

Guam reports the lowest median for Mechanical Engineers at $61,510 a year, $96,200 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Mechanical Engineers earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts New Mexico first at $171,030 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $157,710. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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