Pay by state · 52 areas

Validation Engineer Salary by State (2026)

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

Validation Engineers 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 validation engineers

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

Highest median pay

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

Lowest median pay

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

All states

Validation Engineer salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of validation 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	AKAlaska	$156,510	$117,120	$186,790	220	$152,903
2	WAWashington	$129,050	$102,400	$155,920	6,130	$120,593
3	OROregon	$128,290	$100,850	$165,780	5,810	$124,118
4	NMNew Mexico	$128,090	$96,810	$160,240	1,140	$138,908
5	CACalifornia	$124,600	$98,380	$154,190	32,680	$112,536
6	HIHawaii	$123,800	$97,190	$155,770	50	$112,596
7	LALouisiana	$122,920	$97,520	$154,320	1,710	$139,354
8	WYWyoming	$122,070	$93,160	$142,500	240	$131,696
9	DEDelaware	$120,190	$100,770	$143,000	820	$120,421
10	MDMaryland	$119,930	$98,870	$153,340	3,900	$114,264
11	COColorado	$109,750	$95,160	$133,290	5,200	$106,500
12	MAMassachusetts	$109,420	$96,100	$132,260	11,470	$103,464
13	RIRhode Island	$109,350	$94,830	$130,710	990	$106,912
14	WVWest Virginia	$108,360	$84,820	$141,370	850	$121,077
15	AZArizona	$108,280	$89,320	$135,150	7,520	$107,552
16	TXTexas	$104,560	$86,410	$133,490	30,980	$107,731
17	MTMontana	$104,430	$84,300	$139,420	390	$110,339
18	CTConnecticut	$104,160	$88,000	$128,120	6,020	$100,531
19	UTUtah	$103,940	$88,970	$123,090	5,520	$105,134
20	NJNew Jersey	$103,840	$90,480	$130,260	6,870	$95,437
21	DCDistrict of Columbia	$103,300	$89,990	$122,760	160	$93,994
22	VTVermont	$103,010	$86,060	$123,530	440	$105,157
23	MNMinnesota	$102,660	$85,130	$129,640	17,580	$104,095
24	NYNew York	$102,640	$84,700	$128,230	11,810	$95,107
25	VAVirginia	$102,550	$81,550	$130,810	5,580	$101,430
26	NVNevada	$102,090	$82,570	$119,700	1,570	$102,111
27	MIMichigan	$101,680	$82,850	$127,330	30,990	$105,678
28	FLFlorida	$101,610	$81,480	$127,650	14,050	$98,256
29	NHNew Hampshire	$101,310	$86,020	$128,280	1,940	$97,259
30	SCSouth Carolina	$101,060	$82,460	$123,490	7,960	$107,798
31	MEMaine	$101,030	$86,270	$129,990	1,030	$104,101
32	IDIdaho	$100,840	$81,420	$129,580	1,330	$105,598
33	ILIllinois	$100,540	$81,710	$125,210	18,640	$100,582
34	GAGeorgia	$100,100	$82,140	$123,670	8,940	$103,954
35	OHOhio	$100,060	$81,350	$123,900	23,480	$107,853
36	ALAlabama	$99,880	$80,920	$122,640	7,650	$112,448
37	KSKansas	$99,830	$80,090	$122,190	3,450	$110,838
38	PAPennsylvania	$99,560	$80,510	$125,190	13,180	$102,037
39	NCNorth Carolina	$99,310	$81,190	$121,090	11,580	$105,284
40	MOMissouri	$99,290	$80,050	$124,340	5,070	$109,330
41	TNTennessee	$99,080	$80,750	$117,100	7,440	$107,848
42	ARArkansas	$98,410	$79,620	$120,680	1,710	$113,197
43	NENebraska	$98,170	$79,800	$116,240	1,160	$108,953
44	IAIowa	$97,690	$79,680	$111,060	3,600	$111,312
45	OKOklahoma	$97,510	$78,250	$121,020	2,170	$111,005
46	INIndiana	$97,480	$79,880	$114,040	11,680	$104,448
47	WIWisconsin	$96,980	$79,410	$111,130	13,070	$103,066
48	NDNorth Dakota	$96,940	$78,890	$106,220	600	$108,972
49	KYKentucky	$96,820	$79,390	$116,150	6,070	$107,388
50	MSMississippi	$95,830	$78,200	$106,260	2,450	$110,209
51	SDSouth Dakota	$93,200	$79,340	$109,870	830	$105,208
52	PRPuerto Rico	$81,820	$65,040	$103,130	2,750	N/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 validation engineers, 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

Validation Engineer pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays validation engineers the most?

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

Which state pays validation engineers the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, South Dakota reports the lowest median for validation engineers 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 validation engineers 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 validation engineers 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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