National salary
What Is the Average Electrical Engineer Salary?
The BLS reports a $120,630 national median for electrical engineers in May 2025. The mean is $125,100, but the median is the more useful midpoint because it is less sensitive to a smaller number of very high wages.
BLS estimates 198,750 jobs in this occupation. The 10th-to-90th-percentile spread is $76,550 to $184,300, a difference of $107,750. Employer, setting, specialty, location, and responsibility all sit inside that national range.
Percentiles describe where wages fall across the occupation. They do not assign a wage to a specific experience level.
What moves the number
What Affects an Electrical Engineer Salary?
Technical Field
Power, controls, communications, instrumentation, and vehicle systems lead to different employer groups and responsibilities.
Laboratory and Design Ownership
Engineers who can take a subsystem from requirement through test carry more responsibility than those supporting one stage.
Industry and Clearance
Manufacturing, engineering services, research, communications, and federal work use different pay structures. Some defense work adds clearance constraints.
Experience and Licensure
Experience can lead to technical leadership, and a PE license matters in work that must be approved for the public.
State comparison
Electrical Engineer Salary by State
The table lists the 10 states with the highest median salary beside each employment estimate, and the picker adds any other state. The job count matters: a high figure based on a small occupational market describes a different opportunity than a similar figure supported by thousands of jobs.
The largest state employment estimates for electrical engineers are California (24,230 jobs), Texas (20,870 jobs), and Michigan (10,840 jobs). Read those market sizes against the national estimate of 198,750 jobs before treating a state wage as a relocation signal.
| Rank | State | Median | 10th–90th percentile | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico | $158,520 | $102,880–$202,680 | 2,560 |
| 2 | California | $144,040 | $81,840–$217,760 | 24,230 |
| 3 | District of Columbia | $143,000 | $87,450–$195,190 | 330 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | $135,710 | $92,700–$202,790 | 1,600 |
| 5 | Washington | $132,710 | $85,540–$185,690 | 7,610 |
| 6 | Texas | $129,450 | $76,120–$210,160 | 20,870 |
| 7 | Idaho | $129,340 | $77,070–$165,410 | 1,000 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $127,720 | $78,140–$176,470 | 5,040 |
| 9 | Delaware | $126,970 | $83,600–$152,060 | 660 |
| 10 | Alaska | $125,970 | $82,360–$177,110 | 350 |
| 11 | Alabama | $125,630 | $77,840–$180,220 | 4,600 |
| 12 | New Jersey | $125,370 | $80,630–$174,450 | 2,940 |
| 13 | Oregon | $125,160 | $83,500–$166,240 | 2,540 |
| 14 | Maryland | $125,150 | $76,650–$194,810 | 4,650 |
| 15 | Louisiana | $123,710 | $77,210–$178,330 | 990 |
| 16 | Colorado | $120,760 | $81,720–$177,310 | 4,200 |
| 17 | Virginia | $119,030 | $80,320–$173,400 | 7,260 |
| 18 | New York | $119,010 | $74,870–$168,820 | 8,770 |
| 19 | Missouri | $118,670 | $77,620–$166,710 | 2,410 |
| 20 | Maine | $114,620 | $78,930–$161,230 | 1,150 |
| 21 | West Virginia | $113,420 | $76,830–$156,250 | 500 |
| 22 | Wyoming | $111,740 | $60,760–$146,990 | 280 |
| 23 | Vermont | $111,310 | $81,040–$175,710 | 820 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | $110,820 | $77,650–$167,260 | 6,970 |
| 25 | North Dakota | $110,810 | $77,350–$155,520 | 260 |
| 26 | North Carolina | $110,130 | $66,800–$203,490 | 7,090 |
| 27 | Minnesota | $109,510 | $78,750–$167,030 | 3,150 |
| 28 | Illinois | $107,860 | $75,470–$164,290 | 5,460 |
| 29 | Oklahoma | $107,760 | $74,060–$187,140 | 2,080 |
| 30 | Nevada | $107,400 | $77,000–$167,330 | 1,100 |
| 31 | Nebraska | $107,260 | $66,820–$135,270 | 1,060 |
| 32 | Hawaii | $106,350 | $73,890–$156,580 | 1,080 |
| 33 | Michigan | $106,070 | $75,880–$159,090 | 10,840 |
| 34 | Iowa | $105,820 | $76,720–$155,460 | 1,280 |
| 35 | Utah | $105,720 | $77,100–$171,580 | 1,680 |
| 36 | Mississippi | $104,990 | $60,130–$156,140 | 1,130 |
| 37 | Florida | $104,780 | $65,090–$164,210 | 9,220 |
| 38 | Tennessee | $104,450 | $73,850–$166,210 | 2,830 |
| 39 | Connecticut | $104,160 | $82,300–$162,290 | 2,930 |
| 40 | Indiana | $102,670 | $69,290–$152,480 | 4,000 |
| 41 | Kansas | $102,630 | $72,230–$159,650 | 2,100 |
| 42 | Ohio | $100,620 | $72,690–$149,390 | 6,360 |
| 43 | Arizona | $100,550 | $75,560–$165,510 | 5,370 |
| 44 | Wisconsin | $99,700 | $74,850–$132,990 | 3,550 |
| 45 | South Dakota | $98,980 | $69,580–$138,210 | 530 |
| 46 | Kentucky | $98,550 | $63,270–$138,460 | 1,540 |
| 47 | South Carolina | $98,440 | $69,260–$156,330 | 3,490 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $96,860 | $67,920–$136,770 | 900 |
| 49 | Montana | $87,360 | $72,910–$133,180 | 790 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment counts are estimates and may be rounded.
Degree context
How Education Connects to Electrical Engineer Pay
Electrical engineering is the standard route; aerospace engineering can align when the curriculum and projects center on circuits, controls, power, or communications.
Electrical engineering is not simply wiring. The job deals with system behavior, circuit theory, power, communications, controls, test evidence, requirements, and the decisions needed to make equipment safe and reliable.
The wage percentiles do not separate workers by degree or experience. Use the education requirement to decide whether the route is open to you, then use the state and national wage distributions to understand the market rather than treating one percentile as a personal forecast.
Career guide See how to become an electrical engineer Adjacent route · Bachelor's degreeWhere to study
Schools That Lead Here
Common questions
Electrical Engineer Salary FAQ
What Is the Median Electrical Engineer Salary?
What Is the National Electrical Engineer Salary Range?
How Many Electrical Engineers Does BLS Count?
Does the 10Th-Percentile Electrical Engineer Salary Mean Entry Level?
What Education Do Electrical Engineers Need?
Primary sources
Sources for Electrical Engineer Salary Data
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 for the national distribution, state wages, and employment estimates.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Electrical Engineers for education, duties, and work-setting context.
Wage records and occupation facts updated October 9, 2026.