National salary
What Is the Average Mechanical Engineer Salary?
The BLS reports a $104,110 national median for mechanical engineers in May 2025. The mean is $113,610, but the median is the more useful midpoint because it is less sensitive to a smaller number of very high wages.
BLS estimates 296,810 jobs in this occupation. The 10th-to-90th-percentile spread is $73,990 to $164,340, a difference of $90,350. 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 a Mechanical Engineer Salary?
Industry
Engineering services, machinery, transportation equipment, electronics manufacturing, and research organizations use mechanical engineers in different ways.
Subsystem Ownership
Responsibility for thermal, structural, mechanism, manufacturing, or test decisions can change the scope of the role.
Applied Experience
Work with prototypes, production, field problems, and test evidence makes a candidate more useful than coursework alone.
Licensure and Leadership
A PE license matters for public engineering services, while experience can lead toward technical or management responsibility.
State comparison
Mechanical 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 mechanical engineers are Michigan (34,630 jobs), California (30,530 jobs), and Texas (22,080 jobs). Read those market sizes against the national estimate of 296,810 jobs before treating a state wage as a relocation signal.
| Rank | State | Median | 10th–90th percentile | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico | $157,710 | $103,780–$203,140 | 2,710 |
| 2 | District of Columbia | $133,300 | $86,820–$195,190 | 510 |
| 3 | California | $130,900 | $82,070–$203,620 | 30,530 |
| 4 | Delaware | $125,130 | $65,890–$168,180 | 610 |
| 5 | Colorado | $124,430 | $75,100–$170,810 | 7,190 |
| 6 | Alaska | $124,340 | $76,890–$174,320 | 380 |
| 7 | Maryland | $122,870 | $79,670–$176,680 | 6,550 |
| 8 | Louisiana | $119,540 | $70,350–$181,550 | 1,890 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | $119,300 | $79,570–$166,480 | 7,680 |
| 10 | Wyoming | $117,750 | $71,730–$151,810 | 230 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | $116,230 | $79,000–$195,190 | 1,560 |
| 12 | Texas | $112,410 | $75,810–$175,210 | 22,080 |
| 13 | New Jersey | $112,300 | $79,160–$162,800 | 4,180 |
| 14 | Washington | $110,430 | $79,400–$167,680 | 8,240 |
| 15 | Vermont | $107,330 | $83,820–$150,380 | 530 |
| 16 | Connecticut | $105,090 | $77,340–$157,980 | 4,600 |
| 17 | Michigan | $104,890 | $76,310–$159,840 | 34,630 |
| 18 | South Carolina | $104,580 | $74,260–$166,340 | 5,780 |
| 19 | Virginia | $104,180 | $77,840–$160,770 | 7,470 |
| 20 | New Hampshire | $103,660 | $72,740–$165,500 | 2,760 |
| 21 | Oregon | $103,470 | $78,100–$162,550 | 2,920 |
| 22 | Illinois | $102,680 | $72,150–$160,160 | 11,790 |
| 23 | Nevada | $102,680 | $75,960–$160,210 | 1,410 |
| 24 | Utah | $102,500 | $73,070–$160,640 | 3,370 |
| 25 | New York | $102,440 | $74,990–$160,220 | 8,590 |
| 26 | Maine | $102,430 | $78,440–$137,280 | 890 |
| 27 | Oklahoma | $101,850 | $70,070–$136,110 | 2,270 |
| 28 | Kentucky | $101,050 | $65,370–$139,810 | 4,170 |
| 29 | North Carolina | $100,720 | $71,260–$155,550 | 9,560 |
| 30 | Georgia | $100,620 | $71,940–$156,320 | 5,290 |
| 31 | Arizona | $100,270 | $71,030–$159,040 | 5,050 |
| 32 | Florida | $99,980 | $66,260–$153,950 | 10,740 |
| 33 | Indiana | $99,590 | $66,330–$143,090 | 8,690 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $99,550 | $64,150–$156,150 | 3,930 |
| 35 | Missouri | $99,330 | $64,750–$142,100 | 4,870 |
| 36 | Minnesota | $99,140 | $75,870–$151,580 | 5,890 |
| 37 | Ohio | $99,100 | $69,160–$138,020 | 14,390 |
| 38 | Hawaii | $98,740 | $66,110–$141,500 | 530 |
| 39 | Mississippi | $98,000 | $62,210–$136,990 | 1,570 |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | $97,920 | $65,770–$150,950 | 13,550 |
| 41 | Iowa | $97,700 | $71,050–$137,540 | 3,470 |
| 42 | West Virginia | $97,390 | $64,640–$143,030 | 760 |
| 43 | Wisconsin | $95,870 | $64,850–$130,360 | 7,470 |
| 44 | Montana | $94,190 | $65,820–$133,270 | 500 |
| 45 | Idaho | $93,190 | $63,660–$141,020 | 1,070 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $88,380 | $65,130–$134,140 | 560 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $88,060 | $61,860–$136,870 | 950 |
| 48 | North Dakota | $86,330 | $63,930–$136,060 | 790 |
| 49 | Kansas | $86,260 | $72,210–$131,660 | 4,630 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $80,180 | $57,650–$131,840 | 1,410 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment counts are estimates and may be rounded.
Degree context
How Education Connects to Mechanical Engineer Pay
Mechanical engineering is the standard degree; aerospace engineering can overlap when it includes strong mechanical and thermal design work.
Mechanical engineering is not only engines and moving parts. BLS includes thermal systems, sensors, devices, manufacturing equipment, and robotic systems, along with the analysis and testing behind them.
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 a mechanical engineer Adjacent route · Bachelor's degreeWhere to study
Schools That Lead Here
Common questions
Mechanical Engineer Salary FAQ
What Is the Median Mechanical Engineer Salary?
What Is the National Mechanical Engineer Salary Range?
How Many Mechanical Engineers Does BLS Count?
Does the 10Th-Percentile Mechanical Engineer Salary Mean Entry Level?
What Education Do Mechanical Engineers Need?
Primary sources
Sources for Mechanical Engineer Salary Data
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 for the national distribution, state wages, and employment estimates.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Mechanical Engineers for education, duties, and work-setting context.
Wage records and occupation facts updated October 9, 2026.