2027 Salary Guide · Engineering
For May 2025, BLS puts the mechanical engineer median at $104,110, which works out to about $110,500 for 2027. About 298,500 people work in the occupation, from HVAC design to robotics. Where they work matters more than the title: BLS reports a median of $132,040 in scientific research and development services against $98,620 in machinery manufacturing.
Pay distribution
This is the BLS Mechanical Engineers occupation itself, not a stand-in. The bottom tenth earned under $73,990 and the top tenth over $164,340, a spread of about $90,000 inside one job title.
Typical for the Mechanical Engineer title: $84,130 to $132,590 (25th to 75th percentile of Mechanical Engineers)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $73,990 | $78,500 |
| 25th percentile | $84,130 | $89,500 |
| Median | $104,110 | $110,500 |
| 75th percentile | $132,590 | $141,000 |
| 90th percentile | $164,340 | $174,500 |
Who employs them
BLS publishes median pay for mechanical engineers in the five industries that employ the most of them. The gap between the highest and lowest is larger than most raises.
About 7% of the occupation. Prototype, test and advanced design work, often with graduate degrees.
About 6%. Thermal management, enclosures and mechanisms for electronics and semiconductor equipment.
About 10%. Vehicles, aircraft parts and their suppliers.
About 20%, the largest single employer group. Consulting firms doing building systems, HVAC and plumbing design, and product design for clients.
About 14%. Industrial equipment, engines and tools, often in lower-cost metros.
Local pay
The San Francisco Bay Area median is about $33,000 above the next metro, Denver ($128,180). Detroit has by far the largest workforce, about 22,500 mechanical engineers, more than six times its share of national employment, at a median of $109,470.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | $161,370 +55% | $102,710 – $212,380 | 5,150 |
| Denver | $128,180 +23% | $74,880 – $168,850 | 4,530 |
| Washington, DC | $126,990 +22% | $85,760 – $195,190 | 5,390 |
| Seattle | $126,590 +22% | $81,730 – $172,490 | 4,500 |
| Houston | $125,350 +20% | $79,470 – $198,730 | 8,310 |
| Los Angeles | $123,900 +19% | $77,040 – $173,340 | 8,780 |
| San Diego | $121,750 +17% | $81,460 – $172,760 | 3,370 |
| Boston | $119,300 +15% | $80,280 – $166,900 | 6,890 |
| Baltimore | $116,700 +12% | $76,900 – $174,920 | 3,050 |
| Providence | $111,360 +7% | $77,600 – $180,710 | 1,750 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City | $109,990 +6% | $79,520 – $165,010 | 6,960 |
| Detroit | $109,470 +5% | $79,880 – $161,030 | 22,500 |
| Albany | $108,310 +4% | $76,270 – $165,360 | 930 |
| Austin | $106,690 +2% | $68,080 – $173,210 | 1,790 |
| Hartford | $105,980 +2% | $77,150 – $160,770 | 1,690 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $105,420 +1% | $76,530 – $167,140 | 5,600 |
| Portland | $105,020 +1% | $78,210 – $165,040 | 2,520 |
| Philadelphia | $104,410 +0% | $75,160 – $157,920 | 4,850 |
| Chicago | $102,070 -2% | $66,900 – $157,720 | 6,900 |
| Atlanta | $102,020 -2% | $72,800 – $165,990 | 3,070 |
| Charlotte | $101,950 -2% | $74,530 – $157,120 | 2,470 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $101,180 -3% | $76,620 – $156,540 | 4,450 |
| Phoenix | $100,980 -3% | $69,980 – $159,920 | 3,660 |
| Tampa | $100,290 -4% | $68,290 – $159,050 | 1,220 |
| Raleigh | $100,000 -4% | $59,220 – $160,170 | 1,810 |
| Miami | $99,660 -4% | $62,680 – $160,510 | 2,000 |
| Nashville | $99,440 -4% | $52,670 – $145,990 | 990 |
| Pittsburgh | $98,050 -6% | $65,580 – $143,000 | 3,470 |
| Buffalo | $97,200 -7% | $65,460 – $133,170 | 780 |
BLS metro estimates, May 2025. Percent compares the metro median with the national median. "Jobs" is BLS estimated employment in the metro; blank where BLS does not publish it.
Licensing
BLS says a license is not required for entry-level mechanical engineering jobs. Whether to get one depends on the side of the field you work in.
In product companies and manufacturing, engineers rarely sign drawings that go to a public authority, so few employers ask for a Professional Engineer license. Pay there moves with design responsibility and industry.
In consulting firms that design building systems, someone has to seal the drawings. BLS notes that the PE license allows higher levels of leadership and independence. The path is the same as in other branches: an accredited degree, the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, several years of experience, then the PE exam in the state where you practice.
Outlook
BLS projects 11% employment growth from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average, with about 17,800 openings a year. BLS points to automation and the need to integrate complex machinery into existing plants and products.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Mechanical Engineers as a whole.
Career path
BLS does not publish pay by experience. These stages are mapped to the BLS percentiles as a planning guide.
About $74,000 to $84,000 (10th to 25th percentile)
Detail design, test support and drawing updates under a senior engineer.
About $84,000 to $133,000 (25th to 75th percentile)
Owns a subsystem or a client project, from analysis and CAD through testing or installation.
About $133,000 to $164,000+ (75th to 90th percentile)
Sets technical direction, signs off on designs and mentors other engineers. R&D and Bay Area roles reach the top of this band most often.
Compare
Aerospace and electrical engineers have higher medians. Manufacturing engineers, measured through the Industrial Engineers occupation, earn slightly less at the median, and CAD designers well less.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineer | $104,110 | $110,500 | Much faster than average |
| Aerospace Engineer | $134,960 | $143,500 | Much faster than average |
| Electrical Engineer | $120,630 | $128,000 | Much faster than average |
| Manufacturing Engineer | $102,440 | $109,000 | Much faster than average |
| CAD Designer | $71,550 | $76,000 | Decline |
FAQ
In May 2025, half of mechanical engineers earned more than $104,110, the BLS median. The middle half earned between $84,130 and $132,590. Adding two years of wage growth at 3.1% a year gives a 2027 planning median of about $110,500, with the top tenth above roughly $174,500.
BLS has no new-graduate salary series for mechanical engineers. The 10th percentile, a reasonable proxy for first offers, was $73,990 in May 2025, and the 25th percentile was $84,130. New graduates going into research and development or into high-cost metros such as the Bay Area or Seattle usually start above these levels.
Among the 29 metros in this guide, the San Francisco Bay Area had the highest median in May 2025 at $161,370. Denver ($128,180), Washington, DC ($126,990), Seattle ($126,590) and Houston ($125,350) followed. Buffalo ($97,200) and Pittsburgh ($98,050) had the lowest.
Of the five industries that employ the most mechanical engineers, scientific research and development services paid the highest median in May 2025, $132,040, according to BLS. Machinery manufacturing paid the lowest of the five, $98,620. Engineering consulting firms, the largest employer group, paid $103,440.
BLS projects 11% employment growth from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average, and about 17,800 openings a year. Much of that comes from automation, which needs engineers to design machines and fit them into existing systems.
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