Civil engineers are responsible for the design, development and construction of things such as bridges, roads, stadiums, public buildings, dams, airports, tunnels, and so on. Basically any large structure, including even sewer systems. As such a civil engineering career is both interesting and rewarding, while also making a positive contribution to the community. And it can involve working in different locations too, as well as in a wide variety of conditions. But when choosing a career, it’s also important to take into account how much you’ll earn too, of course. So just how much do civil engineers make? Let’s take a look at some figures that answer this question…
How much do civil engineers make?
The national mean annual salary for civil engineers in May, 2015 was $87,940.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May, 2015 the median salary for civil engineers was $82,220 per year. This is the equivalent of an hourly wage of $39.53 per hour.
The lowest paid ten percent of civil engineers earned less than $52,900.
The highest paid ten percent of civil engineers earned over $129,850.
The highest paying industry for civil engineers in May, 2015 was the oil and gas extraction industry, with a median annual salary of $130,750.
Nationally, in May 2015, there were 275,210 civil engineering jobs with a mean annual salary of $87,940.
California was the state with the highest number of civil engineering jobs. They had 39,170 such jobs, paying a median annual salary of $100,980.
The state with the highest mean annual salary was Alaska, with a mean wage of $110,050. There were a total of 1,080 such jobs in Alaska.
Civil engineering job outlook
The job outlook for civil engineering is positive with an 8% predicted growth in the number of jobs between 2014 and 2024. This is due to increasing populations and ageing systems.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
