Design Engineer Pay Varies Widely in 15 US Cities

Design engineer compensation varies widely by location. If you live in Boston, your salary will average more than $90,000, nearly $20,000 above the national average for design engineers, according to Glassdoor.com. But if you live in Cleveland, your salary will average almost $10,000 below the national average.

Even within the same state, there are wide compensation variances. Design engineers in Austin are paid well, while those a few miles south in Houston fall below the national average. Above all else, competition seems to be the determining factor. You’ll get paid well in San Jose where companies compete for technology employees, and you won’t get paid as well in Seattle where it’s the employees who compete for technology jobs.

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Atlanta design engineers are averaging $71,890. The national average is $72,294.
(Source: glassdoor.com/huffingtonpost.com)

In a future slideshow, we’ll show you average software engineering salaries by city.

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Rob Spiegel has covered automation and control for 15 years, 12 of them for Design News. Other topics he has covered include supply chain technology, alternative energy, and cyber security. For 10 years he was owner and publisher of the food magazine, Chile Pepper.