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Mechanical Engineer Salary by State 2026
All 50 states plus DC ranked by annual mean wage. Highest: New Mexico ($152,430). Lowest: Arkansas ($88,340).
Highest Paying
New Mexico
$152,430
Lowest Paying
Arkansas
$88,340
Best Value (COL-Adjusted)
New Mexico
$163,903 adj.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 17-2141. Snapshot taken 6 September 2026.
All 50 States + DC Ranked
Sorted by annual mean wage. COL-adjusted salary shows purchasing power relative to national average.
| # | State | Annual Mean | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico | $152,430 | $73.28 |
| 2 | District of Columbia | $138,500 | $66.59 |
| 3 | California | $136,660 | $65.70 |
| 4 | Alaska | $126,160 | $60.66 |
| 5 | Maryland | $125,850 | $60.51 |
| 6 | Colorado | $124,410 | $59.81 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $124,290 | $59.76 |
| 8 | Texas | $121,510 | $58.42 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | $121,430 | $58.38 |
| 10 | Washington | $121,370 | $58.35 |
| 11 | Louisiana | $120,520 | $57.94 |
| 12 | Delaware | $117,710 | $56.59 |
| 13 | Wyoming | $117,060 | $56.28 |
| 14 | New Jersey | $116,640 | $56.08 |
| 15 | Oregon | $115,090 | $55.33 |
| 16 | Virginia | $114,770 | $55.18 |
| 17 | South Carolina | $113,690 | $54.66 |
| 18 | Michigan | $112,320 | $54.00 |
| 19 | Vermont | $112,260 | $53.97 |
| 20 | Connecticut | $111,530 | $53.62 |
| 21 | Illinois | $111,380 | $53.55 |
| 22 | New Hampshire | $110,940 | $53.34 |
| 23 | New York | $110,270 | $53.02 |
| 24 | Nevada | $110,180 | $52.97 |
| 25 | Georgia | $109,650 | $52.71 |
| 26 | Alabama | $109,330 | $52.56 |
| 27 | Utah | $107,410 | $51.64 |
| 28 | North Carolina | $107,350 | $51.61 |
| 29 | Arizona | $107,220 | $51.55 |
| 30 | Maine | $107,220 | $51.55 |
| 31 | Minnesota | $106,060 | $50.99 |
| 32 | Florida | $105,800 | $50.86 |
| 33 | Oklahoma | $105,410 | $50.68 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $104,790 | $50.38 |
| 35 | Indiana | $104,670 | $50.32 |
| 36 | Pennsylvania | $103,740 | $49.87 |
| 37 | Hawaii | $103,410 | $49.71 |
| 38 | Kentucky | $103,320 | $49.68 |
| 39 | Missouri | $101,340 | $48.72 |
| 40 | Ohio | $101,320 | $48.71 |
| 41 | West Virginia | $101,310 | $48.71 |
| 42 | Mississippi | $100,690 | $48.41 |
| 43 | Iowa | $99,230 | $47.71 |
| 44 | Montana | $98,660 | $47.43 |
| 45 | Idaho | $98,430 | $47.32 |
| 46 | Kansas | $97,840 | $47.04 |
| 47 | Nebraska | $96,820 | $46.55 |
| 48 | Wisconsin | $96,750 | $46.52 |
| 49 | North Dakota | $96,400 | $46.34 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $95,080 | $45.71 |
| 51 | Arkansas | $88,340 | $42.47 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 17-2141. Snapshot taken 6 September 2026. Ranks are computed from the annual mean wage column.
Cost-of-living index (100 = national average) derived from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities. This is a separate dataset from the BLS wage figures and is not published by BLS.
Where the employment column reads "not published", BLS suppressed the state cell for that occupation. No estimate is substituted.
Top 5 Highest Paying States
Membership and ordering are computed from the derived annual mean wage, so this list cannot disagree with the table above.
New Mexico
$152,430+34.2% vs national meanLos Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories are two of the highest-paying employers of mechanical engineers in the country. Nuclear, weapons and directed-energy research pull pay well above what the local cost of living would suggest.
District of Columbia
$138,500+21.9% vs national meanA dense concentration of federal agencies (Department of Energy, NASA, DoD) and the contractors that serve them, inside a single small jurisdiction with no low-wage industrial base to pull the average down.
California
$136,660+20.3% vs national meanTech hardware (Apple, Tesla, Google hardware), aerospace (SpaceX, Northrop) and the sheer density of engineering firms in the Bay Area and Southern California. Offset by the highest cost-of-living index of any large state.
Alaska
$126,160+11.0% vs national meanOil and gas plus a remoteness premium. Pipeline and extraction engineering command significant uplift, and the small labour supply keeps wages high.
Maryland
$125,850+10.8% vs national meanFederal research and defence: NIST, NASA Goddard, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and naval systems work around Patuxent River.
Best Value After Cost of Living
States where your paycheck goes furthest. Ranked by derived mean wage divided by cost-of-living index.
New Mexico
Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories are two of the highest-paying employers of mechanical engineers in the country. Nuclear, weapons and directed-energy research pull pay well above what the local cost of living would suggest.
Louisiana
Oil, gas and petrochemical engineering along the Gulf coast, in one of the lowest cost-of-living states in the country.
Texas
Energy, petrochemicals and aerospace, with no state income tax and a cost-of-living index below the national average.
Alabama
Aerospace and defence around Huntsville (Redstone Arsenal, Marshall Space Flight Center) plus automotive assembly, at one of the lowest cost-of-living indexes in the country.
South Carolina
Aerospace (Boeing North Charleston), automotive (BMW Spartanburg) and heavy manufacturing, with costs well below the national average.
Michigan
The automotive engineering centre of the United States and the largest state employer of mechanical engineers, with housing costs far below the coastal engineering hubs.
Cost-of-living index (100 = national average) derived from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities. This is a separate dataset from the BLS wage figures and is not published by BLS.
Top Metro Areas
| Metro Area | State | Annual Mean | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara | CA | $142,800 | 5,400 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | CA | $135,200 | 3,800 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | WA | $128,400 | 6,200 |
| Los Alamos | NM | $141,500 | 800 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua | MA/NH | $122,300 | 7,100 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | TX | $121,800 | 8,900 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | MI | $113,400 | 12,800 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood | CO | $116,200 | 4,100 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | DC/VA/MD | $119,500 | 4,800 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | MN/WI | $112,800 | 6,900 |
Metro figures are from the BLS OEWS May 2024 metropolitan file and have not yet been re-derived at the May 2025 vintage. State and national figures on this page are May 2025.
Relocation Decision Framework
Evaluating a move? Consider these factors beyond raw salary.
Salary Delta
Compare your current salary to the target state average. A $15K raise may not compensate for a 40-point COL increase.
Cost of Living Delta
Use the COL index to normalize. California at COL 142 has less purchasing power than Ohio at COL 90, even on a much higher nominal salary.
Job Market Depth
States with large ME employment (Michigan 34,630; California 30,530; Texas 22,080) offer more options if your first role does not work out.
State Income Tax
Texas, Florida, Washington, and Nevada have no state income tax. This can add $3,000 to $8,000 in effective annual salary.
Industry Concentration
Moving to a state with your target industry (e.g., Michigan for auto, Texas for energy) improves long-term career options and job security.
Quality of Life
Climate, commute times, schools, and proximity to family. Hard to quantify but often the most important factor in the decision.