Talent Maps / Atlanta / Civil Engineers

Atlanta Civil Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What civil engineers earn in metro Atlanta, which employers hold the talent, where in the metro they work, and the projects competing for them through 2031.

Hiring civil engineers in Atlanta?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers civil engineers in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses project and market data published in 2026. Our civil engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Atlanta structural, mechanical, electrical and data center engineer talent maps.

$88,000Median civil engineer pay in metro AtlantaBLS, May 2025

$160,150+What the top 10% of Atlanta civil engineers earnBLS, May 2025

8,510Civil engineers employed in GeorgiaProjections Central, 2024

560Projected civil engineering job openings a year in Georgia through 2034Projections Central

2,882 MWData center capacity under construction in Atlanta, the most in North AmericaCBRE, H1 2026

#3Georgia Tech’s graduate civil engineering program nationallyU.S. News, 2026

Civil engineer salaries in Atlanta

The median civil engineer in metro Atlanta earns $88,000 a year, about $12,840 less than the national median of $100,840. The gap almost disappears at the top of the market: Atlanta’s highest-paid 10% earn $160,150 or more, within about $3,100 of the national figure.

Annual pay percentile	Atlanta metro	Georgia	United States
10th percentile	$63,810	$62,850	$68,240
25th percentile	$78,130	$75,090	$79,930
Median	$88,000	$84,240	$100,840
75th percentile	$116,430	$114,380	$129,680
90th percentile	$160,150	$153,690	$163,220

Civil Engineers (SOC 17-2051). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Civil engineering technicians, the drafters, inspectors and field techs who support design teams, earn a median of $58,780 in metro Atlanta, ranging from $37,770 at the 10th percentile to $87,510 at the 90th.

What the spread means in practice: entry-level and mid-career pay in Atlanta sits below the national market, while licensed senior engineers are paid close to national rates. An employer offering the metro median to an experienced PE is usually competing against firms paying at or above the 75th percentile ($116,430).

Where Atlanta’s civil engineers work

Most civil engineers in metro Atlanta work for one of four kinds of employer. Each one hires for different skills and competes for the same people in different ways.

Consulting and design firms

The largest pool of civil engineers in the metro, doing transportation, water, site and land development design. The Atlanta Business Chronicle ranked Pond, headquartered in Peachtree Corners, as Atlanta’s largest engineering firm by 2024 billings.

National firms with large Atlanta offices include AECOM, AtkinsRéalis, Arcadis, Gresham Smith, HNTB, Jacobs, Kimley-Horn, Michael Baker International, Stantec and WSP. Georgia-based firms include Croy Engineering, Heath & Lineback, Long Engineering, Moreland Altobelli and Wolverton.

Public agencies

Owners that employ their own engineers and manage consultant contracts. The Georgia Department of Transportation is headquartered in downtown Atlanta.

Others include the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, MARTA and the transportation and water departments of Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.

Contractors

Heavy civil and building contractors hire project engineers, field engineers and estimators, often with a design background.

Examples include C.W. Matthews in Marietta, FlatironDragados and Acciona (the builders on the SR 400 Express Lanes), Holder Construction and Brasfield & Gorrie.

Utilities and owners

Georgia Power and its parent, Southern Company, are headquartered in Atlanta and hire civil engineers for transmission, generation and substation work.

Data center developers and their site teams, including QTS, Microsoft and AWS, are now a major source of site civil, grading and utility work. See our Georgia data center tracker.

Where the talent sits: Atlanta submarkets

Atlanta is spread out, and commutes shape who will take a job. Civil engineering talent clusters in five parts of the metro.

Downtown and Midtown

TransportationWaterPublic sector

GDOT headquarters, City of Atlanta agencies, the downtown offices of national consulting firms and Georgia Tech. The deepest pool for public-sector transportation and water design.

Perimeter and North Fulton

TransportationLand development

Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Roswell and Alpharetta along the SR 400 corridor, home to many consulting offices and the SR 400 Express Lanes project through 2031.

Gwinnett

Site civilUtilities

Peachtree Corners, Norcross and Duluth, including Pond’s headquarters. Strong in site development, utilities and multi-discipline design.

Cobb

Heavy civilTransportation

Marietta and Kennesaw, home to Kennesaw State’s Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering, regional design firms and heavy civil contractors such as C.W. Matthews.

South and west metro

AviationData centersStormwater

Hartsfield-Jackson and the data center corridor through south Fulton, Douglas, Fayette and Coweta counties. Heavy demand for site development, grading, utilities, stormwater and construction inspection.

What’s driving demand for civil engineers in Atlanta

SR 400 Express Lanes. GDOT and SR 400 Peach Partners broke ground on April 22, 2026. The project adds tolled express lanes along 16 miles from the North Springs MARTA station to McFarland Parkway, with a total cost of about $11 billion and construction costs of $4.6 billion. FlatironDragados and Acciona are building it, with opening planned for 2031.
I-285 Top End Express Lanes. GDOT’s next major express lanes project, which will connect to the SR 400 network, is in procurement.
Hartsfield-Jackson. The airport’s roughly $1.4 billion Concourse D widening runs through 2029, part of a long-term capital program that keeps aviation civil work in steady demand.
Data centers. CBRE reports 1,803 MW of data center capacity in Atlanta and another 2,882 MW under construction, the most of any market in North America in the first half of 2026. Every campus needs site civil, grading, stormwater and utility design. Read more on the top US data center markets.

Civil specialties tied to these projects

Transportation and roadway design for GDOT, county and express lanes work.
Bridge and structural engineers for interchanges and new bridges on SR 400. See our Georgia structural engineer statistics.
Traffic and ITS engineers for dynamic tolling and corridor-wide intelligent transportation systems.
Site and land development engineers for data centers, industrial and mixed-use projects.
Water resources and stormwater engineers for utilities, counties and large greenfield sites.
Geotechnical engineers for foundations, earthwork and grading.
Construction engineering and inspection (CEI) staff for GDOT, airport and private projects.

The talent pipeline

Georgia Tech. The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s graduate civil program is ranked No. 3 in the country by U.S. News for 2026.
Kennesaw State University. The Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology in Marietta offers an ABET-accredited BS in civil engineering.
University of Georgia. The UGA College of Engineering in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta, offers an ABET-accredited BS in civil engineering and graduate degrees in civil and environmental engineering.
Growth. Georgia is projected to grow from 8,510 civil engineers in 2024 to 9,060 in 2034, with about 560 openings a year from growth and retirements.
Licensing. Senior roles usually require a Georgia PE license, issued by the Georgia State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.

What this means if you’re hiring

Price senior roles against the top of the market. For licensed PEs and project managers, plan on the 75th percentile ($116,430) or higher, not the median.
Expect competition through 2031. SR 400, I-285 and the data center build-out all want transportation, site and inspection engineers at the same time.
Recruit near the work. A strong candidate in Marietta may turn down a job in Peachtree Corners because of the drive. Map the commute before you write the job post.
Grow your own. Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State and the University of Georgia turn out civil engineering graduates every year. Pairing EITs with senior PEs is often faster than waiting for the perfect experienced hire.

Need civil engineers in Atlanta?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place civil, structural, transportation and site development engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 404.474.4571 or see our Atlanta engineering recruiters page.

Hire civil engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do civil engineers make in Atlanta?

The median civil engineer salary in the Atlanta metro is $88,000 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $78,130 and $116,430, and the top 10% earn $160,150 or more.

How many civil engineers are there in Georgia?

Georgia employed about 8,510 civil engineers in 2024, and that number is projected to reach 9,060 by 2034, with roughly 560 openings a year.

Who hires the most civil engineers in Atlanta?

Consulting and design firms employ the largest share, led by firms such as Pond, AECOM, AtkinsRéalis, HNTB, Jacobs, Kimley-Horn and WSP. GDOT, the City of Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson and the metro counties are the largest public employers.

Is Atlanta a good market for civil engineers?

Demand is strong. The SR 400 Express Lanes, the I-285 Top End project, airport work and the largest data center construction pipeline in North America will keep transportation, site and inspection engineers busy through at least 2031. Read more on whether civil engineering is a good career.

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