Talent Maps / Houston / Civil Engineers

Houston Civil Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What civil engineers earn in metro Houston, which employers hold the talent, where in the metro they work, and the highway, airport, port and flood control projects competing for them.

Hiring civil engineers in Houston?

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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses project and population data published in 2025 and 2026. Our civil engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Houston structural, mechanical and electrical engineer talent maps.

$100,950Median civil engineer pay in metro HoustonBLS, May 2025

$168,240+What the top 10% of Houston civil engineers earnBLS, May 2025

126,720People added to metro Houston in one year, the most of any US metroCensus Bureau, 2025

2,520Projected civil engineering job openings a year in Texas through 2034Projections Central

$9BCity of Houston wastewater improvements under its 15-year consent decreeHouston Public Works

$35BEstimated cost of the Coastal Texas storm surge projectGreater Houston Partnership, 2026

Civil engineer salaries in Houston

The median civil engineer in metro Houston earns $100,950 a year, about $4,090 more than the Texas median of $96,860 and in line with the national median of $100,840. Houston pays more than the state at every level, and its top 10% earn $168,240 or more, about $5,000 above the national figure.

Annual pay percentile	Houston metro	Texas	United States
10th percentile	$67,250	$63,240	$68,240
25th percentile	$80,010	$77,200	$79,930
Median	$100,950	$96,860	$100,840
75th percentile	$130,990	$127,340	$129,680
90th percentile	$168,240	$164,330	$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 $62,040 in Houston, ranging from $42,840 at the 10th percentile to $101,980 at the 90th.

What the spread means in practice: Houston pays slightly above national rates throughout the range. An employer offering the metro median to an experienced PE is usually competing against firms paying at or above the 75th percentile ($130,990).

Where Houston’s civil engineers work

Houston-based design firms

Houston is headquarters to a deep bench of civil firms. LAN has been based in Houston since 1935, and LJA Engineering and CobbFendley, founded in Houston in 1980, are both headquartered on the Sam Houston Parkway. Quiddity, formerly Jones|Carter, is headquartered in Bellaire.

Others include IDS Engineering Group, Binkley & Barfield (now part of DCCM), Gauge Engineering (now part of HR Green) and Walter P Moore, founded in Houston in 1931. KBR is also headquartered downtown.

Public agencies

Owners that employ their own engineers and manage consultant contracts, including TxDOT’s Houston District, the Harris County Flood Control District, Houston Public Works, Port Houston and Houston Airports.

The fast-growing suburban counties, including Fort Bend and Montgomery, also hire engineers for roads, drainage and utilities.

Contractors

Williams Brothers Construction, founded in Houston in 1955, has more than 2,000 employees and does 95% of its work for TxDOT. Webber, a Ferrovial company, is also headquartered in the Houston area.

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

Land development

Houston’s growth drives constant subdivision, drainage and utility work, especially in master-planned communities in Fort Bend, Montgomery, Waller and Brazoria counties.

Municipal utility districts and land developers keep site civil teams busy across the metro.

Where the talent sits: Houston submarkets

Downtown and Midtown

TransportationPublic sector

KBR headquarters, City of Houston departments and the I-45 rebuild through downtown.

West Houston and the Sam Houston Parkway

Land developmentDrainage

LAN, LJA and CobbFendley along the Beltway, plus the Energy Corridor’s engineering offices.

Fort Bend and the southwest

Land developmentUtilities

Fort Bend County added 24,163 people in 2025, and Waller County was the second fastest-growing county in the US by percentage.

The Woodlands and north Houston

Land developmentAviation

Montgomery County added 30,011 people in 2025. IAH and its terminal programs sit between north Houston and The Woodlands.

East Harris County and the Ship Channel

PortsIndustrial

Port Houston, the Ship Channel widening and the industrial sites around Pasadena, Baytown and La Porte. See our Houston refineries map.

What’s driving demand for civil engineers in Houston

I-45 North Houston Highway Improvement Project. TxDOT is rebuilding I-45 and its downtown interchanges in three segments. Segment 3 construction began in October 2024 and January 2025.
IAH. Houston Airports’ $1.46 billion terminal redevelopment opened an expanded Terminal E in March 2026, and United’s $2.5 billion, 22-gate Terminal B is due to open in 2026.
Houston Ship Channel. Project 11 is widening the channel from 530 to 700 feet, with completion targeted for 2029. Port Houston finished its segments in September 2025, and Army Corps dredging resumes in 2026.
Flood control. Harris County’s $2.5 billion 2018 flood bond, plus $2.7 billion in state and federal money, is still funding projects, several of which need deadline extensions.
Wastewater. The city’s consent decree commits about $9 billion over 15 years to more than 6,100 miles of sewer lines.
Coastal Texas Project. The Army Corps’ storm surge barrier, the “Ike Dike,” is estimated at $35 billion, with $950 million committed by Texas.
Growth. Metro Houston reached 7,904,627 people in July 2025, adding more people than any other US metro.

Civil specialties tied to these projects

Drainage, hydrology and flood control engineers for Harris County, the cities and land developers.
Transportation and roadway design for I-45 and TxDOT work.
Wastewater and utility engineers for the consent decree and municipal utility districts.
Coastal and port engineers for the Ship Channel and Coastal Texas Project.
Aviation civil engineers for IAH and Hobby.
Site and land development engineers for master-planned communities and industrial sites.
Construction engineering and inspection (CEI) staff for TxDOT, airport and county projects.

The talent pipeline

University of Houston. UH’s ABET-accredited civil engineering program had 450 students and awarded 97 degrees in 2024-25.
Rice University. Rice offers an ABET-accredited BS in civil engineering, including a structural specialization.
Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern. Both offer ABET-accredited civil engineering degrees in the Houston area.
Texas A&M and Lamar. Texas A&M in College Station and Lamar in Beaumont are major regional feeders.
Growth. Texas is projected to grow from 34,000 civil engineers in 2024 to 38,420 in 2034, with about 2,520 openings a year. Read more in our Texas civil engineer statistics.
Licensing. Senior roles usually require a Texas PE license, issued by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.

What this means if you’re hiring

Drainage experience is gold. Flood control, the consent decree and land development all want hydrology and drainage engineers at once.
Price senior roles at the 75th percentile. For licensed PEs, plan on $130,990 or higher.
Recruit near the work. Houston is huge. A Katy engineer rarely wants to commute to Baytown.
Use the local schools. UH, Rice, Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern all graduate civil engineers in the metro.

Need civil engineers in Houston?

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

Call 832.519.1704 or see our Houston engineering recruiters page.

Hire civil engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do civil engineers make in Houston?

The median civil engineer salary in metro Houston is $100,950 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $80,010 and $130,990, and the top 10% earn $168,240 or more.

Do civil engineers earn more in Houston or Dallas?

Houston pays a little more. Its median is $100,950, against $96,920 in Dallas-Fort Worth. See our Dallas-Fort Worth civil engineer talent map.

Who hires civil engineers in Houston?

Houston-based design firms such as LAN, LJA, CobbFendley, Quiddity and Walter P Moore, public owners such as TxDOT, Harris County Flood Control, Houston Public Works and Port Houston, and contractors such as Williams Brothers and Webber.

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