Talent Maps / San Antonio / Electrical Engineers

San Antonio Electrical Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What electrical engineers earn in San Antonio, which utilities, research labs and manufacturers employ them, and the large-load and data center growth competing for them.

Hiring electrical engineers in San Antonio?

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 electrical engineers in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses utility, grid and company data published in 2025 and 2026. Our electrical engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our San Antonio controls, data center and mechanical talent maps.

$103,520Median electrical engineer pay in San AntonioBLS, May 2025

$193,190+What the top 10% of San Antonio electrical engineers earnBLS, May 2025

970,000+CPS Energy electric customersCPS Energy

5,900 MWCPS Energy peak demand in 2025CPS Energy

$1.73BCPS Energy capital budget forecast for fiscal 2027CPS Energy, 2026

17 GWNew large load in CPS Energy’s pipelineKSAT, July 2026

Electrical engineer salaries in San Antonio

The median electrical engineer in metro San Antonio earns $103,520 a year, $25,930 less than the Texas median of $129,450 and $17,110 less than the national median of $120,630. Pay spreads widely: the top 10% earn $193,190 or more, about $8,900 above the national figure.

Annual pay percentile	San Antonio metro	Texas	United States
10th percentile	$68,420	$76,120	$76,550
25th percentile	$81,940	$95,130	$92,830
Median	$103,520	$129,450	$120,630
75th percentile	$148,070	$164,730	$152,950
90th percentile	$193,190	$210,160	$184,300

Electrical Engineers (SOC 17-2071). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Electronics engineers earn a median of $131,160 in San Antonio, and electrical and electronic engineering technicians $68,270, ranging up to $99,120 at the 90th percentile. Compare our Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth electrical engineer talent maps.

Where San Antonio’s electrical engineers work

CPS Energy

CPS Energy calls itself the nation’s largest public power, natural gas and electric company, with more than 970,000 electric and 390,000 gas customers.

Its network has more than 17,000 miles of electric line, including more than 1,550 miles of transmission and 100 substations. About 46% of its distribution lines are underground.

Co-ops and city utilities

Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative serves more than 99,000 meters across 13 counties.

New Braunfels Utilities opened its $13.13 million Hueco Springs substation and upgraded its Henne substation in June 2026.

Research and defense

Southwest Research Institute has 3,200 employees, a 1,500-acre campus and about $966 million in research volume in fiscal 2025.

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center is headquartered at JBSA-Lackland, with about 1,900 people. Boeing held a hiring event for electrical aircraft mechanics at Port San Antonio in January 2026.

Data centers and manufacturing

Microsoft plans a $400 million data center in Castroville, with construction starting in mid-August 2026 and completion targeted for June 2028. See our Texas data centers guide.

Toyota Texas announced a $3.6 billion expansion in July 2026, which will double the size of its San Antonio plant by 2030.

Where the talent sits: San Antonio submarkets

Far west Bexar and Castroville

Data centersTransmission

Microsoft’s Castroville project and its sites on Westover Link, Wiseman Blvd, Lambda Drive and Rogers Rd.

Port San Antonio and Lackland

AerospaceDefense

Boeing at Port San Antonio and the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at JBSA-Lackland.

Northwest San Antonio

ResearchUniversities

Southwest Research Institute’s campus and UTSA.

South San Antonio

Manufacturing

Toyota Texas, its on-site suppliers and the plant expansion.

New Braunfels

Utilities

New Braunfels Utilities’ substation build-out and Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative’s service area.

What’s driving demand for electrical engineers in San Antonio

Large loads. CPS Energy says up to 17 GW of new large load is in its pipeline. It projects commercial load will grow more than 104% by 2040, compared with about 34% for residential load.
Interconnection rules. CPS defines a large load as 40 MW or more. Study fees are $75,000, or $150,000 per point of interconnection for loads of 75 MW or more. A two-year pilot lets up to 15 large customers bring their own generation.
New generation. CPS’s Vision 2027 plan has secured more than 4,700 MW: 3,342 MW of gas, 734 MW of solar, 113 MW of wind, 520 MW of storage and 52 MW from its stake in the South Texas Project.
Capital spending. CPS forecasts a $1.73 billion capital budget for fiscal 2027, including $769 million for electric and gas reliability and $329 million for customer growth.
Manufacturing growth. Toyota’s $3.6 billion expansion adds 2,000 jobs and 2.5 million square feet of plant.

The talent pipeline

UT San Antonio (UTSA). Its ABET-accredited electrical engineering degree offers systems and control and electric power concentrations.
St. Mary’s University. Its BS in electrical engineering is ABET accredited.
Texas A&M-San Antonio. It offers a BS in electronic systems engineering technology and has proposed a BS in electrical engineering for 2027, pending approval.
St. Philip’s College. Its advanced manufacturing and instrumentation technician degrees train the technicians who support plant electrical teams.

What this means if you’re hiring

Pay is below the state. San Antonio’s median is about $26,000 under Texas, so engineers can earn more by moving to Austin or Houston. Plan on the 75th percentile ($148,070) for experienced hires.
CPS spending pulls engineers in. Its capital plan and large-load pipeline compete directly with manufacturers and contractors for power engineers.
Public employers post pay. SAWS posted a master electrician role at $29.86 to $51.22 an hour, open through October 25, 2026.
Recruit from UTSA and St. Mary’s. Both run accredited electrical engineering programs in the city.

Need electrical engineers in San Antonio?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place power, controls, plant electrical and design engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 512.686.1181 or see our San Antonio engineering recruiters page.

Hire electrical engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do electrical engineers make in San Antonio?

The median electrical engineer salary in metro San Antonio is $103,520 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $81,940 and $148,070, and the top 10% earn $193,190 or more.

Who hires electrical engineers in San Antonio?

CPS Energy, Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative, New Braunfels Utilities, SAWS, Southwest Research Institute, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Boeing, Toyota Texas and data center developers such as Microsoft.

Do electrical engineers earn more in San Antonio or Austin?

Austin pays more. The San Antonio median is $103,520, compared with $145,360 in metro Austin, a gap of $41,840, based on May 2025 BLS data.

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