Talent Maps / Tampa / Electrical Engineers

Tampa Electrical Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What electrical engineers earn in metro Tampa, which utilities and manufacturers employ them, where in the metro they work, and the solar, grid, electronics and defense projects competing for them.

Hiring electrical engineers in Tampa?

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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, which spans Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses utility and project data published from 2024 to 2026. Our electrical engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Tampa civil, mechanical and data center engineer talent maps.

$102,110Median electrical engineer pay in metro TampaBLS, May 2025

$162,490+What the top 10% of Tampa electrical engineers earnBLS, May 2025

860,000Customers served by Tampa Electric across 2,000 square milesTampa Electric

1,725 MWSolar Tampa Electric planned to have by the end of 2026, up from 1,350 MW at the end of 2024Florida PSC, 2025

$44.5BRevenue Jabil expects in fiscal 2027, up 24% from $36BTampa Bay Business & Wealth, 2026

$26.5MCollins Aerospace radar plant expansion in Largo, with 100 jobsRTX, 2026

Electrical engineer salaries in Tampa

The median electrical engineer in metro Tampa earns $102,110 a year. That is $2,670 below the Florida median of $104,780 and $18,520 below the national median of $120,630. The gap with the nation is widest in the middle and at the top: Tampa’s 90th percentile is $162,490 against $184,300 nationally. The hourly median is $49.09.

Annual pay percentile	Tampa metro	Florida	United States
10th percentile	$64,370	$65,090	$76,550
25th percentile	$79,580	$80,860	$92,830
Median	$102,110	$104,780	$120,630
75th percentile	$129,990	$131,550	$152,950
90th percentile	$162,490	$164,210	$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, the related BLS code for circuit and equipment design, earn a median of $104,690 in Tampa. That compares with $116,860 for Florida and $130,220 nationally. Pay ranges from $78,150 at the 10th percentile to $166,060 at the 90th.

Orlando pays noticeably more. Its electrical engineer median is $119,080, which is $16,970 above Tampa’s, and its 25th percentile of $80,730 is also higher. Tampa wins only at the top, where its 90th percentile of $162,490 is $3,430 above Orlando’s $159,060. Orlando’s median sits $1,550 below the national figure, while Tampa’s sits $18,520 below, so engineers weighing the two metros often see a large gap.

Where Tampa’s electrical engineers work

Electric utilities

Tampa Electric serves about 860,000 customers and runs the Big Bend, Polk and Bayside power stations. Big Bend Unit 1 was converted from coal to a 1,090 megawatt combined cycle gas plant.

Duke Energy Florida serves about 2 million customers across 13,000 square miles with 12,300 megawatts of capacity, and has an economic development team in St. Petersburg.

Electronics and manufacturing

Jabil is headquartered at 10800 Roosevelt Boulevard in St. Petersburg. It employs more than 140,000 people worldwide, at about 100 locations in 30 countries.

Collins Aerospace, part of RTX, makes radars in Largo and is adding more than 100 engineering and factory jobs.

Engineering and construction

Kimley-Horn’s Tampa office offers mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering and transit consulting. Sundt built the $48.6 million MacDill Power Station engine plant for Tampa Electric.

Hensel Phelps leads the Airside D design-build team at Tampa International Airport.

Water and transport owners

Tampa Bay Water is replacing the controllers and SCADA system at its surface water plant, a $21.4 million project. Tampa International Airport and FDOT District 7 run large electrical and traffic systems.

Where the talent sits: Tampa submarkets

South Hillsborough

GenerationSubstations

Big Bend Power Station sits in southeastern Hillsborough County near Apollo Beach, with more than 1,600 megawatts of capacity.

South Tampa and MacDill

Resilience

Tampa Electric’s four-engine plant at MacDill Power Station adds 72 megawatts, 18 megawatts per engine, for MacDill Air Force Base and the surrounding community.

St. Petersburg and Roosevelt Boulevard

ElectronicsManufacturing

Jabil’s headquarters is at 10800 Roosevelt Boulevard, and the company has more than 100 sites worldwide.

Largo and Pinellas Park

RadarDefense electronics

Collins Aerospace’s Largo plant is due to have its new radar production area fully running by late 2026.

Westshore and Tampa International Airport

Building powerAirfield

Airside D has 16 gates in about 600,000 square feet, and construction began in December 2024.

What’s driving demand for electrical engineers in Tampa

Utility solar. Tampa Electric had 1,350 megawatts of solar in December 2024 and planned about 1,725 by the end of 2026. Its 10-year plan targets more than 2,700 megawatts.
Batteries and engines. Tampa Electric had 27.6 megawatts of storage and plans about 195 megawatts more, plus about 75 megawatts of reciprocating engines.
Duke Energy Florida’s build. Its 2026 plan adds over 900 megawatts of solar from 2025 to early 2028, a 100 megawatt battery in 2027 and a 225 megawatt battery in 2028. It also hardens the grid, with about 50% of distribution lines underground.
Jabil and AI hardware. Jabil expects $44.5 billion of revenue in fiscal 2027 and invested $628 million in plants and equipment in fiscal 2026. Its CEO cited AI infrastructure as a major growth driver.
Defense and radar. Collins Aerospace is spending $26.5 million in Largo to support the FAA radar replacement program.
Large loads. On October 1, 2026, Tampa Electric filed a large-load tariff for data centers. It currently serves no large-load customers, and a state law signed in May 2026 required these filings.

Electrical specialties tied to these projects

Power system and protection engineers for generation, substations and transmission.
Renewable and storage engineers for solar farms and battery projects.
Electronics and hardware engineers for Jabil and radar manufacturers.
MEP electrical designers for airport, stadium and tower projects.
Controls and SCADA engineers for water plants and utilities. See our Tampa controls engineer talent map.

The talent pipeline

University of South Florida. USF’s electrical engineering bachelor’s degree is ABET-accredited, and its College of Engineering has more than 3,500 students.
Data centers. Large power projects also need electrical engineers. See our US data center map.
Licensing. Senior power and design roles usually require a Florida PE license from the Florida Board of Professional Engineers.

What this means if you’re hiring

Know the national gap. Tampa’s median is $18,520 below the US figure, so candidates recruited from outside Florida may expect more.
Expect Orlando to compete. Its median of $119,080 is $16,970 above Tampa’s.
Price senior roles at the 75th percentile. For licensed PEs, plan on $129,990 or higher.
Use utility timelines. Solar, battery and engine projects run through 2028 and beyond, so offer long contracts.

Need electrical engineers in Tampa?

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

Call 813.701.2797 or see our Tampa engineering recruiters page.

Hire electrical engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do electrical engineers make in Tampa?

The median electrical engineer salary in metro Tampa is $102,110 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $79,580 and $129,990, and the top 10% earn $162,490 or more.

Do electrical engineers earn more in Tampa or Orlando?

Orlando, by a wide margin. Its median is $119,080, against $102,110 in Tampa. See our Orlando electrical engineer talent map.

Who hires electrical engineers in Tampa?

Utilities such as Tampa Electric and Duke Energy Florida, manufacturers such as Jabil and Collins Aerospace, engineering firms such as Kimley-Horn, contractors such as Sundt and Hensel Phelps, and owners such as Tampa Bay Water and Tampa International Airport.

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