Controls Engineer Salary in Houston, TX (2026)
Typical pay is $131,070 a year, with most controls engineers in Houston, TX earning between $95,990 and $164,240. Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Salary Calculator›Controls Engineer›Houston, TX
The typical controls engineer in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area earns $131,070 a year, about the same as the Texas median and 9% more than the national median. Early-career pay starts around $95,990, experienced controls engineers earn $164,240 or more, and the top 10% make over $207,990. About 5,770 people work in this occupation in the metro area.
Controls Engineer salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Annual pay, BLS survey of May 2025
What controls engineers do
Controls engineers design and program the systems that run automated equipment: PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, drives, sensors and robotics. They work in manufacturing plants, packaging, water treatment, energy and data centers. BLS counts controls engineers with electrical engineers, so the figures here are for that wider group; strong PLC and robotics skills often sit at the higher end of the range.
Controls Engineer pay in Houston compared
| Area | Typical | Early career | Experienced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $131,070 | $95,990 | $164,240 |
| Texas | $129,450 | $95,130 | $164,730 |
| United States | $120,630 | $92,830 | $152,950 |
The Houston job market
Houston is the center of the US energy industry, home to NASA's Johnson Space Center and CenterPoint's grid build-out, and one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country.
Other engineering, design and supply chain salaries in Houston
| Role | Typical |
|---|---|
| Mechanical Engineer | $125,350 |
| Electrical Engineer | $131,070 |
| Civil Engineer | $100,950 |
| Process Engineer | $138,120 |
| Industrial Engineer | $111,690 |
| Aerospace Engineer | $133,970 |
| Environmental Engineer | $127,340 |
| Engineering Manager | $172,020 |
| Construction Manager | $103,530 |
| Architect | $97,590 |
| CAD Designer | $63,120 |
| Mechanical Designer | $78,820 |
| Supply Chain Analyst | $75,940 |
| Buyer | $76,290 |
| Software Developer | $129,440 |
Controls Engineer salary FAQs
How much does a controls engineer make in Houston, TX?
The typical (median) controls engineer in Houston, TX earns $131,070 a year, or about $63.01 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Half earn more and half earn less.
What is the entry-level salary for a controls engineer in Houston, TX?
Early-career controls engineers in Houston, TX typically earn around $95,990 (the 25th percentile), and the lowest-paid 10% earn under $77,170. Degree, internships, licenses and the industry all move starting pay.
How much do experienced controls engineers earn in Houston, TX?
Experienced controls engineers in Houston, TX earn $164,240 or more (the 75th percentile), and the top 10% earn over $207,990.
Do controls engineers earn more in Houston, TX than the national average?
The typical controls engineer in Houston, TX earns 9% more than the national median of $120,630. Prices in the metro area are 1.4% below the US average (BEA, 2024), so the same salary goes a little further there.
Are controls engineers in demand?
BLS projects employment in this occupation to grow 9.9% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% for all jobs, with about 11,400 openings a year nationally as people retire, change jobs or the field grows.
Hiring controls engineers in Houston?
Where these numbers come from
Pay figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program (OEWS), which surveys about 1.1 million employer locations and is the government's main source of pay by occupation and location. This page uses the May 2025 survey, released in 2026, and updates itself when BLS publishes the next year's figures. Job outlook comes from the BLS Employment Projections for 2025–35. Cost of living comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024, where the US average is 100.
Pay is base wages and salary before tax. It does not include bonuses, overtime, benefits or equity. Early career is the 25th percentile (a quarter of workers earn less), Typical is the median and Experienced is the 75th percentile. The bar shows the full range from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The salary rank check estimates a percentile by drawing straight lines between those five published points.
BLS groups some job titles together. Controls engineers, for example, are counted with electrical engineers, and CAD designers with drafters. Each result names the BLS occupation it uses so you can see exactly what is being measured. BLS does not publish every occupation in every area, for example when too few people in a job were surveyed or when a figure does not meet its reliability standards. When a metro figure is missing, the calculator shows the state figure, or the national figure if the state is also missing, and says so.
BLS occupation used on this page: Electrical Engineers (SOC 17-2071).