Mechanical Designer Salary (2026)
Typical pay is $71,550 a year, with most mechanical designers earning between $58,080 and $86,120. Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Salary Calculator›Mechanical Designer
Nationally, the typical mechanical designer earns $71,550 a year. Early-career pay starts around $58,080, experienced mechanical designers earn $86,120 or more, and the top 10% make over $106,580. About 39,960 people work in this occupation in the US. Pay is highest in New Mexico ($89,940) and, among metro areas, in Boulder, CO ($102,710).
Mechanical Designer salary in the United States
Annual pay, BLS survey of May 2025
What mechanical designers do
Mechanical designers create detailed 3D models and drawings of parts, assemblies and equipment, often in SolidWorks, Inventor or Creo, and apply tolerancing such as GD&T. BLS counts them as mechanical drafters, which is the occupation used here.
Mechanical Designer salary by state
Typical annual pay for mechanical designers in every state where BLS publishes figures, highest first.
| State | Typical | Early career | Experienced |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | $89,940 | $85,730 | $128,400 |
| Colorado | $85,280 | $70,420 | $117,240 |
| New Jersey | $83,380 | $72,030 | $99,340 |
| California | $82,510 | $65,900 | $102,860 |
| Texas | $79,380 | $61,710 | $93,600 |
| Louisiana | $77,730 | $57,980 | $122,330 |
| North Dakota | $77,570 | $62,220 | $81,740 |
| Washington | $76,820 | $61,560 | $109,480 |
| Maryland | $76,740 | $59,620 | $100,090 |
| New York | $76,490 | $62,640 | $92,610 |
| Maine | $76,360 | $61,470 | $76,360 |
| Nevada | $75,830 | $56,880 | $94,260 |
| Massachusetts | $75,490 | $61,990 | $96,570 |
| Oregon | $74,000 | $59,920 | $96,780 |
| Minnesota | $73,090 | $62,940 | $79,870 |
| Vermont | $73,040 | $56,610 | $84,100 |
| Michigan | $72,280 | $57,720 | $94,900 |
| Ohio | $70,580 | $57,720 | $80,360 |
| Utah | $70,000 | $58,100 | $83,190 |
| Virginia | $69,630 | $60,010 | $83,380 |
| Rhode Island | $69,290 | $59,460 | $80,780 |
| Kentucky | $68,880 | $61,990 | $74,990 |
| Connecticut | $68,830 | $56,110 | $86,800 |
| Florida | $68,050 | $55,830 | $79,280 |
| Arizona | $67,410 | $57,700 | $80,660 |
| Georgia | $66,670 | $59,900 | $83,960 |
| Missouri | $66,350 | $58,360 | $84,430 |
| Kansas | $65,250 | $52,610 | $82,840 |
| West Virginia | $65,100 | $55,660 | $81,320 |
| Wisconsin | $63,770 | $58,390 | $76,550 |
| South Carolina | $63,740 | $55,140 | $80,240 |
| Pennsylvania | $63,480 | $53,500 | $78,490 |
| Oklahoma | $63,440 | $50,640 | $76,690 |
| Tennessee | $63,390 | $51,360 | $76,540 |
| Iowa | $63,330 | $54,230 | $79,900 |
| Illinois | $63,320 | $56,710 | $81,480 |
| Indiana | $62,820 | $52,000 | $77,270 |
| Nebraska | $61,170 | $48,930 | $76,730 |
| Wyoming | $61,070 | $50,130 | $65,420 |
| Mississippi | $60,460 | $47,720 | $80,270 |
| Arkansas | $59,960 | $51,860 | $70,750 |
| Idaho | $59,050 | $48,900 | $86,420 |
| North Carolina | $59,050 | $49,450 | $71,340 |
| Delaware | $57,110 | $52,670 | $67,990 |
| New Hampshire | $55,390 | $45,770 | $74,480 |
| Alabama | $53,600 | $45,160 | $76,960 |
| South Dakota | $52,610 | $47,860 | $65,190 |
Highest-paying metro areas
| Metro area | Typical |
|---|---|
| 1. Boulder, CO | $102,710 |
| 2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $98,310 |
| 3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $97,450 |
| 4. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $94,470 |
| 5. Albuquerque, NM | $94,140 |
| 6. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $90,160 |
| 7. Colorado Springs, CO | $87,860 |
| 8. Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | $87,220 |
| 9. Idaho Falls, ID | $86,420 |
| 10. Midland, TX | $86,100 |
| 11. Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $84,100 |
| 12. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $84,070 |
| 13. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $83,550 |
| 14. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $83,200 |
| 15. Niles, MI | $82,960 |
Pay in Apollo's markets
| Metro | Typical |
|---|---|
| Atlanta | $75,360 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $83,200 |
| Houston | $78,820 |
| Austin | $77,160 |
| Charlotte | $62,890 |
| Raleigh | $61,220 |
| San Antonio | $78,110 |
| Chicago | $72,540 |
| Orlando | $63,140 |
| Tampa | $72,170 |
| Miami | $73,230 |
| Jacksonville | $68,880 |
| Greenville-Spartanburg | $66,170 |
| Columbia, SC | $61,300 |
| Charleston, SC | $77,670 |
| Savannah | Not published |
Related cad and design salaries
Mechanical Designer salary FAQs
How much does a mechanical designer make in the US?
The typical (median) mechanical designer in the US earns $71,550 a year, or about $34.40 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Half earn more and half earn less.
What is the entry-level salary for a mechanical designer in the US?
Early-career mechanical designers in the US typically earn around $58,080 (the 25th percentile), and the lowest-paid 10% earn under $48,360. Degree, internships, licenses and the industry all move starting pay.
How much do experienced mechanical designers earn in the US?
Experienced mechanical designers in the US earn $86,120 or more (the 75th percentile), and the top 10% earn over $106,580.
Which state pays mechanical designers the most?
New Mexico has the highest typical pay for mechanical designers at $89,940 a year. The highest-paying metro area is Boulder, CO at $102,710 (BLS, May 2025).
Are mechanical designers in demand?
BLS projects employment in this occupation to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% for all jobs, with about 2,900 openings a year nationally as people retire, change jobs or the field grows.
Hiring mechanical designers?
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: Mechanical Drafters (SOC 17-3013).