Talent Maps / Austin / Electrical Engineers

Austin Electrical Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What electrical engineers earn in Austin, which utilities, chip companies and energy firms employ them, and the grid and semiconductor growth competing for them.

Hiring electrical engineers in Austin?

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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 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 Austin controls, data center and mechanical talent maps.

$145,360Median electrical engineer pay in AustinBLS, May 2025

$212,900+What the top 10% of Austin electrical engineers earnBLS, May 2025

575,087Austin Energy customers in fiscal 2025Austin Energy

500+ MWPending large-load connection requests at Austin Energy, almost 17% of its capacityAustin Current, January 2026

440,000+Meters served by Pedernales Electric CooperativePEC, April 2026

#9UT Austin undergraduate electrical engineering rankingU.S. News, 2026-27

Electrical engineer salaries in Austin

The median electrical engineer in metro Austin earns $145,360 a year, $15,910 more than the Texas median of $129,450 and $24,730 more than the national median of $120,630. The top 10% earn $212,900 or more, about $28,600 above the national figure.

Annual pay percentile	Austin metro	Texas	United States
10th percentile	$81,960	$76,120	$76,550
25th percentile	$110,310	$95,130	$92,830
Median	$145,360	$129,450	$120,630
75th percentile	$202,060	$164,730	$152,950
90th percentile	$212,900	$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.

Chip design pushes pay for related roles even higher. Electronics engineers earn a median of $162,960 in Austin and computer hardware engineers $165,530. Electrical and electronic engineering technicians earn a median of $69,970. Compare our Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth electrical engineer talent maps.

Where Austin’s electrical engineers work

Utilities and co-ops

Austin Energy has been city-owned since 1895. In fiscal 2025 it had 1,934 employees, 575,087 customers, 633.5 miles of transmission line and 81 substations across a 437-square-mile service area.

Pedernales Electric Cooperative serves more than 440,000 meters and calls itself the nation’s largest electric distribution and transmission co-op. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative serves more than 142,000 meters across 14 counties.

Transmission

LCRA’s transmission arm plans about $8.6 billion of transmission work over five years. In May 2026 LCRA approved $1.8 billion of capital spending for fiscal 2027 across power, water and broadband.

Oncor is upgrading lines and equipment in Williamson County, including Round Rock, Georgetown and Taylor.

Semiconductors

Samsung’s Taylor fab was announced in 2021 as a $17 billion project expected to create more than 2,000 jobs. Arm calls Austin its largest US site and is adding more than 320 jobs in a $71 million expansion. AMD and Apple also hire chip engineers in Austin.

Silicon Labs is headquartered in Austin and opened a new R&D lab in September 2026. Texas Instruments agreed to buy it in February 2026, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2027. Ambiq is also based in Austin. NXP plans to sell its Oak Hill campus and has leased offices in Northwest Austin. Infineon sold its Austin fab to SkyWater in June 2025 and keeps R&D and sales staff in Texas. See our Austin semiconductor recruiters.

Energy, vehicles and defense

Base Power raised a $1 billion Series C in October 2025 and is building its first factory at the former Austin American-Statesman site. Saronic, which builds autonomous boats, is based in Austin and raised $1.75 billion in March 2026.

Tesla builds vehicles at Giga Texas. In March 2026 Tesla and SpaceX announced plans for a chip fab there called Terafab. It is an announcement, not a committed project.

Where the talent sits: Austin submarkets

Central Austin

UtilitiesEnergy

Austin Energy and Base Power’s factory site at the former Statesman property.

North and Northwest Austin

ChipsAutomation

NXP’s leased Champion Office Park and Emerson’s North Austin campus, the former National Instruments site.

Taylor and Williamson County

FabsTransmission

Samsung’s Taylor fab, Oncor’s Williamson County upgrades and Bluebonnet’s fast-growing territory.

Southeast Travis County

Vehicles

Tesla’s Giga Texas plant.

San Marcos

Universities

Texas State University and its ABET-accredited electrical engineering program.

What’s driving demand for electrical engineers in Austin

Large loads. Austin Energy had more than 500 MW of pending large-load connection requests in January 2026, almost 17% of its current capacity, against a peak load of about 3 GW.
New generation. In May 2026 the City Council approved 299 MW of wind, 100 MW of local batteries and 400 MW of gas peaker plants under Austin Energy’s plan to 2035.
Transmission spending. LCRA invested more than $1.2 billion in transmission in fiscal 2026 and plans about $8.6 billion over five years.
Co-op growth. Bluebonnet’s meter count rose 32% over five years.
Chip investment. Samsung Taylor, Arm’s expansion, backed by a $4.16 million state grant, and Silicon Labs’ new lab, backed by a $23 million state grant, all need circuit, power and test engineers.

The talent pipeline

UT Austin. U.S. News ranks UT Austin’s electrical engineering program #12 for graduate study and #9 for undergraduates in 2026-27.
Texas State University. Its ABET-accredited BS in electrical engineering offers three concentrations.
Austin Community College. ACC offers an automated manufacturing associate degree and a manufacturing bachelor’s degree, with partners including Samsung, Applied Materials and Tesla.
Texas State Technical College. TSTC’s Hutto campus launches semiconductor technology and automation and robotics programs in fall 2026, backed by a $3.5 million state grant.

What this means if you’re hiring

Pay well above the state. Austin’s median is about $16,000 above Texas. Plan on the 75th percentile ($202,060) for experienced hires.
Chip firms set the pace. Electronics and hardware engineers earn medians above $160,000, and utilities compete for the same power and test skills.
Grid work is growing. Austin Energy, the co-ops and LCRA all need power, protection and substation engineers.
Recruit from UT Austin and Texas State. Both run accredited electrical engineering programs in the metro.

Need electrical engineers in Austin?

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

Call 512.686.1181 or see our Austin engineering recruiters page.

Hire electrical engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do electrical engineers make in Austin?

The median electrical engineer salary in metro Austin is $145,360 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $110,310 and $202,060, and the top 10% earn $212,900 or more.

Who hires electrical engineers in Austin?

Austin Energy, Pedernales and Bluebonnet electric co-ops, LCRA, Oncor, Samsung, Arm, AMD, Apple, Silicon Labs, NXP, Tesla and energy companies such as Base Power.

Do electrical engineers earn more in Austin or San Antonio?

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

Sources (23)