Materials Engineer Salary (2026)
Typical pay is $112,860 a year, with most materials engineers earning between $88,080 and $142,720. Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Salary Calculator›Materials Engineer
Nationally, the typical materials engineer earns $112,860 a year. Early-career pay starts around $88,080, experienced materials engineers earn $142,720 or more, and the top 10% make over $175,720. About 22,770 people work in this occupation in the US. Pay is highest in New Mexico ($165,600) and, among metro areas, in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($156,730).
Materials Engineer salary in the United States
Annual pay, BLS survey of May 2025
What materials engineers do
Materials engineers develop, process and test metals, polymers, ceramics and composites, and investigate why parts fail. They work in aerospace, automotive, semiconductors and heavy manufacturing.
Materials Engineer salary by state
Typical annual pay for materials engineers in every state where BLS publishes figures, highest first.
| State | Typical | Early career | Experienced |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | $165,600 | $160,340 | $197,900 |
| Maryland | $140,640 | $109,970 | $173,720 |
| Washington | $139,840 | $122,960 | $176,290 |
| Delaware | $131,320 | $100,980 | $165,960 |
| Louisiana | $128,670 | $92,470 | $155,830 |
| California | $128,470 | $103,250 | $157,980 |
| Illinois | $126,620 | $91,570 | $136,710 |
| New York | $125,900 | $88,380 | $162,770 |
| Colorado | $124,030 | $94,640 | $164,630 |
| Alaska | $123,360 | $84,240 | $134,550 |
| Oregon | $122,850 | $98,670 | $147,420 |
| Connecticut | $122,300 | $104,420 | $137,130 |
| South Carolina | $121,610 | $92,240 | $131,080 |
| Florida | $118,780 | $91,150 | $138,430 |
| Texas | $117,700 | $84,700 | $160,260 |
| Virginia | $116,720 | $83,840 | $137,400 |
| Massachusetts | $114,100 | $96,930 | $142,960 |
| Wyoming | $110,970 | $81,950 | $119,590 |
| Alabama | $107,580 | $83,880 | $137,620 |
| New Jersey | $106,920 | $93,450 | $138,210 |
| Arizona | $106,810 | $95,930 | $139,580 |
| Ohio | $106,510 | $84,560 | $142,020 |
| Minnesota | $106,220 | $100,690 | $147,630 |
| Idaho | $105,820 | $60,200 | $133,030 |
| North Carolina | $104,240 | $86,400 | $127,560 |
| Arkansas | $103,900 | $100,560 | $125,370 |
| New Hampshire | $101,290 | $77,320 | $121,920 |
| Indiana | $101,120 | $77,690 | $127,230 |
| Georgia | $100,840 | $80,180 | $129,740 |
| Kentucky | $100,620 | $96,300 | $119,280 |
| Kansas | $100,000 | $83,860 | $135,880 |
| Oklahoma | $99,950 | $78,290 | $120,580 |
| Nevada | $99,010 | $85,380 | $131,980 |
| Missouri | $98,860 | $78,600 | $123,310 |
| Nebraska | $98,270 | $76,740 | $127,960 |
| Pennsylvania | $98,030 | $76,760 | $128,360 |
| Maine | $97,110 | $86,960 | $119,410 |
| Wisconsin | $96,210 | $76,330 | $109,610 |
| Michigan | $94,050 | $75,010 | $123,180 |
| Tennessee | $91,940 | $79,700 | $122,790 |
| Utah | $88,080 | $73,880 | $115,670 |
| Rhode Island | $87,180 | $80,660 | $113,060 |
| Mississippi | $78,700 | $72,620 | $126,050 |
| Montana | $76,030 | $63,500 | $93,560 |
| Iowa | $64,270 | $62,390 | $98,730 |
Highest-paying metro areas
| Metro area | Typical |
|---|---|
| 1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $156,730 |
| 2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $156,130 |
| 3. Boulder, CO | $151,940 |
| 4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $147,490 |
| 5. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $144,010 |
| 6. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $140,640 |
| 7. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $138,430 |
| 8. Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH | $137,290 |
| 9. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $134,630 |
| 10. Decatur, AL | $134,370 |
| 11. Charleston-North Charleston, SC | $131,080 |
| 12. Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $130,440 |
| 13. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $130,040 |
| 14. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $129,480 |
| 15. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $128,250 |
Pay in Apollo's markets
| Metro | Typical |
|---|---|
| Atlanta | $101,100 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $117,700 |
| Houston | $123,250 |
| Austin | $96,730 |
| Charlotte | $104,910 |
| Raleigh | $104,310 |
| San Antonio | $82,800 |
| Chicago | $99,590 |
| Orlando | $138,430 |
| Tampa | $100,850 |
| Miami | $96,740 |
| Jacksonville | $104,360 |
| Greenville-Spartanburg | $106,580 |
| Columbia, SC | $121,290 |
| Charleston, SC | $131,080 |
| Savannah | Not published |
Related engineering salaries
Materials Engineer salary FAQs
How much does a materials engineer make in the US?
The typical (median) materials engineer in the US earns $112,860 a year, or about $54.26 an hour (BLS, May 2025). Half earn more and half earn less.
What is the entry-level salary for a materials engineer in the US?
Early-career materials engineers in the US typically earn around $88,080 (the 25th percentile), and the lowest-paid 10% earn under $72,300. Degree, internships, licenses and the industry all move starting pay.
How much do experienced materials engineers earn in the US?
Experienced materials engineers in the US earn $142,720 or more (the 75th percentile), and the top 10% earn over $175,720.
Which state pays materials engineers the most?
New Mexico has the highest typical pay for materials engineers at $165,600 a year. The highest-paying metro area is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $156,730 (BLS, May 2025).
Are materials engineers in demand?
BLS projects employment in this occupation to grow 7.5% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% for all jobs, with about 1,300 openings a year nationally as people retire, change jobs or the field grows.
Hiring materials engineers?
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: Materials Engineers (SOC 17-2131).