Updated September 2026. License counts come from a full pull of the Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board public lookup on September 10, 2026. A mailing address is a proxy for residence, not a legal domicile field.
What are the key numbers right now?
Georgia issues a separate Structural Engineer license. A complete pull of the official license search on September 10, 2026 found 1970 Structural Engineer credentials on the board.
Of those, 1756 were Active or Active with renewal pending. Only 564 licenses list a Georgia mailing address, and 525 of those are Active or Active with renewal pending. That 525 figure is the best public answer to how many licensed structural engineers sit in Georgia today.
About 166 to 169 businesses advertise as structural engineering practices in Georgia, based on 2026 commercial directories. The board licenses firms under a generic Engineer Firm certificate and does not publish a structural only firm roster. Member practices appear on the SEAOG public directory.
Pay depends on title and source. Statewide job postings put a typical structural engineer near $109000 a year. Compensation surveys put entry level Structural Engineer I roles near $72000, mid career Structural Engineer III roles near $102000, and senior Structural Engineer IV roles near $120000. Official federal data files structural work under civil engineers. The May 2025 Georgia wage table shows a civil engineer median of $84240 in Georgia.
How many structural engineers work in Georgia?
The right starting number is 525. That is the count of people who hold an Active Georgia Structural Engineer license, or an Active license with renewal pending, and who list a Georgia mailing address. Another 39 Georgia addresses sit on non active records, which brings the all status Georgia address total to 564. Most Georgia SE licenses do not belong to Georgia addresses at all.
Zoom out and the board roster is much larger. The same September 10, 2026 lookup shows 1970 Structural Engineer credentials of every status and 1756 that are Active or Active with renewal pending. Status mix on the full file is 1749 Active, 185 in the late renewal window, 22 Inactive, and 7 Active with renewal pending. You can rerun the same filter on the official license search.
A mailing address is not legal residence. An engineer can keep a Georgia certificate, live in another state, and still stamp designated structures here. After Georgia at 564 mailing addresses, the next states on the full roster are Florida (174), South Carolina (123), North Carolina (108), and Texas (104). Only about 27 percent of all Georgia SE credentials are active with a Georgia mailing address.
How did those Georgia based licenses get issued? Among the 525 active in state records, 434 came through affidavit when Georgia opened the separate SE credential, 58 came through comity, and 33 came through examination. Most of that in state group was issued in 2021. Metro Atlanta dominates the resident list.
Federal employment data will not replace the license roster. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has no standalone structural engineer code. Structural engineers sit inside civil engineers (SOC 17 2051). CareerOneStop, republishing May 2025 OEWS figures, reports about 9400 civil engineers employed in Georgia.
How many structural engineering firms operate in Georgia?
Commercial listings are the only statewide count that tries to isolate structural practices. PoiData reported 166 structural engineer businesses in Georgia as of August 2026, including 34 in Atlanta. A similar April 2026 directory count landed at 169. Those databases scrape public listings and will include small residential shops plus multi state offices.
The official firm license is broader. Any entity that offers professional engineering in Georgia needs an Engineer Firm certificate, except a sole proprietorship. Firm numbers issued in late 2025 sat in the PEF009300 range and cover every engineering discipline together. Confirm a firm or a person on the official license search. For a house or small commercial job, start with the SEAOG public directory.
What does a structural engineer earn in Georgia?
What is entry level pay in Georgia?
Plan on about $62000 to $72000 for a first structural role. Indeed salary data for Entry Level Structural Engineer in Georgia has averaged about $62000 to $63000 across 2026 updates. Salary.com Georgia data puts Structural Engineer I (about 0 to 2 years) at $71521 statewide as of August 1, 2026. Atlanta on the same survey is about $75960.
What is mid level pay in Georgia?
A structural engineer past the first few years typically lands near $102000 to $109000. Salary.com Georgia lists Structural Engineer III (about 4 to 7 years) at $102065. The generic Structural Engineer average on Indeed Georgia was $108724 on September 4, 2026 and $109283 on August 1, 2026. Talent.com published a Georgia average of $104718.
What is senior level pay in Georgia?
Senior titles in Georgia usually start around $120000 on base pay. Salary.com Georgia lists Structural Engineer IV at $119548. Indeed Georgia senior averages have printed around $123000 to $125000 in 2026. In Atlanta, Indeed reported $123106 from 28 salaries updated August 14, 2026.
Federal wages look lower because they average every civil engineer in the state. May 2025 OEWS figures on the Georgia wage table show a Georgia civil median of $84240, a 10th percentile of $62850, and a 90th percentile of $153690. The Atlanta metro civil median is $88000. Licensed structural specialists in private firms often beat that civil median once they leave entry level.
Do you need a Structural Engineer license in Georgia?
You need the SE certificate if the work is structural engineering on a designated structure. A generic PE may practice professional engineering, but designated structures sit with the SE.
Typical triggers include Risk Category III or IV buildings, floor plates around 100000 square feet, an occupied floor more than 45 feet above grade, and certain complex bridges. Confirm current language on the Georgia PELS Board site before you stamp anything.
The standard path is an EIT certificate, qualifying structural experience (four years on the common degree path), and the NCEES PE Structural exam, the 16 hour structural exam now delivered in parts. After January 1, 2021 Georgia stopped grandfathering people onto the SE without current exam rules.
That is why affidavit records dominate the 525 in state active licenses. Senate Bill 125, effective July 1, 2025, lets candidates sit for exams before they finish experience.
Both PE and SE renew every year and both need up to 15 hours of continuing education. The current board fee schedule charges $100 to renew a Professional Engineer license and $10 to renew a Structural Engineer license.
What questions do people ask about this career in Georgia?
Which Atlanta firms do people mention?
Threads on r/StructuralEngineering that start with “I am moving to Atlanta, where should I apply?” keep returning to the same names. Uzun and Case and Walter P Moore come up for concrete and large commercial work. DeVita and Associates in Marietta gets mentioned as a strong early career office. Smaller shops pick up residential, podium, warehouse, and data center steel.
Do you need a masters degree to work in Atlanta?
No. A Georgia Tech civil graduate working as a structural engineer in Atlanta told r/gatech that a bachelor degree is enough to get hired and that a PE is the credential that actually moves a career. Large national firms often prefer a masters in interviews.
Is $108000 good pay for a licensed engineer in Atlanta?
It depends on whether you manage people. An Atlanta civil PE with about seven years asked r/civilengineering if $108000 was light. Replies from Atlanta peers clustered around $115000 to $122000 for similar tenure, with project managers clearing more.
How can you verify a Georgia structural engineer?
Open the official license search, set Type of License to Structural Engineer, and search by name or license number. An asterisk works as a wildcard. The public record shows name, license number, type, status, issue date, expiration date, and last renewal.
Quick answers
How many licensed structural engineers appear to reside in Georgia?
525 people have an Active or renewal pending Georgia Structural Engineer license and a Georgia mailing address, as of the September 10, 2026 board lookup.
How many Structural Engineer licenses exist on the Georgia board?
1970 total credentials, of which 1756 are Active or Active with renewal pending.
How many structural engineering firms are in Georgia?
About 166 to 169 businesses advertise that way. There is no official structural only firm count.
What do entry, mid, and senior roles pay?
About $62000 to $72000, $102000 to $109000, and $120000 to $125000 base, in that order.
Do you need an SE or is a PE enough? You need the SE for designated structures. A PE is not a substitute on that work.
