Median pay for electrical engineers runs from $72,910 in San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas to $187,060 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara — a 2.57× range across 428 metropolitan areas. The national median of $120,630 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
Ten per cent of electrical engineers earn below $76,550 and ten per cent above $184,300 — a 2.41× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 53%, which is a normal amount of room for experience and specialisation to matter. An offer below the 25th percentile is worth questioning; one above the 75th is worth taking seriously.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) leads and San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas (PR) trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $187,060 | $89.93 | 2.87 | 4,160 |
| Slidell-Mandeville-Covington LA | $167,010 | $80.29 | 0.41 | 50 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $166,030 | $79.82 | 0.81 | 2,470 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $164,880 | $79.27 | 0.36 | 100 |
| Albuquerque NM | $163,720 | $78.71 | 2.47 | 1,280 |
| Vallejo CA | $160,060 | $76.95 | 0.79 | 150 |
| Manchester-Nashua NH | $159,360 | $76.62 | 4.1 | 1,050 |
| North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area | $154,820 | $74.43 | 0.31 | 40 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos TX | $145,360 | $69.89 | 2.46 | 4,070 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $140,210 | $67.41 | 1.85 | 4,930 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $139,780 | $67.20 | 1.12 | 8,970 |
| Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area | $138,840 | $66.75 | 5.15 | 380 |
| Kahului-Wailuku HI | $137,030 | $65.88 | 0.72 | 70 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA | $136,240 | $65.50 | 0.67 | 100 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $136,190 | $65.48 | 1.03 | 1,420 |
| Idaho Falls ID | $136,100 | $65.43 | 1.24 | 130 |
| Fresno CA | $134,780 | $64.80 | 0.65 | 400 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | $134,640 | $64.73 | 0.88 | 230 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $133,560 | $64.21 | 0.74 | 90 |
| Baton Rouge LA | $133,030 | $63.96 | 0.68 | 350 |
| Wenatchee-East Wenatchee WA | $132,930 | $63.91 | 1.19 | 80 |
| Florence-Muscle Shoals AL | $131,330 | $63.14 | 0.68 | 50 |
| Stockton-Lodi CA | $131,080 | $63.02 | 0.42 | 160 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $131,070 | $63.02 | 1.37 | 5,770 |
| Huntsville AL | $130,330 | $62.66 | 6.42 | 2,190 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $72,910 | $35.05 | 0.26 | 230 |
| Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal SC | $75,020 | $36.07 | 0.46 | 50 |
| Lansing-East Lansing MI | $83,180 | $39.99 | 1.15 | 320 |
| Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers AR | $83,930 | $40.35 | 0.48 | 170 |
| North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area | $84,850 | $40.79 | 0.53 | 80 |
| South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area | $84,950 | $40.84 | 0.82 | 220 |
| Wausau WI | $85,210 | $40.97 | 0.69 | 60 |
| Elkhart-Goshen IN | $85,730 | $41.21 | 1.23 | 200 |
| Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $87,630 | $42.13 | 0.82 | 130 |
| College Station-Bryan TX | $88,690 | $42.64 | 0.73 | 130 |
Huntsville has 6.42× the national concentration of electrical engineers — the densest market in the country for this role, with 2,190 employed locally. Pay there is $130,330, which does not put it near the top of the pay table. Concentration and compensation are different things — a dense market is easier to get hired in and easier to move around within, but the competition that makes it dense also caps what employers need to offer.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville AL | $130,330 | $62.66 | 6.42 | 2,190 |
| Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area | $138,840 | $66.75 | 5.15 | 380 |
| Kokomo IN | $106,550 | $51.23 | 4.71 | 210 |
| Lexington Park MD | $128,900 | $61.97 | 4.62 | 420 |
| Manchester-Nashua NH | $159,360 | $76.62 | 4.1 | 1,050 |
| Burlington-South Burlington VT | $112,200 | $53.94 | 3.82 | 590 |
| Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area | $92,880 | $44.66 | 3.74 | 520 |
| Tucson AZ | $117,470 | $56.48 | 3.4 | 1,690 |
| Jackson MI | $109,240 | $52.52 | 3.22 | 230 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville FL | $122,020 | $58.66 | 3.05 | 960 |
| Ann Arbor MI | $109,240 | $52.52 | 2.89 | 810 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $187,060 | $89.93 | 2.87 | 4,160 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $139,780 | $67.20 | 1.12 | 8,970 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $128,340 | $61.70 | 0.52 | 6,290 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MI | $114,390 | $55.00 | 2.49 | 6,060 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $131,070 | $63.02 | 1.37 | 5,770 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $124,390 | $59.80 | 1.11 | 5,720 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $140,210 | $67.41 | 1.85 | 4,930 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $126,420 | $60.78 | 1.11 | 4,450 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $113,520 | $54.58 | 0.74 | 4,290 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $187,060 | $89.93 | 2.87 | 4,160 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos TX | $145,360 | $69.89 | 2.46 | 4,070 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $128,610 | $61.83 | 1.17 | 4,030 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $127,730 | $61.41 | 0.95 | 3,520 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 17-2071. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 428 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 100 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.