What Is the Yearly Income of a Mechanical Engineer?

Mechanical engineers create designs for machines, engines, tools and other items with moving parts. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the field of mechanical engineering will grow by 4 percent percent through 2016, resulting in the creation of 9,400 jobs.

Average Income

In May 2008, mechanical engineers averaged an annual income of $78,200.

Salary Range

The lowest-paid 10 percent of mechanical engineers received annual incomes around $47,900, while the highest-paid 10 percent earned $114,740 in 2008.

Largest Employer Groups

The largest employers of mechanical engineers in May 2008 were engineering services companies, research and development companies, navigational and control instrument manufacturers, and aerospace product manufacturers. Mechanical engineers employed in these areas earned average salaries of $81,440; $90,830; $83,480; and $84,040, respectively.

Highest-Paying Employer Groups

In 2008, the highest-paying employers of mechanical engineers were the oil and gas extraction and the computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing industries, where engineers averaged $93,980 and $90,980 per year, respectively.

Highest-Paying Geographic Areas

In May 2008, the states with the highest-paid mechanical engineers were the District of Columbia, Idaho, Colorado, Alaska and New Mexico, where mechanical engineers received average incomes of between $90,610 and $96,370.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Industry Overview
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Compensation Information