Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Aerospace Engineers
Aerospace Engineers perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. May conduct basic and applied research to evaluate adaptability of materials and equipment to aircraft design and manufacture. May recommend improvements in testing equipment and techniques.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Aerospace Engineers with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $72,770 to $91,480 per year or $35 to $44 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Aerospace Engineers to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $82 | $171,220 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $71 | $148,570 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $57 | $118,610 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $44 | $91,480 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $35 | $72,770 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| DC | $70 | $145,300 |
| MD | $66 | $136,900 |
| VA | $63 | $131,110 |
| WA | $63 | $131,110 |
| TX | $62 | $128,330 |
| CO | $61 | $127,420 |
| AZ | $61 | $126,850 |
| CA | $61 | $126,650 |
| NE | $60 | $124,850 |
| AL | $59 | $123,200 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as an Aerospace Engineer is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at DC might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Aerospace Engineers are in the states of DC, MD, VA, WA and TX.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Technical and Trade Schools | $134830 | $64.82 |
| Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing | $129480 | $62.25 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | $127570 | $61.33 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $127090 | $61.10 |
| Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | $125110 | $60.15 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $124110 | $59.67 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $122840 | $59.06 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | $120410 | $57.89 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | $119400 | $57.40 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | $118860 | $57.14 |
| Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $117600 | $56.54 |
| Employment Services | $112500 | $54.09 |
| Support Activities for Air Transportation | $109050 | $52.43 |
| Nonscheduled Air Transportation | $106540 | $51.22 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | $104580 | $50.28 |
| Scheduled Air Transportation | $104270 | $50.13 |
| Spectator Sports | $104120 | $50.06 |
| Communications Equipment Manufacturing | $99650 | $47.91 |
| Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | $95390 | $45.86 |
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