Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Computer Hardware Engineers
Computer Hardware Engineers research, design, develop, or test computer or computer-related equipment for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. May supervise the manufacturing and installation of computer or computer-related equipment and components.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Computer Hardware Engineers with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $70,100 to $90,310 per year or $34 to $43 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 Computer Hardware 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%) | $92 | $192,110 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $74 | $153,450 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $57 | $119,560 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $43 | $90,310 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $34 | $70,100 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| WA | $81 | $168,320 |
| CA | $74 | $153,730 |
| MA | $67 | $138,680 |
| MD | $61 | $126,870 |
| NY | $61 | $126,510 |
| DC | $60 | $125,700 |
| NH | $59 | $123,200 |
| VA | $59 | $122,990 |
| AK | $58 | $120,440 |
| NJ | $58 | $119,890 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Computer Hardware Engineer is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like WA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at WA might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Computer Hardware Engineers are in the states of WA, CA, MA, MD and NY.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities | $170190 | $81.82 |
| Software Publishers | $164270 | $78.98 |
| Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing | $147220 | $70.78 |
| Insurance Carriers | $145680 | $70.04 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $143850 | $69.16 |
| Other Information Services | $142300 | $68.42 |
| Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing | $142250 | $68.39 |
| Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing | $132840 | $63.87 |
| Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing | $130720 | $62.85 |
| Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing | $129640 | $62.33 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $126950 | $61.03 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | $126160 | $60.65 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | $126100 | $60.62 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | $125920 | $60.54 |
| Communications Equipment Manufacturing | $125450 | $60.31 |
| Employment Services | $125440 | $60.31 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | $121940 | $58.63 |
| Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing | $120960 | $58.15 |
| Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution | $119660 | $57.53 |
| Chemical Manufacturing | $119520 | $57.46 |
| Telecommunications | $118240 | $56.84 |
| Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services | $117940 | $56.70 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $117340 | $56.41 |
| Local Government | $116450 | $55.98 |
| Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods | $115700 | $55.63 |
| Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | $114940 | $55.26 |
| Legal Services | $113940 | $54.78 |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities | $113850 | $54.74 |
| Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | $113180 | $54.41 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | $111040 | $53.38 |
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