Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Cost Estimators
Cost Estimators prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Cost Estimators with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $40,380 to $51,980 per year or $19 to $25 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 Cost Estimators 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%) | $55 | $114,360 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $43 | $88,460 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $32 | $66,610 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $25 | $51,980 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $19 | $40,380 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| DC | $50 | $104,840 |
| MA | $44 | $90,950 |
| VI | $42 | $87,930 |
| HI | $41 | $84,380 |
| CA | $40 | $83,150 |
| AK | $40 | $82,450 |
| CT | $39 | $81,920 |
| NY | $38 | $79,950 |
| RI | $38 | $78,660 |
| WA | $38 | $78,460 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Cost Estimator 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 Cost Estimators are in the states of DC, MA, VI, HI and CA.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Natural Gas Distribution | $94250 | $45.31 |
| Software Publishers | $92480 | $44.46 |
| Communications Equipment Manufacturing | $92370 | $44.41 |
| Waste Treatment and Disposal | $92230 | $44.34 |
| Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities | $90610 | $43.56 |
| Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services | $90520 | $43.52 |
| Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing | $89670 | $43.11 |
| Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution | $89590 | $43.07 |
| Telecommunications | $87890 | $42.25 |
| Couriers and Express Delivery Services | $86440 | $41.56 |
| Other Information Services | $86100 | $41.40 |
| State Government | $85590 | $41.15 |
| Water, Sewage and Other Systems | $85430 | $41.07 |
| Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction | $85300 | $41.01 |
| Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction | $85260 | $40.99 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | $84550 | $40.65 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $83510 | $40.15 |
| Land Subdivision | $82980 | $39.90 |
| Local Government | $82960 | $39.89 |
| Nonresidential Building Construction | $82480 | $39.66 |
| Individual and Family Services | $82200 | $39.52 |
| Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing | $82130 | $39.48 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | $82090 | $39.47 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $81360 | $39.11 |
| Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing | $80630 | $38.76 |
| Utility System Construction | $80450 | $38.68 |
| Support Activities for Air Transportation | $80250 | $38.58 |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $79430 | $38.19 |
| Rental and Leasing Services | $79090 | $38.02 |
| Ship and Boat Building | $78840 | $37.90 |
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