Occupation salary profile

Civil Engineers

SOC 17-2051 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems. Includes architectural, structural, traffic, and geotechnical engineers. Excludes “Hydrologists” (19-2043).

National median · BLS
$100,840
▲ +1.26% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$90,000
▲ +0% YoY · 5,703 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$108,670
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
367,840
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Civil Engineers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 5,703 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$68,240$68,723
25th$79,930$76,960
Median (50th)$100,840$90,000
75th$129,680$110,000
90th — top pay$163,220$130,400
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $90,000 for Civil Engineers — 10.7% below the BLS national median of $100,840.

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Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Civil Engineers

BLS projects employment of civil engineers to grow 6.4% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 22,700 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
380,600 → 405,100
+24,500 jobs
Projected change
+6.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
22,700
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
1.9% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $90,000
Change vs prior year +0%
After inflation (CPI-U) -3.04%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 2,371 41.6% $70,000 $75,920 $85,000
Level II 1,724 30.2% $85,342 $94,702 $105,019
Level III 792 13.9% $105,000 $116,100 $129,667
Level IV 545 9.6% $120,144 $135,000 $155,000
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Civil Engineers

The 50 most-filed job titles inside SOC 17-2051, from 5,703 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Project Engineer 909 15.94% $77,000 $90,000 $106,080 +0.41%
Civil Engineer 730 12.8% $65,998 $76,330 $93,600 +1.77%
Structural Engineer 275 4.82% $80,000 $96,304 $116,094 +7%
Engineer generic 253 4.44% $80,558 $90,064 $111,197 +2.22%
Project Manager 233 4.09% $100,963 $117,035 $135,000 +4.5%
Field Engineer 157 2.75% $72,800 $80,325 $92,206 -2.43%
Transportation Engineer 150 2.63% $82,494 $89,568 $106,752 +3.22%
Staff Engineer 144 2.52% $70,088 $79,874 $87,220 +5.51%
Geotechnical Engineer 98 1.72% $78,500 $86,601 $101,875 -9.38%
Assistant Project Manager 98 1.72% $80,000 $92,487 $107,239 -0.3%
Design Engineer 83 1.46% $75,439 $85,015 $94,250 +0.01%
Graduate Engineer 73 1.28% $68,000 $78,988 $85,000 +1.27%
Data Center Infrastructure Engineer 60 1.05% $119,000 $130,400 $142,775 -6.86%
Civil Engineering 53 0.93% $78,802 $85,423 $112,000 -2.43%
Engineer in Training 48 0.84% $75,005 $81,000 $83,650 +4.21%
Traffic Engineer 47 0.82% $84,452 $95,000 $106,098 -2.56%
Water Resources Engineer 32 0.56% $82,852 $90,626 $109,313 -10.16%
Data Centre Infrastructure Engineer 28 0.49% $106,240 $123,800 $130,000 -1.9%
Construction Engineer 25 0.44% $73,320 $83,000 $92,552 -0.72%
Engineering Specialist 23 0.4% $74,422 $81,120 $89,882 -2.06%
Civil Associate 23 0.4% $71,255 $78,125 $84,577 -13.25%
Project Controls Engineer 23 0.4% $89,408 $110,011 $129,272 -8.68%
Structural Designer 22 0.39% $82,260 $85,952 $90,404 +1.71%
Bridge Engineer 21 0.37% $92,000 $106,000 $114,500 +11.73%
Associate generic 21 0.37% $100,000 $108,000 $115,000 +5.37%
Estimator 21 0.37% $86,861 $97,250 $110,000 +2.76%
Structural Design Engineer 19 0.33% $80,420 $88,733 $103,999 +2.55%
Designer generic 18 0.32% $75,000 $84,500 $89,554 -4.89%
Assistant Engineer 18 0.32% $82,212 $86,528 $89,133 +14.61%
VDC Engineer 17 0.3% $82,000 $89,440 $93,576 +1.09%
Project Controls Specialist 16 0.28% $89,970 $93,995 $116,506 +6.81%
Water/Wastewater Engineer 15 0.26% $82,784 $96,138 $116,686 -1.18%
DC Infra Eng 15 0.26% $136,600 $139,000 $145,530 —
Civil Designer 15 0.26% $69,950 $70,117 $77,480 -11.08%
Office Engineer 14 0.25% $82,950 $103,494 $117,560 +17.9%
Associate Consultant 14 0.25% $81,401 $85,072 $95,014 +5.77%
Water Engineer 13 0.23% $82,285 $86,008 $90,002 -33.84%
Project Coordinator 13 0.23% $74,589 $77,000 $86,258 -11.67%
Structural Project Engineer 13 0.23% $84,460 $99,050 $105,000 +27.95%
Associate Engineer 13 0.23% $73,507 $83,800 $103,200 +3.48%
Civil Project Engineer 13 0.23% $97,000 $115,000 $120,640 —
Construction Project Engineer 12 0.21% $74,897 $78,260 $95,284 +3.07%
Bridge Designer 12 0.21% $79,500 $86,528 $89,112 +1.8%
Research Engineer 12 0.21% $71,750 $85,000 $99,734 —
Scheduler 12 0.21% $93,420 $104,291 $113,906 -0.68%
Project Controls Analyst 11 0.19% $85,500 $92,114 $110,646 -14.32%
Designer, Highway 11 0.19% $69,202 $70,900 $79,706 —
Construction Project Manager 11 0.19% $106,309 $123,427 $130,000 +34.09%
Professional Engineer 11 0.19% $109,548 $115,000 $133,598 +7.65%
Structural Engineering 11 0.19% $80,205 $91,091 $132,895 +12.32%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Civil Engineers

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Mathematics3.9
  • Reading Comprehension3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Science3.8
  • Systems Analysis3.8
  • Time Management3.8
  • Operations Analysis3.6
Top knowledge areas
  • Design4.7
  • Engineering and Technology4.7
  • Building and Construction4.5
  • Mathematics4.5
  • English Language4.0
  • Physics3.7
  • Administration and Management3.6
  • Customer and Personal Service3.4
Software and technology used
Autodesk AutoCADAutodesk AutoCAD Civil 3DAutodesk RevitBentley MicroStationMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointAdobe AcrobatApache Subversion SVNCDassault Systemes SolidWorksESRI ArcGIS softwareExtensible markup language XMLMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ProjectMicrosoft Visual BasicMicrosoft Word

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What civil engineers do

  • Direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations.
  • Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.
  • Inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
  • Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
  • Plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures, using computer-assisted design or drawing tools.
  • Provide technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs.
  • Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
  • Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.
Also called
Civil EngineerDesign EngineerProject EngineerStructural EngineerCity EngineerCounty EngineerEngineerGeotechnical EngineerLicensed EngineerRailroad Design Consultant
Specialties within this occupation
  • Transportation Engineers
  • Water/Wastewater Engineers
More job titles for this occupation (80)
Airport EngineerArchitectural EngineerAsphalt EngineerBase EngineerBridge Design EngineerBridge EngineerBuilding Construction EngineerBuilding EngineerCadastral EngineerCartographic EngineerCivil Engineering InternCivil Project EngineerCivil Transportation EngineerConcrete EngineerCondemnation EngineerConstruction EngineerConstruction Project EngineerContracting EngineerDemolition EngineerDistrict EngineerDrainage Design CoordinatorDrainage EngineerEnergy Infrastructure EngineerEnvironmental Construction EngineerErecting EngineerFacilities EngineerForest EngineerForestry EngineerFoundation EngineerGeodetic EngineerHeavy Civil Project ManagerHighway Civil EngineerHighway Design EngineerHighway EngineerHighway Project EngineerHighway Research EngineerHighway Safety EngineerHydraulic EngineerHydroelectric Plant Structural EngineerHydrographic EngineerIrrigation EngineerLand Development Civil EngineerMaintenance EngineerMapping EngineerMunicipal EngineerProcess EngineerRail EngineerRailroad EngineerReclamation EngineerResearch Hydraulic EngineerResident EngineerResource Recovery EngineerRoad Design EngineerRoad EngineerRoadway DesignerRoadway EngineerRoadway Project EngineerSanitary EngineerSite Civil EngineerState Roadway Design EngineerStreet EngineerStress EngineerStructural Design EngineerStructural DesignerStructural Project EngineerStructural Steel EngineerTopographical EngineerTrack Production EngineerTraffic EngineerTraffic Operations EngineerTransportation AnalystTransportation ConsultantTransportation Design EngineerTransportation EngineerTransportation Engineering InternTransportation Planning EngineerTraveling EngineerUtility EngineerWastewater Plant Civil EngineerZoning Engineer

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.