Occupation salary profile

Environmental Engineers

SOC 17-2081 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering disciplines. Work may include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology.

National median · BLS
$107,110
▲ +2.82% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$97,289
▲ +6.63% YoY · 406 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$112,910
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
38,340
Jobs (BLS)
Highest-paying state (cost-adjusted) Loading…
Most jobs Loading…
Highest-paying metro (cost-adjusted) Loading…

Check your salary

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 Environmental Engineers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 406 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$69,990$70,000
25th$83,570$79,479
Median (50th)$107,110$97,289
75th$134,420$117,416
90th — top pay$162,220$138,558
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $97,289 for Environmental Engineers — 9.2% below the BLS national median of $107,110.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

Type in either box; the other updates instantly.

Monthly—
Every 2 weeks—
Weekly—
Daily—
Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Environmental Engineers

BLS projects employment of environmental engineers to grow 6.3% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 2,300 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
39,100 → 41,600
+2,400 jobs
Projected change
+6.3%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
2,300
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
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 $97,289
Change vs prior year +6.63%
After inflation (CPI-U) +3.39%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 138 34% $69,000 $77,064 $85,015
Level II 121 29.8% $93,600 $104,957 $115,000
Level III 63 15.5% $107,608 $124,654 $134,823
Level IV 37 9.1% $128,284 $144,102 $157,500
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Environmental Engineers

The 3 most-filed job titles inside SOC 17-2081, from 406 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
Environmental Engineer 89 21.92% $76,003 $86,237 $106,080 +1.16%
Engineer generic 19 4.68% $79,550 $97,344 $117,478 -7.29%
Project Engineer 11 2.71% $95,326 $99,095 $110,722 +23.1%

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 Environmental 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
  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Monitoring4.0
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Writing4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.9
  • Active Learning3.8
  • Coordination3.8
Top knowledge areas
  • Engineering and Technology5.0
  • Design4.6
  • Chemistry4.0
  • Mathematics4.0
  • Building and Construction3.9
  • English Language3.8
  • Physics3.8
  • Biology3.6
Software and technology used
Autodesk AutoCADMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordAutodesk AutoCAD Civil 3DBentley MicroStationC++ESRI ArcGIS softwareMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ProjectPythonSASThe MathWorks MATLABAir dispersion modeling softwareANSYS simulation softwareBusiness software applicationsComputer aided design and drafting software CADD

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 environmental engineers do

  • Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
  • Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, or land.
  • Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems.
  • Advise corporations or government agencies of procedures to follow in cleaning up contaminated sites to protect people and the environment.
  • Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them.
  • Monitor progress of environmental improvement programs.
  • Prepare, review, or update environmental investigation or recommendation reports.
  • Prepare, maintain, or revise quality assurance documentation or procedures.
Also called
EngineerEnvironmental EngineerEnvironmental Remediation SpecialistSanitary EngineerAir Pollution Control EngineerEngineering ConsultantEnvironmental AnalystEnvironmental ConsultantHazardous Substances Engineer
More job titles for this occupation (33)
Air Quality EngineerCivil EngineerCoastal EngineerEnvironmental Compliance EngineerEnvironmental CoordinatorEnvironmental DesignerEnvironmental Engineering InternEnvironmental PlannerEnvironmental Project EngineerEnvironmental Project ManagerEnvironmental Remediation EngineerEnvironmental Safety SpecialistEnvironmental ScientistEnvironmental Systems CoordinatorEnvironmental Test EngineerEnvironmentalistFlood Control EngineerHazardous Waste Management Control EngineerHazardous Waste Management SpecialistIndustrial Hygiene EngineerIrrigation EngineerPollution Control EngineerProject EngineerPublic Health EngineerRadiation Protection EngineerRemediation Project EngineerReservoir EngineerSanitation EngineerSewage Disposal EngineerSoil EngineerSolid Waste EngineerSolid Waste Management EngineerWaste Management 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.