Occupation salary profile

Industrial Engineers

SOC 17-2112 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Design, develop, test, and evaluate integrated systems for managing industrial production processes, including human work factors, quality control, inventory control, logistics and material flow, cost analysis, and production coordination. Excludes “Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors” (17-2111).

National median · BLS
$102,440
▲ +1.29% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$107,938
▲ +1.83% YoY · 9,776 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$109,900
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
365,740
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 Industrial Engineers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 9,776 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$74,370$78,146
25th$83,600$90,251
Median (50th)$102,440$107,938
75th$129,250$132,000
90th — top pay$159,860$158,096
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $107,938 for Industrial Engineers — 5.4% above the BLS national median of $102,440.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Industrial Engineers

BLS projects employment of industrial engineers to grow 12.4% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 23,100 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
365,100 → 410,600
+45,400 jobs
Projected change
+12.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
23,100
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
0.3% 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 $107,938
Change vs prior year +1.83%
After inflation (CPI-U) -1.26%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 1,947 19.9% $73,663 $80,000 $90,251
Level II 3,606 36.9% $91,520 $99,373 $114,000
Level III 2,084 21.3% $110,000 $125,000 $145,205
Level IV 1,741 17.8% $125,590 $142,140 $170,000
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Industrial Engineers

The 50 most-filed job titles inside SOC 17-2112, from 9,776 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
Manufacturing Engineer 841 8.6% $87,000 $98,781 $120,182 +0.73%
Industrial Engineer 605 6.19% $80,294 $92,976 $111,093 +0.93%
Validation Engineer 604 6.18% $85,925 $95,794 $102,752 +3.22%
Quality Engineer 598 6.12% $85,000 $95,000 $111,771 +2.16%
Process Engineer 409 4.18% $84,340 $100,000 $116,390 +0%
Supplier Quality Engineer 133 1.36% $91,202 $103,056 $115,000 -0.46%
Project Engineer 102 1.04% $83,335 $93,818 $115,871 -6.18%
Technical Operations Engineer 90 0.92% $114,200 $130,000 $144,750 -0.99%
Engineer generic 84 0.86% $85,362 $94,272 $112,326 -2.81%
Industrial Designer 79 0.81% $109,200 $114,900 $132,100 -8.08%
Supplier Industrialization Engineer 65 0.66% $129,500 $145,521 $160,000 +2.08%
Product Designer 59 0.6% $120,165 $135,800 $167,552 +2.41%
Production Engineer 58 0.59% $81,432 $94,000 $138,750 +14.01%
Project Manager 57 0.58% $92,230 $115,000 $126,711 +4.25%
Test Engineer 49 0.5% $100,872 $125,000 $140,400 +13.63%
Reliability Engineer 49 0.5% $105,000 $124,000 $150,000 +7.82%
Manufacturing Equipment Engineer 47 0.48% $109,767 $125,004 $136,564 -2.03%
Staff Engineer 47 0.48% $108,468 $136,740 $165,382 +3.96%
Program Manager 44 0.45% $122,152 $143,386 $173,250 -0.43%
QA Engineer 43 0.44% $121,286 $129,500 $140,386 +7.92%
Technical Program Manager 41 0.42% $130,000 $146,500 $171,000 -6%
CQV Engineer 40 0.41% $88,004 $91,770 $102,669 -1.36%
Principal Engineer 39 0.4% $114,706 $126,000 $147,602 -3.74%
Quality Assurance Engineer 38 0.39% $78,224 $95,000 $102,013 -7.46%
Staff Manufacturing Engineer 36 0.37% $148,400 $168,205 $180,604 +12.29%
Packaging Engineer 34 0.35% $93,132 $103,767 $119,548 +3.26%
Manufacturing Controls Development Engineer 34 0.35% $120,000 $132,670 $147,706 +11.75%
Engineer, Industrial Engineering 34 0.35% $92,976 $92,976 $95,139 +0%
Manufacturing Process Engineer 33 0.34% $90,000 $103,542 $119,000 -0.17%
Manufacturing Quality Engineer 31 0.32% $93,000 $110,000 $145,205 -12.54%
Product Engineer 30 0.31% $93,482 $101,410 $111,568 -6.41%
Manufacturing Controls Engineer 30 0.31% $115,164 $139,104 $150,597 +12.11%
Systems Engineer 30 0.31% $95,480 $120,819 $141,440 -7.06%
Automation Engineer 29 0.3% $95,973 $110,604 $125,000 +3.5%
Manufacturing Quality 28 0.29% $145,205 $166,962 $170,248 +1.32%
Operations Engineer 28 0.29% $76,900 $87,240 $94,462 +1.93%
Hardware Development Engineer 26 0.27% $135,250 $146,395 $161,600 +2.5%
Validation Specialist 26 0.27% $89,857 $98,020 $113,716 +2.92%
Continuous Improvement Engineer 25 0.26% $80,000 $100,000 $114,400 +8.79%
Quality Manager 24 0.25% $95,074 $115,000 $133,521 -2.13%
Product Manager 24 0.25% $101,829 $139,250 $147,400 +2.39%
Supply Chain Engineer 23 0.24% $90,000 $106,713 $130,810 +11.1%
Staff Quality Engineer 23 0.24% $119,086 $131,200 $154,526 -7.79%
Controls Engineer 22 0.23% $84,458 $99,916 $123,000 +5.06%
Product Development Engineer 22 0.23% $79,512 $88,986 $111,279 -9.01%
System Integration and Test Engineer 22 0.23% $97,323 $101,275 $119,158 +15.03%
Manager Manufacturing Engineering 21 0.21% $175,000 $190,241 $211,051 +11.26%
UX Researcher 21 0.21% $117,645 $143,562 $175,368 +22.03%
Staff Supplier Industrialization Engineer 21 0.21% $166,493 $179,088 $189,753 +4.12%
Technical Business Developer 20 0.2% $136,159 $147,900 $162,700 —

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 Industrial 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
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.9
  • Speaking3.9
  • Writing3.8
  • Monitoring3.4
  • Active Learning3.3
  • Mathematics3.3
  • Systems Analysis3.3
Top knowledge areas
  • Engineering and Technology4.4
  • Production and Processing4.3
  • Mechanical4.2
  • Design4.1
  • English Language4.0
  • Mathematics3.9
  • Computers and Electronics3.8
  • Administration and Management3.5
Software and technology used
Autodesk AutoCADMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft PowerPointSAP softwareStructured query language SQLBentley MicroStationC++Dassault Systemes SolidWorksExtensible markup language XMLGitHubJUnitLinuxMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ProjectMicrosoft SharePointMicrosoft SQL ServerMicrosoft Visio

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 industrial engineers do

  • Estimate production costs, cost saving methods, and the effects of product design changes on expenditures for management review, action, and control.
  • Plan and establish sequence of operations to fabricate and assemble parts or products and to promote efficient utilization.
  • Analyze statistical data and product specifications to determine standards and establish quality and reliability objectives of finished product.
  • Confer with clients, vendors, staff, and management personnel regarding purchases, product and production specifications, manufacturing capabilities, or project status.
  • Communicate with management and user personnel to develop production and design standards.
  • Evaluate precision and accuracy of production and testing equipment and engineering drawings to formulate corrective action plan.
  • Recommend methods for improving utilization of personnel, material, and utilities.
  • Record or oversee recording of information to ensure currency of engineering drawings and documentation of production problems.
Also called
EngineerIndustrial EngineerProcess EngineerProject EngineerContinuous Improvement EngineerFacilities EngineerOperations EngineerPlant EngineerQuality EngineerResearch and Development Engineer (R and D Engineer)
Specialties within this occupation
  • Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists
  • Validation Engineers
  • Manufacturing Engineers
More job titles for this occupation (80)
Board Certified ErgonomistCertified Professional ErgonomistCloud Site Reliability EngineerCognitive EngineerCorporate Quality EngineerDistrict Plant EngineerDocumentation EngineerEfficiency AnalystEfficiency EngineerEfficiency ExpertElectrical Reliability EngineerEngineering InspectorEngineering PsychologistEquipment EngineerEquipment Validation EngineerEquipment Validation SpecialistErgonomic ConsultantErgonomic SpecialistErgonomics ConsultantErgonomics EngineerErgonomics SpecialistErgonomics Technical AdvisorErgonomistFactory EngineerFactory ExpertFactory Lay Out EngineerFactory Lay-Out EngineerFailure AnalystField EngineerHuman Factors AdvisorHuman Factors EngineerHuman Factors ErgonomistHuman Factors SpecialistHuman Machine Interface Engineer (HMI Engineer)Industrial Engineering InternIndustrial Methods ConsultantInjury Prevention SpecialistInterface DesignerLiaison EngineerLogistics EngineerMethods EngineerMetrologistOccupational ErgonomistPackaging EngineerProcess Development EngineerProcess Improvement ManagerProduct Quality EngineerProduction Control ExpertProduction Control PlannerProduction EngineerProduction Engineering Tooling CoordinatorProduction ExpertProduction Support EngineerProduction Tool EngineerQualification EngineerQuality Assurance Automation Engineer (QA Automation Engineer)Quality Assurance EngineerQuality Assurance Engineer (QA Engineer)Quality Control EngineerQuality Control Engineer (QC Engineer)Quality Control Expert (QC Expert)Quality Control Industrial Engineer (QC Industrial Engineer)Quality Management Systems EngineerReliability EngineerSalvage EngineerService Reliability EngineerSite Reliability EngineerStandards EngineerSupplier Quality EngineerSupplier Quality Engineer (SQE)System Validation EngineerSystems EngineerSystems Reliability EngineerTest Inspection EngineerTime Study EngineerUsability EngineerUsability SpecialistUser Interface Designer (UI Designer)Validation EngineerValidation Specialist

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.