Project Engineer Salary: Your 2025 Guide

A project engineer maintains project management systems by comparing costs and estimates, generating project status reports, and conducting on-site visits to assess project progress. Project engineers work in diverse industries, including construction, architecture, product design, and manufacturing.

While most project engineers primarily work in office settings, some work in research laboratories, construction sites, or production plants. Read on to learn more about salaries for these roles and the factors that influence their earning potential.

How much do project engineers make?

As of July 2025, a project engineer in the United States earns a median base pay of $87,330 per year [1]. The base pay salary range is $69,000 to $110,000, but additional wages can include between $13,000 and $25,000. Additional wages may include bonuses, profit-sharing, or commissions. These figures represent the average project engineer salary across all industries. You can gain insight into specific industries, levels of experience, and more in the sections below.

Factors impacting average project engineer salary

Many factors can impact a project engineer's salary, such as education, skills, experience, certification, and location. Let's examine each in deeper detail.

Education

The education level you hold as a project engineer can impact your salary, depending on your employer. Here is a breakdown of average annual salaries and the percentage of professionals who hold that degree level, according to Zippia [2]:

• Bachelor’s (77 percent): $74,333

• Master’s (12 percent): $83,351

• Doctorate (2 percent): $89,784

When it comes to preferred majors, mechanical project engineers are in demand, with 28 percent of professionals pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. Other popular major options for project engineers include civil and electrical engineering.

In-demand skills for project engineers

Based on data from Payscale, this role often specializes in project management, project coordinating, engineering design, and Autodesk AutoCAD, among other technologies.

Here is a salary breakdown based on key skills [3]:

• Engineering design: $80,772. You can sharpen your engineering design skills while earning a shareable certificate for your resume by enrolling in the University of Leeds' online program, Fundamental Skills in Engineering Design.

• Project management: $79,278

• Project coordinating: $78,024

• Autodesk AutoCAD: $74,668

Sharpening particular skills may help maximize your potential salary. For example, people with software architecture skills can earn 73 percent more than the average, while those with risk management capabilities often receive 42 percent higher salaries [3].

Certification

Enhancing your skills through certifications is an excellent approach to expanding your expertise while boosting your earning potential. Here are a few certifications to consider to add to your skill set as a project engineer:

• Project Management Professional (PMP): $119,000 [4]

• Autodesk Certified Professional: $76,000 [5]

• Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM): $115,000 [6]

Level of experience

As you gain experience, your earning potential will also increase. According to Glassdoor, the following figures provide salary ranges for project engineers in the US at different levels of experience [1]:

• 0–1 year: $58,000–84,000

• 1–3 years: $64,000–93,000

• 4–6 years: $75,000–$109,000

• 7–9 years: $78,000–$116,000

Location

Your earning potential can differ based on your geographical location. Typically, metropolitan areas with a higher cost of living tend to offer elevated salaries to offset those increased expenses. Here are some of the top-paying cities for project engineers in the United States [7]:

• Seattle, WA: $98,659

• Los Angeles, CA: $98,431

• San Diego, CA: $94,666

• Chicago, IL: $93,789

• Austin, TX: $91,834

Industry

By staying abreast of market trends, you can identify sectors that have a high demand for your skills. Here are the highest-paying industries for project engineers [1]:

• Energy, mining, and utilities: $115,736

• Legal: $111,720

• Aerospace and defense: $111,465

• Agriculture: $109,565

• Government and public administration: $108,006

Job outlook

The demand for project engineers is steadily rising, indicating a growing need for professionals in this field. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment opportunities for project management specialists will increase by 7 percent between 2023 and 2033 [8].

Get started as a project engineer with Coursera

Explore project engineering with Rice University's Engineering Project Management Specialization on Coursera. This beginner-friendly course introduces an array of strategies and tools essential for navigating project management challenges. Upon completion, gain a shareable Professional Certificate to include in your resume, CV, or LinkedIn profile.