$Who Earns What

How much does a electrical engineer make?

US Electrical Engineers

Answer: A typical electrical engineer in the United States makes $120,630 a year (median, May 2025, US Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Yearly pay of a typical person doing this job in the US
$120,630

Line up 100 people; this is the one in the middle (median). about 199,000 people work in this job. Well above the US-wide typical pay ($50,980).

Lower earner
$76,550
10th from the bottom of 100
Typical person
$120,630
Right in the middle (median)
Higher earner
$184,300
10th from the top of 100

If 100 people had this job

Lowest at bottom-left, highest at top-right

Hover over a person to see their yearly pay

50 of 100
more than half

Electrical engineer pay in the United States (May 2025, median and spread)

Electrical engineer pay in the United States (May 2025, median and spread) — Data: US BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lower earner (10th from bottom)Typical person (median)Higher earner (10th from top)People in this job
$76,550$120,630$184,300about 199,000
States where electrical engineers earn the most (median, May 2025)
StateTypical person (median)People in this job
New Mexico$158,520about 3,000
California$144,040about 24,000
New Hampshire$135,710about 2,000
Washington$132,710about 8,000
Texas$129,450about 21,000

Why does pay differ?

In the United States, electrical engineers with more experience, in-demand skills, or a PE license may earn more. Pay also changes with location, employer industry, and how specialized or responsible the work is.

What if you lived in a different state?

Pay varies a lot by state in the US
Whole US$120,630
New Mexico$158,520
California$144,040
New Hampshire$135,710
Washington$132,710
Texas$129,450
South Carolina$98,440
Arkansas$96,860
Montana$87,360

Top 5 and bottom 3 states, typical (median) yearly pay.

What does a electrical engineer do?

Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use. Excludes “Computer Hardware Engineers” (17-2061).

What's a typical day like?

They use computer design tools to draw or model circuits, then test equipment to check that it works reliably and safely. They meet with teammates to fix problems, write reports, and sometimes visit project sites.

How to get this job

In the United States, most earn a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering after high school and often start work in their early 20s; internships or co-op programs help. A PE license is not needed for entry-level jobs; later licensure usually requires the FE and PE exams plus work experience.

Usually a bachelor's degree (preparation level 4 of 5)

Good for people who like building and doing and figuring things out.

Did you know?

At NASA, electrical engineers help robots move by supplying power and sending signals that tell a robot’s parts to move—like a heart and brain.

What about Japan?

Nearly the same job
US
Electrical engineer (typical)
$120,630
Electronics engineer (average)
$46,929

The US figure is the median and the Japan figure is the average, so it's not a perfect comparison. Prices differ too.

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Sources and data

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (bls.gov); descriptions and related jobs from O*NET 31.0. Figures as of May 2025, full-time yearly pay (hourly × 2,080 hours). bls.gov/oes · O*NET OnLine

Pages used for the text

Data: US BLS OEWS, May 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY