Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

17-2051 Civil Engineers

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, water and sewage systems, and waste disposal units. Include architectural, structural, traffic, ocean, and geo-technical engineers. Exclude "Hydrologists" (19-2043).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
206,350 1.4 % $31.07 $64,620 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $19.65 $23.87 $29.73 $36.99 $44.24
Annual Wage (2) $40,860 $49,650 $61,850 $76,930 $92,010

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Architectural and engineering services 99,400 $31.49 $65,500 1 37
State government (OES designation) 30,180 $28.59 $59,460 2 54
Local government (OES designation) 28,380 $31.29 $65,080 3 39
Federal government (OES designation) 9,080 $34.37 $71,500 4 20
Nonresidential building construction 7,410 $28.80 $59,900 5 53

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Oil and gas extraction 250 $44.60 $92,770 32 1
Lumber and const. supply merchant wholesalers 60 $40.07 $83,340 48 2
Other professional and technical services (6) $38.74 $80,580 (6) 3
Basic chemical manufacturing 220 $38.00 $79,050 34 4
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing 30 $36.90 $76,740 59 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Washington 10,620 $33.85 $70,400 0.415% 77
Hawaii 1,610 $29.52 $61,400 0.291% 60
Colorado 6,010 $31.10 $64,680 0.284% 83
Alaska 780 $36.03 $74,940 0.267% 33
Montana 950 $26.01 $54,100 0.240% 63

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 780 $36.03 $74,940 0.267% 33
District of Columbia 950 $34.70 $72,180 0.160% 68
California 34,320 $34.06 $70,850 0.236% 97
Washington 10,620 $33.85 $70,400 0.415% 77
Nevada 2,420 $33.75 $70,200 0.227% 46

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA MSA 740 $33.21 $69,070 0.933%
Olympia, WA PMSA 710 $29.81 $62,010 0.838%
Yuba City, CA MSA 310 $30.33 $63,090 0.824%
Sacramento, CA PMSA 4,100 $32.93 $68,500 0.549%
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA PMSA 6,710 $36.03 $74,940 0.517%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Columbus, GA-AL MSA 70 $44.58 $92,730 0.062%
Wheeling, WV-OH MSA 60 $42.75 $88,920 0.099%
Lake Charles, LA MSA 120 $38.16 $79,380 0.147%
Galveston-Texas City, TX PMSA 90 $38.12 $79,280 0.103%
Fort Lauderdale, FL PMSA 1,200 $37.37 $77,740 0.171%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Architecture and Engineering Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004