Architecture and Engineering Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 17-2071

Electrical Engineers

The published band from $76,550 to $184,300 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Petroleum Engineers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Electrical Engineers: Petroleum Engineers ($145K) , Civil Engineers ($101K) , Environmental Engineers ($107K) , Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers ($106K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Electrical Engineers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 17-2071 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Design, implement, maintain, or improve electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, or systems for commercial, i…
  2. 2. Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget
  3. 3. Direct or coordinate manufacturing, construction, installation, maintenance, support, documentation, or testing activities to ensure comp…
  4. 4. Perform detailed calculations to compute and establish manufacturing, construction, or installation standards or specifications
  5. 5. Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform engineering tasks
  6. 6. Confer with engineers, customers, or others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects or products
  7. 7. Investigate or test vendors' or competitors' products
  8. 8. Collect data relating to commercial or residential development, population, or power system interconnection to determine operating effici…
  9. 9. Inspect completed installations and observe operations to ensure conformance to design and equipment specifications and compliance with o…
  10. 10. Investigate customer or public complaints to determine the nature and extent of problems
  11. 11. Develop systems that produce electricity with renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, or biofuels
  12. 12. Prepare technical drawings, specifications of electrical systems, or topographical maps to ensure that installation and operations confor…

Electrical Engineers: O*NET ranks Writing first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 17-2071 - lead skill Writing at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Engineering and Technology. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Writing 4.1
  2. 2. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 4.0
  4. 4. Active Listening 3.9
  5. 5. Speaking 3.9
  6. 6. Active Learning 3.9
  7. 7. Complex Problem Solving 3.9
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.5

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Engineering and Technology 4.7
  2. 2. Computers and Electronics 4.7
  3. 3. Design 4.1
  4. 4. English Language 3.8
  5. 5. Mathematics 3.7
  6. 6. Physics 3.6
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$76,550 to $184,300
median $120,630 · ~2.4× spread
$121K
National median
↑ +7%
Growth 2024-2034
11,700
Annual openings
198,750
Estimated US jobs
Petroleum Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $145K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Electrical Engineers

1. California $144,040
2. New Mexico $158,520
3. Texas $129,450
4. District of Columbia $143,000
5. Delaware $126,970
6. Idaho $129,340
7. Alaska $125,970
8. New Hampshire $135,710
9. Washington $132,710
10. Massachusetts $127,720

Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations titles

  1. 1. Environmental Engineers $107,110
  2. 2. Petroleum Engineers $144,910
  3. 3. Civil Engineers $100,840
  4. 4. Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers $106,220
  5. 5. Mechanical Engineers $104,110
  6. 6. Materials Engineers $112,860

The OEWS band for Electrical Engineers runs from $76,550 (10th) to $184,300 (90th), about 2.4× wide, with median $120,630. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +7% change between 2024 and 2034 (faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 11,700 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: California at $144,040. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Petroleum Engineers at $144,910. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Electrical Engineers pay-rank #8 in Architecture and Engineering Occupations

Among 36 detailed Architecture and Engineering Occupations with a published OEWS median, Electrical Engineers is pay-rank #8, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Electrical Engineers is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Electrical Engineers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 17-2071

California · top state for Electrical Engineers

$144K published median

New Mexico · #2 state pay

$159K · behind California

Petroleum Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Electrical Engineers · $145K

Civil Engineers

Lower-pay peer beside Electrical Engineers · $101K

Compare Electrical Engineers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Electrical Engineers with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Architecture and Engineering Occupations titles sit near Electrical Engineers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Electrical Engineers is pay-rank #8 of 36 detailed Architecture and Engineering Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Engineers, All Other ($123K), Chemical Engineers ($125K), Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors ($115K), Materials Engineers ($113K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do electrical engineers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Electrical Engineers. Leading ones include: Design, implement, maintain, or improve electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, or systems for commercial, i…; Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget; Direct or coordinate manufacturing, construction, installation, maintenance, support, documentation, or testing activities to ensure comp…; Perform detailed calculations to compute and establish manufacturing, construction, or installation standards or specifications. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for electrical engineers? ▼
For SOC 17-2071, O*NET importance scores lead with Writing (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0), Critical Thinking (4.0), Active Listening (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Engineering and Technology, Computers and Electronics, Design. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Electrical Engineers? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $76,550 and the 90th at $184,300 for Electrical Engineers (2.4× spread). The national median is $120,630. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Electrical Engineers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Electrical Engineers is +7%. Projected annual openings: about 11,700. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Electrical Engineers? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Electrical Engineers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Electrical Engineers? ▼
California ($144,040), New Mexico ($158,520), Texas ($129,450) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Electrical Engineers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 17-2071. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Electrical Engineers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics