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What Is the Average Electrical Engineer Salary?

What Is the Average Electrical Engineer Salary?

September 28, 2023

A Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering opens doors to job opportunities worldwide due to the field’s diversity. This appeal is also driven by top companies’ constant demand in the US for skilled engineers.

Moreover, electrical engineers receive competitive compensation at the start of their careers, even with limited experience, and this salary tends to grow as they advance in their professional journeys.

The electrical engineer’s salary in the US is $95640, the average of different levels of experience and hierarchy. This article aims to provide a comprehensive view of the average salary of Electrical Engineers at different career stages. Additionally, we will discuss the essential skills that can impact an electrical engineer’s earnings.

Let’s begin.

Average Electrical Engineer Salary by Experience Level in the US

Let’s take a look at salary of an electrical engineer based on their experience level and career stages:

Entry Level
Early Career
Mid-Career
Experienced

1. Entry Level

On average, starting salary for electrical engineer in the US is around $88,965 per year. This is in case the electrical engineer has less than one year of experience. Incentives and overtime wages are all included in the total compensation.

2. Early Career

The electrical engineer salary in US in the early career stage is around $94,696 per year. It is in case the electrical engineer has about four-six years of experience.

3. Mid-Career

On average electrical engineer salary per annum in the mid-career stage is $107,202. In this case, the electrical engineer has about seven-nine years of experience under their belt.

4. Experienced

Those electrical engineers who have experience of more than 15 years can expect to earn up to $114,789 per year on average.

Salaries of Electrical Engineers in Different Cities in the US

According to Indeed, following are the average annual electrical engineer salaries in different cities in the United States:

S.no	Name of City	Average Annual Salary
1	Annapolis, Maryland	$87,794
2	Atlanta, Georgia	$96,647
3	Augusta, Maine	$111,163
4	Baton Rouge , Louisiana	$96,109
5	Boise, Idaho	$86,306
6	Boston, Massachusetts	$96,541
7	Chicago, Illinois	$84,280
8	Columbus, Ohio	$84,504
9	Denver, Colorado	$90,916
10	Des Moines, Iowa	$103,277
11	Dover, Delaware	$97,597
12	Frankfort , Kentucky	$81,449
13	Hartford, Connecticut	$100,657
14	Helena, Montana	$90,957
15	Honolulu, Hawaii	$80,704
16	Houston, Texas	$94,207
17	Huntsville, Alabama	$95,269
18	Indianapolis, Indiana	$93,735
19	Jackson, Mississippii	$97,401
20	Jefferson City, Missouri	$81,158
21	Juneau, Alaska	$90,725
22	Lansing, Michigan	$78,352
23	Little Rock, Arkansas	$91,584
24	Los Angeles, California	$95,878
25	Minneapolis, Minnesota	$88,881
26	Orlando, Florida	$84,361
27	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$91,152
28	Portland, Oregon	$90,954
29	Raleigh, North Carolina	$99,894
30	Salt Lake City, Utah	$84,806
31	Seattle, Washington	$98,396
32	Topeka, Kansas	$80,420
33	Tucson, Arizona	$91,493
34	Washington, District of Columbia	$99,961
35	Lincoln, Nebraska	$88,105
36	Carson City, Nevada	$62,218
37	Concord, New Hampshire	$94,525
38	Trenton, New Jersey	$85,825
39	Sanat Fe, New Mexico	$85,693
40	Albany, New York	$93,404
41	Bismarck, North Dakota	$66,793
42	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	$83,626
43	Providence, Rhode Island	107,557
44	Columbia, South Carolina	$90,482
45	Pierre, South Dakota	$87,047
46	Nashville, Tennessee	$103,978
47	Montpelier, Vermont	$88,637
48	Richmond, Virginia	$93,072
49	Charleston, West Virginia	$142,624
50	Madison, Wisconsin	$92,219
51	Cheyenne, Wyoming	$47,941

Skills That Affect Electrical Engineer Salaries

The following skills can affect electrical engineer annual salary and sometimes even the perks being offered:

Algorithm Development
Computer Security
Software Architecture
Satellite Communications
Wireless Data Communications
Telecommunications

1. Algorithm Development

Electrical engineers with algorithm development skills can earn 42% higher salaries than their median annual income of $80,811 . It translates into an average yearly salary of $114,752.

Electrical engineers’ starting salary with this skill is $88,040 annually, ranging up to around $168,980.

2. Computer Security

Electrical engineers with computer security skills can expect a 31% increment in their average annual incomes. It means that they can earn around $105,862 per year on average.

3. Software Architecture

Possessing software architecture skills can affect electrical engineers’ salaries by 22%, making them earn about $98,705 per year on average.

The starting average electrical engineer’s sala

ry with this skill is $89,000 per year. On the other hand, the most experienced electrical engineers with software architecture skills can make up to $104,000 per year.

4. Satellite Communications

Electrical engineers with satellite communication skills can expect a 31% increment in their average annual salaries. Thus, they can earn around $105,682 per year on average.

On average, the electrical engineers’ annual salary with this skill starts from $81,220 and can go up to around $155,890.

5. Wireless Data Communications

The skills of wireless data communications can increase electrical engineers’ salariesby 25%. So, an engineer with this skill’s median base income is estimated to be around $96,250 per year.

Electrical engineers’ starting salary with this skill is $76,250 per year on average and can go up to approximately $121,200.

6. Telecommunications

Electrical engineers with telecommunications skills have an average salary of $90,508 annually, 12% more than their median annual incomes.

The starting electrical engineer’s annual salary with this skill is $62,720 on average. However, the most experienced electrical engineers with telecommunications skills can make up to $96,320 annually.

Top Companies for Electrical Engineers

The following companies offer the highest paying electrical engineering jobs in the USA. They are listed in no particular order.

Conclusion

Electrical engineering in recent times has come up as one of the most lucrative specializations of engineering. Not only that electrical engineering graduates are entering sectors like finance, healthcare and even fashion due to overlapping of different sectors, areas which were unchartered for them before.

This only means one thing that not only is the sector itself seeing growth but the demand for skilled professionals has also increased. Thus, giving the salaries for electrical engineer a major overall bump.

The need for electrical engineers who design, comprehend, and build electrical control systems and modern circuits has increased dramatically due to automation as well. This means that such professionals are enjoying a higher electrical engineer salary and plenty of career prospects following graduation!

So, despite being an electrical engineering graduate with the promising salary offering are you still confused regarding your field choice? Do you have an electrical engineering degree but aren’t sure which job to set your foot into? Reading our seperate blog will help you understand what you can do with an electrical engineering degree.

Wasim Asghar – P.E, P.ENG, M.ENG

Licensed Professional Engineer in Texas (PE), Florida (PE) and Ontario (P. Eng) with consulting experience in design, commissioning and plant engineering for clients in Energy, Mining and Infrastructure.