Civil Engineer salary
From 10,534 certified H-1B filings (FY2025–FY2026). Base salary only.
- Occupation code 17-2051: Civil Engineers
- Also filed as: Structural Engineer
At a glance
- Mostly Level I (entry-level). 40% of Civil Engineer filings are Level I, compared with 19% across all H-1B filings.
- Top filer: Amazon. 292 filings (3% of the total), median $138,000.
- Pay depends on the city. Among the 10 metro areas with the most filings, the median ranges from $81,500 in Miami, FL to $109,271 in San Francisco, CA.
- Median up 29% since FY2020. From $72,983 in FY2020 to $94,167 in FY2026 (Q1–Q3). Nominal, not adjusted for inflation.
Civil Engineer H-1B salary overview
Employers filed 10,534 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Civil Engineer jobs in FY2025–FY2026 (occupation code 17-2051, Civil Engineers). The median base salary is $91,377, 26% below the median for all H-1B filings ($122,699), and half of the filings fall between $78,811 and $111,628. The most common wage level is Level I (entry-level), at 40% of filings. New York, NY has the most filings (1,050), and Amazon is the employer that files the most (292).
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Percentiles from certified H-1B filings, base salary only. Metro areas with at least 10 filings.
Top employers for Civil Engineer
Amazon292 filings · 3%$138,000
WSP279 filings · 3%$99,778
AECOM Technical Services208 filings · 2%$92,990
Jacobs Engineering Group193 filings · 2%$94,760
HDR Engineering148 filings · 1%$97,063
California Department of Transportation145 filings · 1%$103,644
Stantec Consulting Services127 filings · 1%$99,362
Arcadis111 filings · 1%$100,048
Core Tech Construction107 filings · 1%$60,000
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services99 filings · 1%$81,000
Employers with the most Civil Engineer filings. Bar: share of all Civil Engineer filings. Figure: median base salary.
Pay by level
Entry-level · 40% of filings
Mid-level · 33% of filings
Senior · 15% of filings
Expert · 11% of filings
Show the table
By experience level
| Wage level | Median | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Level I · Entry | $77,500 | 4,060 |
| Level II · Qualified | $94,611 | 3,328 |
| Level III · Experienced | $115,000 | 1,529 |
| Level IV · Fully competent | $134,073 | 1,128 |
Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.
Civil Engineer pay by city
Median base salary in each metro area. Rent: HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027.
Show all 95 metro areas
Metro areas with at least 10 filings for this occupation.
What a Civil Engineer does
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, and water and sewage systems.
Typical tasks
- Direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations.
- Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.
- Inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
- Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
- Plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures, using computer-assisted design or drawing tools.
- Provide technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs.
Preparation
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
O*NET occupation: Civil Engineers (17-2051.00). This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
H-1B pay vs. all U.S. workers
Across all U.S. workers in this occupation (Civil Engineers), the median annual wage was $100,840 in May 2025, with 367,840 people employed. The median H-1B base salary in FY2025–FY2026 is $91,377, 9% lower.
| H-1B filings | All U.S. workers (BLS, May 2025) | |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $70,000 | $68,240 |
| 25th percentile | $78,811 | $79,930 |
| Median | $91,377 | $100,840 |
| 75th percentile | $111,628 | $129,680 |
| 90th percentile | $133,769 | $163,220 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). BLS wages cover all wage and salary workers and include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are the base salary offered on certified LCAs. The two sources cover different periods. BLS reports wages of $239,200 or more as a single top value.
Salary details
Salary range
| Percentile | Salary |
|---|---|
| 10th | $70,000 |
| 25th | $78,811 |
| 50th (median) | $91,377 |
| 75th | $111,628 |
| 90th | $133,769 |
Salary by year
Median salary
Filings per year
Show as table
| Fiscal year | Median | P25 | P75 | Filings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $72,983 | $65,270 | $86,003 | 3,804 |
| FY2021 | $77,376 | $66,165 | $90,000 | 3,567 |
| FY2022 | $81,744 | $70,000 | $95,950 | 4,329 |
| FY2023 | $85,077 | $73,932 | $100,880 | 3,909 |
| FY2024 | $87,000 | $75,000 | $105,019 | 4,605 |
| FY2025 | $90,000 | $76,115 | $108,976 | 5,768 |
| FY2026 | $94,167 | $81,047 | $115,128 | 4,766 |
Questions
How much does an H-1B Civil Engineer make?
The median base salary in certified H-1B filings for Civil Engineer jobs is $91,377 (10,534 filings, FY2025–FY2026). Half of the filings are between $78,811 and $111,628.
What does an entry-level Civil Engineer earn on an H-1B?
Level I (entry-level) filings have a median of $77,500. Level I accounts for 40% of Civil Engineer filings.
Which city pays H-1B Civil Engineers the most?
Among metro areas with at least 100 filings, San Jose, CA has the highest median base salary for Civil Engineer jobs: $116,000 (139 filings).
Which employers file the most H-1B applications for Civil Engineers?
Amazon (292), WSP (279) and AECOM Technical Services (208) filed the most Civil Engineer LCAs in FY2025–FY2026.
Do H-1B Civil Engineers earn more than other U.S. workers in the same job?
The H-1B median base salary ($91,377) is 9% lower than the median wage of all U.S. workers in this occupation ($100,840, BLS May 2025). The sources measure pay differently, so treat this as a rough comparison.