Electrical Engineer salary in Santa Maria, CA

Based on 14 certified H-1B filings in the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Goleta, Santa Barbara.

Also listed as: Electrical Design Engineer

Median salary$142,500
Middle 50%$93.7k–$154.6k
vs. national median+15%comparison median $123,560
Filings14FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $71,510 and $206,100.
PercentileSalary
10th$73,083
25th$93,662
50th (median)$142,500
75th$154,612
90th$179,352

Cost of living

Santa Maria's median Electrical Engineer salary of $142,500 is worth about $131,000 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Santa Maria = 108.8).

Compared with all workers here

All Electrical Engineers in the Santa Maria, CA area earned a median of $134,640 in May 2025 (230 employed). The H-1B median here is $142,500, 6% higher.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Top employers filing

EmployerMedianFilings
University of California at Santa Barbaratoo few5
Sonostoo few2

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I – 0
Mid-level · Level II – 0
Senior · Level III – 0
Expert · Level IV – 0

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.