Entry-level Mechanical Engineer salary in Washington, DC

Based on 47 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Manassas, Herndon, College Park, Arlington, Rockville.

Also listed as: Mechanical Design Engineer

Median salary$87,549
Middle 50%$85k–$98.2k
vs. all levels here−21%comparison median $110,500
Filings47FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $63,450 and $125,800.
PercentileSalary
10th$78,412
25th$85,041
50th (median)$87,549
75th$98,188
90th$104,464

Salary by year

Median salary

$60k $80k $100k FY2020: median $77,500 (22 filings) FY2021: median $85,000 (29 filings) FY2022: median $80,000 (19 filings) FY2023: median $81,278 (16 filings) FY2024: median $85,000 (22 filings) FY2025: median $86,567 (26 filings) FY2026: median $89,200 (21 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 22 filings FY20 FY2021: 29 filings FY21 FY2022: 19 filings FY22 FY2023: 16 filings FY23 FY2024: 22 filings FY24 FY2025: 26 filings FY25 FY2026: 21 filings FY26 29
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$77,500$76,294$80,08022
FY2021$85,000$79,563$96,14029
FY2022$80,000$78,582$85,00019
FY2023$81,278$79,217$93,44316
FY2024$85,000$82,566$97,35722
FY2025$86,567$85,000$97,70526
FY2026$89,200$87,194$98,80021

Cost of living

Washington's median entry-level Mechanical Engineer salary of $87,549 is worth about $80,400 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Washington = 108.9).

Compared with all workers here

All Mechanical Engineers in the Washington, DC area earned a median of $126,990 in May 2025 (5,390 employed). The H-1B median here is $87,549, 31% lower.

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

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Micron$102,07011
University of Maryland College Parktoo few6
Airbus Americas Customer Servicestoo few2
Nova Measuring Instrumentstoo few2

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $87,549 47
Mid-level · Level II $110,500 36
Senior · Level III $130,000 26
Expert · Level IV $160,300 15

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$87,194$87,54947
Mid-level · Level II$107,037$110,50036
Senior · Level III$126,901$130,00026
Expert · Level IV$143,874$160,30015

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.