How much do aerospace engineers make in 2026?
Aerospace engineers are their own BLS occupation, so the numbers on this page are not pooled with a broader series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 17-2011 national median at $134,960 a year ($64.89 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $86,700 and the top 10% at $205,890. That is one of the highest medians of any engineering discipline, and the reasons are structural rather than personal. The occupation is small — 67,710 workers — and concentrated in a handful of prime contractors, engine makers, space companies and government laboratories, so wages are set by a narrow labour market where the same few employers compete for the same people. Defence and classified work adds a further premium: an active security clearance is expensive and slow to obtain, and cleared engineers command more because they can start immediately on programmes that cannot wait. Sector explains most of the rest. Established defence primes and engine manufacturers pay solid, structured bands with strong benefits and pension-style retirement; commercial space companies often pay less base with equity and much longer hours; government and FFRDC laboratories sit in the middle with the best stability. Geography is unusually rigid because the work sits where the test facilities and factories are. Employment is projected to grow 6.1% through 2034 with roughly 4,500 openings a year. → Full aerospace engineer career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $134,960 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Aerospace Engineers earn a national median $134,960/yr ($64.89/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 17-2011); the P10 to P90 range is $86,700 to $205,890.
- Aerospace is a small, concentrated occupation — 67,710 workers across a handful of primes, engine makers, space companies and national laboratories — which is why the median sits high and the labour market is thin.
- An active security clearance is the single largest discrete lever on an offer, because cleared engineers can start on classified programmes immediately while uncleared hires wait months.
- Sector shapes the package as much as the salary: primes pay structured bands with strong retirement, commercial space trades base for equity and hours, laboratories trade upside for stability.
US Aerospace Engineer Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do aerospace engineers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 17-2011; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 17-2011, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does an aerospace engineer earn at each career stage?
Aerospace progression follows programme responsibility and technical depth rather than headcount. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS percentile distribution for SOC 17-2011.
By State
Which states pay aerospace engineers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national aerospace engineer median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Aerospace geography is unusually rigid: the work sits where test facilities, launch sites and final assembly lines are, so a handful of states hold most of the employment and an engineer changing employers often has to change region.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($155,200), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
aerospace engineer pay by state — all 3 state guides
By Metro
Which cities pay aerospace engineers the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations. Aerospace metros are dominated by a few clusters around major programmes rather than by general labour-market size.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise an aerospace engineer’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does aerospace engineer pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Aerospace Engineers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify aerospace engineer wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does an aerospace engineer actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Aerospace Engineer Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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