Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
17-2081 Environmental Engineers
Research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering disciplines. Work may include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology.
National estimates for Environmental Engineers
Industry profile for Environmental Engineers
Geographic profile for Environmental Engineers
National estimates for Environmental Engineers:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Environmental Engineers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 42,660 |
2.6 % |
$ 48.18 |
$ 100,220 |
1.2 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Environmental Engineers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 28.76 |
$ 35.99 |
$ 46.55 |
$ 60.67 |
$ 73.65 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 59,820 |
$ 74,850 |
$ 96,820 |
$ 126,190 |
$ 153,200 |
Industry profile for Environmental Engineers:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Environmental Engineers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Environmental Engineers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Environmental Engineers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services |
13,470 |
0.89 |
$ 48.44 |
$ 100,750 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
7,680 |
0.49 |
$ 50.87 |
$ 105,800 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
6,230 |
0.28 |
$ 43.25 |
$ 89,950 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
2,780 |
0.13 |
$ 51.77 |
$ 107,680 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
2,770 |
0.05 |
$ 43.49 |
$ 90,460 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Environmental Engineers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services |
13,470 |
0.89 |
$ 48.44 |
$ 100,750 |
| Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil |
90 |
0.78 |
$ 55.34 |
$ 115,100 |
| Remediation and Other Waste Management Services |
1,220 |
0.76 |
$ 43.16 |
$ 89,770 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services |
7,680 |
0.49 |
$ 50.87 |
$ 105,800 |
| Water, Sewage and Other Systems |
240 |
0.44 |
$ 43.94 |
$ 91,390 |
Top paying industries for Environmental Engineers:
Geographic profile for Environmental Engineers:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Environmental Engineers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Environmental Engineers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Environmental Engineers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
5,350 |
0.32 |
1.07 |
$ 55.37 |
$ 115,160 |
| New York |
2,670 |
0.31 |
1.02 |
$ 46.78 |
$ 97,300 |
| Texas |
2,380 |
0.19 |
0.64 |
$ 58.74 |
$ 122,170 |
| Colorado |
1,920 |
0.73 |
2.42 |
$ 47.20 |
$ 98,170 |
| Pennsylvania |
1,840 |
0.33 |
1.09 |
$ 48.21 |
$ 100,270 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Environmental Engineers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
280 |
0.96 |
3.18 |
$ 51.57 |
$ 107,260 |
| West Virginia |
530 |
0.81 |
2.67 |
$ 40.03 |
$ 83,270 |
| Colorado |
1,920 |
0.73 |
2.42 |
$ 47.20 |
$ 98,170 |
| Montana |
340 |
0.72 |
2.37 |
$ 40.27 |
$ 83,770 |
| Wyoming |
180 |
0.69 |
2.27 |
$ 42.20 |
$ 87,780 |
Top paying states for Environmental Engineers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
2,380 |
0.19 |
0.64 |
$ 58.74 |
$ 122,170 |
| California |
5,350 |
0.32 |
1.07 |
$ 55.37 |
$ 115,160 |
| Idaho |
230 |
0.30 |
1.00 |
$ 54.30 |
$ 112,950 |
| Tennessee |
960 |
0.32 |
1.06 |
$ 54.06 |
$ 112,440 |
| Connecticut |
510 |
0.32 |
1.07 |
$ 53.71 |
$ 111,720 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Environmental Engineers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
2,150 |
0.25 |
0.82 |
$ 52.57 |
$ 109,340 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
1,290 |
1.31 |
4.32 |
$ 55.85 |
$ 116,180 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
1,270 |
0.87 |
2.86 |
$ 49.69 |
$ 103,350 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
1,250 |
0.22 |
0.72 |
$ 53.31 |
$ 110,890 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,210 |
0.47 |
1.55 |
$ 50.30 |
$ 104,630 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
970 |
0.43 |
1.43 |
$ 61.28 |
$ 127,470 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
930 |
0.48 |
1.59 |
$ 55.90 |
$ 116,260 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
910 |
0.31 |
1.04 |
$ 63.32 |
$ 131,700 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
870 |
0.30 |
0.98 |
$ 53.23 |
$ 110,720 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
850 |
0.32 |
1.06 |
$ 49.66 |
$ 103,300 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Environmental Engineers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Kennewick-Richland, WA |
280 |
2.40 |
7.92 |
$ 55.28 |
$ 114,970 |
| Charleston, WV |
230 |
2.31 |
7.62 |
$ 36.03 |
$ 74,940 |
| Carson City, NV |
50 |
1.59 |
5.25 |
$ 44.28 |
$ 92,110 |
| Barnstable Town, MA |
150 |
1.53 |
5.07 |
$ 41.95 |
$ 87,260 |
| Fort Collins, CO |
210 |
1.32 |
4.35 |
$ 38.37 |
$ 79,800 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
1,290 |
1.31 |
4.32 |
$ 55.85 |
$ 116,180 |
| Trenton, NJ |
290 |
1.28 |
4.23 |
$ 44.79 |
$ 93,150 |
| Olympia-Tumwater, WA |
120 |
1.10 |
3.63 |
$ 46.49 |
$ 96,690 |
| Idaho Falls, ID |
80 |
1.07 |
3.54 |
$ 61.14 |
$ 127,160 |
| Anchorage, AK |
170 |
1.06 |
3.51 |
$ 49.35 |
$ 102,650 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Environmental Engineers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
910 |
0.31 |
1.04 |
$ 63.32 |
$ 131,700 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
970 |
0.43 |
1.43 |
$ 61.28 |
$ 127,470 |
| Idaho Falls, ID |
80 |
1.07 |
3.54 |
$ 61.14 |
$ 127,160 |
| Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI |
30 |
0.29 |
0.96 |
$ 61.04 |
$ 126,960 |
| Midland, TX |
40 |
0.43 |
1.43 |
$ 60.93 |
$ 126,730 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
190 |
0.17 |
0.57 |
$ 59.81 |
$ 124,400 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX |
60 |
0.40 |
1.33 |
$ 59.64 |
$ 124,050 |
| Rapid City, SD |
40 |
0.56 |
1.86 |
$ 59.00 |
$ 122,710 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
480 |
0.13 |
0.44 |
$ 58.26 |
$ 121,180 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
50 |
0.36 |
1.18 |
$ 57.82 |
$ 120,270 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Environmental Engineers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Environmental Engineers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Environmental Engineers:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
