Civil Engineers Career, Salary and Skills
Civil Engineers have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $100,840 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 367,840. Wage data is published for 426 locations.
Occupation description
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.
O*NET code
17-2051.00
Job zone
4
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$100,840
Hourly median
$48.48
Employment
367,840
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.88 | 5.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Mathematics | 3.88 | 4.75 |
| Speaking | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.88 | 4.62 |
| Science | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Time Management | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Operations Analysis | 3.62 | 4.50 |
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.
- Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
- Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.
Technology
- Microsoft Exchange
- Adobe Acrobat
- Apache Subversion SVN
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
- Autodesk Land Desktop
- Autodesk Revit
- Bentley GeoPak Bridge
- Bentley Haestad Methods CivilStorm
- Bentley InRoads Suite
- Bentley MicroStation
- Bentley STAAD
- Bridge design software
- C
Civil Engineers salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Civil Engineers Salary in CAMedian $122,500 · Employment 55,180
- Civil Engineers Salary in TXMedian $96,860 · Employment 34,870
- Civil Engineers Salary in FLMedian $98,570 · Employment 23,750
- Civil Engineers Salary in NYMedian $103,760 · Employment 17,500
- Civil Engineers Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $108,640 · Employment 16,340
- Civil Engineers Salary in PAMedian $97,850 · Employment 15,870
- Civil Engineers Salary in New York, NYMedian $107,330 · Employment 15,590
- Civil Engineers Salary in ILMedian $99,760 · Employment 13,910
- Civil Engineers Salary in COMedian $101,420 · Employment 13,290
- Civil Engineers Salary in NCMedian $100,730 · Employment 12,810
- Civil Engineers Salary in WAMedian $110,000 · Employment 12,590
- Civil Engineers Salary in Houston, TXMedian $100,950 · Employment 12,140
Related careers
- Facilities ManagersNational median $106,660
- Mechanical Engineering Technologists and TechniciansNational median $74,510
- Marine Engineers and Naval ArchitectsNational median $112,230
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, GeneralNational median $49,590
- Electrical EngineersNational median $120,630
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersNational median $79,920
- Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site ManagersNational median $141,900
- Wind Energy EngineersNational median $122,930
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.