17
Civil Engineers is a notable career in the 17 category. This page provides verified data from BLS OEWS 2024 + O*NET 29.0 (2024), helping you compare Civil Engineers against similar careers and make data-driven decisions.
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| soc | 17-2051 |
| title | Civil Engineers |
| onet code | 17-2051.00 |
| 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. |
| job zone | 4 |
| major group | 17 |
| tot emp | 355,410 |
| a mean | 107,050 |
| a median | 99,590 |
| a pct10 | 65,920 |
| a pct25 | 78,790 |
| a pct75 | 128,290 |
| a pct90 | 160,990 |
| h mean | 51 |
| h median | 47 |
The day-to-day work of a civil engineers typically centers on direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations. Every task listed below is classified as Core in O*NET — they collectively define the role. Task descriptions below are quoted from the U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET 29.0 occupation profile.
Workers in this occupation rely most on Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, and Mathematics. Across the top 10 skills, the average O*NET importance score is 3.83 out of 5 — highly rated for this role. Importance reflects how essential each skill is for adequate job performance.
Among working civil engineers, the most common entry qualification is a Bachelor's Degree (85.7%). Bachelor's-degree-or-higher credentials are reported by 100% of incumbents. This is a degree-heavy profession — most incumbents hold a four-year degree or beyond.
Median annual pay is highest in California at $118,450 and lowest in Montana at $80,390 — a 1.5× spread. The top five states (California, Rhode Island, Alaska, Washington, New Mexico) average $109,526. Figures reflect BLS OEWS May 2024 state-level wage estimates; percentiles shown are for full-time wage-earners in each state.
| State | Median | Mean | 10th % | 90th % | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $118,450 | $122,050 | $77,620 | $171,760 | 54,640 |
| Rhode Island | $112,250 | $116,550 | $76,090 | $165,610 | 1,200 |
| Alaska | $107,240 | $115,250 | $78,800 | $162,420 | 1,540 |
| Washington | $105,090 | $112,740 | $80,650 | $155,010 | 11,900 |
| New Mexico | $104,600 | $108,000 | $66,180 | $149,200 | 1,400 |
| Massachusetts | $104,450 | $115,780 | $77,880 | $167,370 | 9,460 |
| Mississippi | $103,940 | $115,570 | $60,770 | $208,000 | 2,050 |
| New Jersey | $103,690 | $114,220 | $73,130 | $168,360 | 6,780 |
| Oregon | $103,070 | $110,280 | $74,180 | $155,850 | 4,140 |
| New York | $102,440 | $116,630 | $75,520 | $171,110 | 17,000 |
| Louisiana | $102,350 | $107,690 | $67,680 | $149,590 | 3,170 |
| District of Columbia | $102,170 | $115,370 | $76,250 | $172,780 | 1,840 |
| Connecticut | $101,800 | $108,950 | $71,440 | $157,270 | 4,130 |
| Minnesota | $101,440 | $106,880 | $69,910 | $150,730 | 4,350 |
| Maryland | $100,320 | $105,910 | $70,540 | $149,410 | 5,120 |
| Kentucky | $100,200 | $99,830 | $62,630 | $134,420 | 3,040 |
| Delaware | $99,820 | $105,080 | $68,040 | $148,380 | 1,000 |
| South Carolina | $99,680 | $104,430 | $64,480 | $155,050 | 7,460 |
| Oklahoma | $99,540 | $104,330 | $64,230 | $145,880 | 2,620 |
| Nebraska | $99,360 | $101,800 | $65,530 | $137,650 | 2,010 |
| Nevada | $98,690 | $105,950 | $67,380 | $151,520 | 3,490 |
| Alabama | $98,100 | $104,270 | $64,640 | $162,160 | 5,920 |
| Florida | $97,810 | $105,830 | $59,620 | $168,880 | 22,780 |
| Tennessee | $97,730 | $102,150 | $67,410 | $141,710 | 4,660 |
| Illinois | $97,640 | $104,430 | $66,340 | $154,790 | 13,400 |
| Virginia | $96,210 | $101,020 | $61,610 | $145,480 | 11,030 |
| North Dakota | $96,160 | $95,750 | $62,450 | $139,880 | 1,470 |
| Wyoming | $95,800 | $99,540 | $67,640 | $153,770 | 1,070 |
| South Dakota | $95,110 | $96,590 | $67,500 | $127,610 | 1,270 |
| Texas | $95,050 | $103,010 | $60,590 | $161,620 | 33,790 |
| Indiana | $95,000 | $96,510 | $62,250 | $134,970 | 4,300 |
| Idaho | $94,990 | $96,980 | $62,640 | $133,350 | 2,630 |
| Hawaii | $94,970 | $97,590 | $65,520 | $131,090 | 1,880 |
| Maine | $94,880 | $97,780 | $64,650 | $132,150 | 1,410 |
| Iowa | $94,500 | $96,450 | $63,860 | $134,230 | 2,560 |
| North Carolina | $93,590 | $100,500 | $65,160 | $145,010 | 12,670 |
| Arizona | $93,500 | $97,630 | $63,260 | $136,600 | 6,270 |
| Ohio | $93,480 | $97,590 | $64,080 | $133,600 | 8,520 |
| Missouri | $93,020 | $97,050 | $64,490 | $135,720 | 5,280 |
| Pennsylvania | $92,460 | $98,860 | $67,240 | $137,520 | 14,610 |
| New Hampshire | $92,020 | $94,210 | $60,800 | $133,100 | 1,670 |
| Utah | $92,000 | $96,620 | $58,000 | $139,190 | 4,610 |
| Wisconsin | $90,770 | $96,450 | $63,920 | $132,280 | 7,050 |
| West Virginia | $88,200 | $91,880 | $48,740 | $134,300 | 1,560 |
| Kansas | $86,780 | $96,880 | $51,790 | $145,680 | 3,140 |
| Vermont | $85,720 | $95,190 | $66,880 | $130,960 | 750 |
| Michigan | $85,550 | $93,670 | $62,870 | $132,360 | 7,760 |
| Arkansas | $81,930 | $88,250 | $50,650 | $127,730 | 1,710 |
| Georgia | $81,030 | $97,220 | $62,280 | $154,600 | 8,820 |
| Montana | $80,390 | $86,270 | $58,840 | $114,240 | 1,880 |
Recruiters and job boards use several alternate titles for civil engineers. Knowing these variants widens your job search — listings for Airport Engineer or Architectural Engineer frequently describe the same role. The list below is a sample of the most common industry variants.
This data helps you understand how Civil Engineers compares to others in the 17 category. Use it to make informed decisions based on verified data from BLS OEWS 2024 + O*NET 29.0.
careers with the closest data values to Civil Engineers
The CertifyWize editorial team aggregates and verifies careers data from BLS OEWS 2024 + O*NET 29.0. Every statistic on this site is cross-referenced against the official source before publication, with quarterly re-verification cycles.
Read our full methodology or contact us with corrections.
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