Civil engineers

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

388k

Average Age

41.8

Estimated Job Growth

1.67%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$96,311

Average Male Salary

$99,342

Average Female Salary

$80,078

About

Civil engineers are most often employed by the Architectural, engineering & related services industry. The average yearly wage for Civil engineers was $96,311 in 2020.

The locations that employ the most Civil engineers are Mount Pleasant Town PUMA, SC, Katy City (Northeast) PUMA, TX, and Queen Anne & Magnolia PUMA, WA. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Civil engineers are Mount Pleasant Town PUMA, SC, Huntsville (North) & Madison (East) Cities PUMA, AL, and Mission Bend (Southwest), Cinco Ranch & Four Corners PUMA, TX.

Photo by Kristoffer Trolle

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Computer, engineering, & science occupations Architecture & engineering occupations

Employment and salary information for the Civil engineers workforce. Civil engineers workforce in 2020 was 388,171 people, of which 15.7% were women and 84.3% were men. Civil engineers are paid most in McKinney City PUMA, TX but are relatively concentrated in Mount Pleasant Town PUMA, SC.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

327,090

Male Workforce

± 14k

61,081

Female Workforce

± 6.07k

The Civil engineers workforce in 2020 was 388,171 people (15.7% women and 84.3% men). This implies an average annual growth of 31.8% between 2014 (294,490) and 2020 (388,171).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Civil engineers.

During 2020, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Massachusetts ($105,096), California ($104,765), and New Jersey ($102,709).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$96,311

AVERAGE WAGE

#47 in the ranking (2020)

$55,954

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2020, Civil engineers earned an average of $96,311, $40,357 more than the average national salary of $55,954

The graph shows the ranking of Civil engineers in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2020.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.303

WAGE GINI

In 2020, Civil engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.303, which is lower than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Civil engineers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Civil engineers compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Civil engineers and on wages for those in the field. Architectural, engineering & related services is the industry that employs the most Civil engineers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Civil engineers, by average wage, is Petroleum refining ($197,661).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

388k

2020 Workforce

± 15,276

7.74%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.26%

This graphic shows the share of Civil engineers employed by various industries. Architectural, engineering & related services employs the largest share of Civil engineers at 68.5%, followed by Construction with 27.9% and Administration of economic programs & space research with 3.59%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Civil engineers in the US. The workforce of Civil engineers in 2020 was 388,171 people, with 15.7% woman, and 84.3% men. The average age of male Civil engineers in the workforce is 42.8 and of female Civil engineers is 36.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Civil engineers is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Civil engineers in 2020 was 388,171 people, with 15.7% woman, and 84.3% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 25 to 29 years (62,282 people), 30 to 34 years (52,615 people), and 35 to 39 years (45,280 people). Among them they concentrated 41.3% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2020, 9.72% of Civil engineers workers were Hispanic and 90.3% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (75.1%), Puerto Rican (14.3)%, and Cuban (10.6)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2020, 78.3% of the Civil engineers workforce were White, of which 14.4% were women and 85.6% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Asian (10.9%) and Black (4.72%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Civil engineers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Civil engineers is Engineering but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2020 were Engineering.

Among the necessary skills for Civil engineers, Complex Problem Solving stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Civil engineers need more than the average amount of Technology Design.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Civil engineers in 2020 (counting all academic degrees) were Engineering (259,707 people), Business (15,403 people), and Physical Sciences (6,264 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Civil engineers workers were Bachelors Degree (225,396 people), Graduate Degree (109,648 people), and Some college (22,799 people).

The graphic shows the Civil engineers workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Civil engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Civil engineers need many skills, but most especially Complex Problem Solving, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics.

Projections

Projections on job growth for Civil Engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Civil Engineers are expected to see a growth of 1.67% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

1.67%

Estimated Job Growth

10-year Projection

3.71%

National Growth

10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Civil engineers. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.