Mechanical Engineer salary in California
Official occupation: 17-2141 Mechanical Engineers · Reference period May 2025 · Data updated · Confidence 95/100
In California, the median mechanical engineer earns $130,900 a year, 26% above the United States median of $104,110.
That is the 3rd-highest median among the 51 states with a published figure.
Pay is relatively compressed, with the 10th percentile at $82,070 and the 90th at $203,620 (a ratio of 2.5).
About 30,530 people work in this occupation here, roughly in line with its national share (location quotient 0.88).
For context, the median across all occupations in California is $58,240, so this role pays 2.2 times the local typical wage.
Published figures
| Measure | California | National |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual pay Observed | $130,900 | United States: $104,110 |
| Mean annual pay Observed | $136,660 | United States: $113,610 |
| 10th percentile Observed | $82,070 | United States: $73,990 |
| 25th percentile Observed | $102,360 | United States: $84,130 |
| 75th percentile Observed | $166,580 | United States: $132,590 |
| 90th percentile Observed | $203,620 | United States: $164,340 |
| Median hourly pay Observed | $62.94 | United States: $50.05 |
| Employment (jobs) Observed | 30,530 | |
| Jobs per 1,000 employees Observed | 1.676 | |
| Location quotient Observed | 0.88 | |
| Difference from United States median ($104,110) Derived | +26% | |
| Rank among 51 states Derived | 3 | |
| Ratio to California all-occupation median ($58,240) Derived | 2.25× | |
| 90th / 10th percentile ratio Derived | 2.48 |
Nearby in the ranking
- 1. New Mexico$157,710
- 2. District of Columbia$133,300
- 3. California$130,900
- 4. Delaware$125,130
- 5. Colorado$124,430
Largest cities in California: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno (GeoNames). Figures are for the whole state, not individual cities.
More pay data
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Source, method and data quality
- Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (Public domain (U.S. Government work)). Reference period: May 2025. Updates: Yearly (spring release).
- Observed figures are copied from the published table without adjustment. Derived figures (rankings, ratios and differences) are calculated by us from those observed figures. No figure on this page is modeled or estimated.
- Relative standard error (PRSE) published per estimate.
- Confidence score: 95/100. Based on the published sampling error and job count. We only publish region pages scoring 60 or more that have at least 6 observed figures.
- Place hierarchy from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Data last updated: .
- Full method: methodology.