Mechanical Engineer salary in North Carolina

Official occupation: 17-2141 Mechanical Engineers · Reference period May 2025 · Data updated · Confidence 95/100

In North Carolina, the median mechanical engineer earns $100,720 a year, 3% below the United States median of $104,110.

It ranks 29th of 51 states with a published figure.

Pay is relatively compressed, with the 10th percentile at $71,260 and the 90th at $155,550 (a ratio of 2.2).

About 9,560 people work in this occupation here, roughly in line with its national share (location quotient 1.01).

For context, the median across all occupations in North Carolina is $47,970, so this role pays 2.1 times the local typical wage.

Published figures

Published and derived pay figures
MeasureNorth CarolinaNational
Median annual pay Observed$100,720United States: $104,110
Mean annual pay Observed$107,350United States: $113,610
10th percentile Observed$71,260United States: $73,990
25th percentile Observed$82,490United States: $84,130
75th percentile Observed$125,050United States: $132,590
90th percentile Observed$155,550United States: $164,340
Median hourly pay Observed$48.42United States: $50.05
Employment (jobs) Observed9,560
Jobs per 1,000 employees Observed1.934
Location quotient Observed1.01
Difference from United States median ($104,110) Derived−3%
Rank among 51 states Derived29
Ratio to North Carolina all-occupation median ($47,970) Derived2.10×
90th / 10th percentile ratio Derived2.18

Nearby in the ranking

  1. 27. Oklahoma$101,850
  2. 28. Kentucky$101,050
  3. 29. North Carolina$100,720
  4. 30. Georgia$100,620
  5. 31. Arizona$100,270

Largest cities in North Carolina: Charlotte, Raleigh, West Raleigh, Greensboro, Durham (GeoNames). Figures are for the whole state, not individual cities.

More pay data

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.