Key Factors That Influence Rocket Engineer Salaries
A Rocket Engineer's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors.
Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, skills
and company size
can directly affect your earning potential.
How Experience Level Affects Rocket Engineer Salaries?
Experience is a primary driver of a Rocket Engineer's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:
Salaries can also vary between different cities.
Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay.
Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:
San Jose: $118,678
San Francisco: $117,379
Oakland: $114,905
San Jose, CA$118,678
San Francisco, CA$117,379
Oakland, CA$114,905
New York, NY$108,336
Paramus, NJ$107,019
Queens Village, NY$107,014
Passaic, NJ$106,925
Bergenfield, NJ$106,917
Stamford, CT$106,710
Huntington, NY$106,671
Newark, NJ$105,976
Bridgeport, CT$105,777
Vallejo, CA$105,590
New Brunswick, NJ$105,552
Petaluma, CA$105,496
Middlesex, NJ$105,317
Somerset, NJ$105,251
Santa Cruz, CA$105,129
Boston, MA$104,555
Monterey, CA$104,225
Seattle, WA$104,009
Santa Rosa, CA$103,990
Los Angeles, CA$103,962
Juneau, AK$103,717
Washington, DC$103,614
Orange, CA$103,279
Santa Ana, CA$103,031
Long Beach, CA$102,936
Anaheim, CA$102,918
Anchorage, AK$102,871
Santa Maria, CA$102,588
Everett, WA$102,569
Danbury, CT$102,238
Bremerton, WA$102,108
Tacoma, WA$101,770
New Suffolk, NY$101,768
Sacramento, CA$101,741
Santa Barbara, CA$101,638
Trenton, NJ$101,534
San Diego, CA$101,534
Brockton, MA$101,431
Fairbanks, AK$101,200
Lompoc, CA$100,961
Lowell, MA$100,884
Ventura, CA$100,866
Nashua, NH$100,848
Stockton, CA$100,838
Modesto, CA$100,151
Poughkeepsie, NY$99,944
Olympia, WA$99,766
Kennewick, WA$99,766
New Haven, CT$99,728
Lawrence, MA$99,389
Hartford, CT$99,295
Riverside, CA$99,276
New Bedford, MA$99,182
Richland, WA$99,182
Bakersfield, CA$99,050
San Bernardino, CA$99,013
New Britain, CT$99,003
Atlantic City, NJ$99,003
New London, CT$98,966
Norwich, CT$98,938
Portsmouth, NH$98,919
Boulder, CO$98,719
Portland, OR$98,589
Worcester, MA$98,580
Minneapolis, MN$98,288
Philadelphia, PA$98,157
Honolulu, HI$97,846
Saint Paul, MN$97,801
Vineland, NJ$97,780
Providence, RI$97,507
Chicago, IL$97,234
Bellingham, WA$97,122
Springfield, MA$97,046
Baltimore, MD$97,018
Chico, CA$96,783
Pittsfield, MA$96,529
Manchester, NH$96,350
Spokane, WA$95,936
Denver, CO$95,927
Albany, NY$95,484
Troy, NY$95,447
Nassau, NY$95,346
Schenectady, NY$95,249
Wilmington, DE$95,174
Burlington, VT$95,042
Salem, OR$95,004
Portland, ME$94,713
Yakima, WA$94,619
Rochester, MN$94,327
Reno, NV$94,280
Fresno, CA$94,280
Milwaukee, WI$94,195
Detroit, MI$94,101
Ann Arbor, MI$94,085
Allentown, PA$94,073
Colorado Springs, CO$93,913
Syracuse, NY$93,866
Carson City, NV$93,866
Houston, TX$93,734
Eugene, OR$93,687
Gary, IN$93,574
Springfield, OR$93,499
Bismarck, ND$93,480
Galveston, TX$93,414
Medford, OR$93,273
Fort Collins, CO$93,236
Concord, NH$93,189
Austin, TX$93,160
Mesa, AZ$92,963
Reading, PA$92,953
Phoenix, AZ$92,944
Dallas, TX$92,916
Saint Cloud, MN$92,825
Madison, WI$92,699
Utica, NY$92,445
Rochester, NY$92,295
Des Moines, IA$92,285
Raleigh, NC$92,276
Atlanta, GA$92,135
Battle Creek, MI$92,106
Salt Lake City, UT$92,078
Lancaster, PA$91,937
Harrisburg, PA$91,805
Kansas City, MO$91,711
Champaign, IL$91,692
Kansas City, KS$91,692
Fort Worth, TX$91,683
Columbus, OH$91,667
Boca Raton, FL$91,645
Pittsburgh, PA$91,608
Richmond, VA$91,570
Indianapolis, IN$91,551
Cleveland, OH$91,542
Las Vegas, NV$91,429
Cincinnati, OH$91,429
Petersburg, VA$91,288
Huntsville, AL$91,147
Lansing, MI$91,084
Lebanon, PA$91,071
Pueblo, CO$91,062
Appleton, WI$91,034
Buffalo, NY$90,996
Dayton, OH$90,968
Racine, WI$90,949
Charlotte, NC$90,940
Saint Louis, MO$90,911
York, PA$90,855
Elkhart, IN$90,855
Gastonia, NC$90,837
Billings, MT$90,815
Beaumont, TX$90,789
Lorain, OH$90,770
Benton Harbor, MI$90,752
Toledo, OH$90,733
Binghamton, NY$90,686
Rock Hill, SC$90,676
Rockford, IL$90,629
Springfield, IL$90,592
Elyria, OH$90,582
Fargo, ND$90,582
Flagstaff, AZ$90,516
Fort Lauderdale, FL$90,460
Duluth, MN$90,403
Miami, FL$90,403
Cheyenne, WY$90,338
Grand Forks, ND$90,338
Bangor, ME$90,131
Cedar Rapids, IA$90,027
Durham, NC$89,988
Louisville, KY$89,980
Grand Rapids, MI$89,961
Hialeah, FL$89,952
Casper, WY$89,820
Scranton, PA$89,707
New Orleans, LA$89,679
Virginia Beach, VA$89,669
Akron, OH$89,622
Peoria, IL$89,500
Sarasota, FL$89,481
Nashville, TN$89,415
Omaha, NE$89,415
Green Bay, WI$89,415
Baton Rouge, LA$89,368
Charleston, SC$89,350
Jamestown, NY$89,303
Davenport, IA$89,303
Tucson, AZ$89,255
Saint Petersburg, FL$89,199
Tampa, FL$89,180
Evansville, IN$89,124
Port Arthur, TX$89,124
Bradenton, FL$89,086
Santa Fe, NM$88,917
Orlando, FL$88,747
Clearwater, FL$88,719
Canton, OH$88,522
La Crosse, WI$88,522
Albuquerque, NM$88,465
Newport News, VA$88,456
High Point, NC$88,427
Ogden, UT$88,390
Corpus Christi, TX$88,315
Norfolk, VA$88,258
Laramie, WY$88,258
Rock Island, IL$88,202
Saginaw, MI$88,183
Jacksonville, FL$88,173
Salisbury, NC$88,155
Boise, ID$88,136
Moline, IL$88,089
Fort Myers, FL$88,061
Memphis, TN$88,042
Tulsa, OK$87,995
Waterloo, IA$87,938
Spartanburg, SC$87,844
Lincoln, NE$87,797
Fort Wayne, IN$87,778
Provo, UT$87,769
Cedar Falls, IA$87,656
San Antonio, TX$87,618
Greensboro, NC$87,581
South Bend, IN$87,571
Savannah, GA$87,468
Muskegon, MI$87,430
Birmingham, AL$87,421
Winston Salem, NC$87,375
Lake Charles, LA$87,148
Anderson, IN$87,129
Lexington, KY$87,101
Augusta, GA$87,073
Greenville, SC$87,073
Lima, OH$86,997
Wichita, KS$86,988
Tuscaloosa, AL$86,988
Columbia, SC$86,903
Springfield, OH$86,884
Asheville, NC$86,734
Bloomington, IN$86,668
Knoxville, TN$86,329
Shreveport, LA$86,320
Wilmington, NC$86,197
Roanoke, VA$86,197
Topeka, KS$86,028
Frankfort, KY$86,018
Oklahoma City, OK$85,953
Chillicothe, OH$85,915
Longview, TX$85,906
Melbourne, FL$85,896
Sioux Falls, SD$85,746
Mobile, AL$85,736
Terre Haute, IN$85,699
Altoona, PA$85,642
Amarillo, TX$85,576
Killeen, TX$85,548
Fayetteville, AR$85,473
Chattanooga, TN$85,445
Sioux City, IA$85,360
Idaho Falls, ID$85,341
Lynchburg, VA$85,266
Gainesville, FL$85,144
Portsmouth, OH$85,097
Little Rock, AR$85,078
Lafayette, LA$85,040
Youngstown, OH$85,040
Daytona Beach, FL$84,984
Clarksville, TN$84,974
Pensacola, FL$84,965
Temple, TX$84,958
Hopkinsville, KY$84,683
Erie, PA$84,664
Florence, SC$84,626
Charleston, WV$84,476
Great Falls, MT$84,429
Macon, GA$84,297
Tallahassee, FL$84,287
Fayetteville, NC$84,269
Waco, TX$84,250
Helena, MT$84,184
Pine Bluff, AR$84,148
Vincennes, IN$84,033
Lubbock, TX$83,996
Alamogordo, NM$83,939
Twin Falls, ID$83,855
Rapid City, SD$83,826
Jackson, MS$83,657
Huntington, WV$83,650
Greenville, MS$83,648
Parkersburg, WV$83,552
Montgomery, AL$83,535
Wichita Falls, TX$83,441
Springfield, MO$83,441
Biloxi, MS$83,394
Monroe, LA$83,299
Johnstown, PA$83,234
Sumter, SC$83,196
Columbus, GA$83,187
Pascagoula, MS$83,008
Abilene, TX$83,008
Kingsport, TN$82,763
Albany, GA$82,763
Gulfport, MS$82,735
Alexandria, LA$82,424
Fort Smith, AR$82,189
El Paso, TX$81,935
Las Cruces, NM$81,512
Harlingen, TX$81,273
Pocatello, ID$81,258
Florence, AL$81,135
Brownsville, TX$81,117
Mcallen, TX$80,919
Dothan, AL$80,787
Columbus, MS$80,228
Altus, OK$79,790
Lawton, OK$79,611
Pierre, SD$79,272
What Skills Can Increase a Rocket Engineer's Salary?
Demanded Skills for the Role:
Scheduling (Mentioned in 16.98% Job Postings): Scheduling is the process of arranging, controlling and optimizing work and workloads in a production process or manufacturing process.
Logistics (Mentioned in 1.92% Job Postings): In a general business sense, logistics is the management of the flow of things between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of customers or corporations.
Administrative Support (Mentioned in 1.15% Job Postings): Administrative support means technical assistance, studies, surveys, or securing volunteers to assist the department in fulfilling its administrative responsibilities.
Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay.
Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Rocket Engineer's salary.
Acute Care: Can increase your salary by up to 5%.
Flexibility: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
Sense Of Urgency: Can increase your salary by up to 3%.
Rocket Engineer Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors
For Rocket Engineer roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential
by as much as 75% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries).
Data shows that the Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 35% above the average.
In contrast, Rocket Engineer positions in Financial Services or Hospitality & Leisure typically offer lower base pay,
as these industries often view Rocket Engineer as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.
The top paying industries for a Rocket Engineer
Industry Sector
Average Annual Salary
Average Hourly Rate
Pay vs.Avg
Pharmaceuticals
$130,974
$63.0
35%
Biotechnology
$126,123
$61.0
30%
Insurance
$121,273
$58.0
25%
Energy & Utilities
$116,422
$56.0
20%
Software & Networking
$116,422
$56.0
20%
Rocket Engineer Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay
Understanding how a Rocket Engineer's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting.
Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role.
Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.
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Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?
Salary.com salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third-party data sources.
We also provide multiple percentiles of salary information for your reference, click here to know Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial to Getting Pay Equity Right.
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