Registered Professional Engineer Salary in the United States

How much does a Registered Professional Engineer make in the United States?

As of September 01, 2026, the average salary for a Registered Professional Engineer in the United States is $76,991 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $37.

However, a Registered Professional Engineer's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $90,610
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $69,663 to $84,119
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $62,992

Key Factors That Influence Registered Professional Engineer Salaries

A Registered Professional 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 and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Registered Professional Engineer Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Registered Professional 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:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $63,271
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $77,500
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $93,926
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $128,845
  • Expert (over 8 years): $156,394
Levels Salary
Motion Gr... Level Registered Professional Engineer$63,271
Registere... Level Registered Professional Engineer$77,500
Motion Gr... Level Registered Professional Engineer$93,926
Motion Gr... Level Registered Professional Engineer$128,845
Motion Gr... Level Registered Professional Engineer$156,394

How Do Registered Professional Engineer Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Registered Professional Engineers. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $85,244.
  • California: $84,921.
  • Massachusetts: $83,789.

Top Paying Cities for Registered Professional Engineers

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: $97,108
  • San Francisco: $96,045
  • Oakland: $94,021

What Skills Can Increase a Registered Professional Engineer's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Presentation (Mentioned in 2.02% Job Postings): Presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product.
  • Typography (Mentioned in 2.5% Job Postings): Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing (leading), and letter-spacing (tracking), and adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning). The term typography is also applied to the style, arrangement, and appearance of the letters, numbers, and symbols created by the process. Type design is a closely related craft, sometimes considered part of typography; most typographers do not design typefaces, and some type designers do not consider themselves typographers. Typography also may be used as a decorative device, unrelated to communication of information. Typography is the work of typesetters (also known as compositors), typographers, graphic designers, art directors, manga artists, comic book artists, graffiti artists, and, now, anyone who arranges words, letters, numbers, and symbols for publication, display, or distribution, from clerical workers and newsletter writers to anyone self-publishing materials. Until the Digital Age, typography was a specialized occupation. Digitization opened up typography to new generations of previously unrelated designers and lay users. As the capability to create typography has become ubiquitous, the application of principles and best practices developed over generations of skilled workers and professionals has diminished. So at a time when scientific techniques can support the proven traditions (e.g., greater legibility with the use of serifs, upper and lower case, contrast, etc.) through understanding the limitations of human vision, typography as often encountered may fail to achieve its principal objective: effective communication.
  • Illustration (Mentioned in 1.66% Job Postings): Using creative artwork to explain or depict a particular meaning to come across the viewer's mind.
Skills Demand Percentage
Presentation 2.02%
Typography 2.5%
Illustration 1.66%

What skills can make your compensation higher?

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 Registered Professional Engineer's salary.

  • Hard Working: Can increase your salary by up to 6%.
  • UI: Can increase your salary by up to 5%.
  • Game Engines: Can increase your salary by up to 4%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Hard Working $81,610
6%
UI $80,840
5%
Game Engines $80,070
4%

Registered Professional Engineer Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Registered Professional Engineer roles, the industry you choose can affect earning potential by as much as 70% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the Biotechnology and Energy & Utilities sectors offer the strongest compensation, at 25% above the average. In contrast, Registered Professional Engineer positions in Transportation or Hospitality & Leisure typically offer lower base pay, as these industries often view Registered Professional Engineer as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industries for a Registered Professional Engineer

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Biotechnology$96,238$46.025%
Energy & Utilities$92,389$44.020%
Pharmaceuticals$92,389$44.020%
Healthcare$88,539$43.015%
Aerospace & Defense$84,690$41.010%

Registered Professional Engineer Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Registered Professional 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.

Last Updated on September 01, 2026
$69,663
Average $76,991/year
$84,119
$5,805
Average $6,416/month
$7,010
$1,340
Average $1,481/week
$1,618
$33
Average $37/hour
$40
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $84,119 $7,010 $1,618 $40
Average $76,991 $6,416 $1,481 $37
25th Percentile $69,663 $5,805 $1,340 $33

Most common benefits for Registered Professional Engineer

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Registered Professional Engineer

Here are companies hiring for Registered Professional Engineer and their salaries, click below for more details.

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FAQ about Registered Professional Engineer

1. What industry pays the highest salary for Registered Professional Engineer?

The Biotechnology industry offers the highest average compensation for Registered Professional Engineer roles, with salaries approximately 25% above the market median.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

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