Aerospace engineers

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

132k

Average Age

43.7

Estimated Job Growth

2.71%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$115,040

Average Male Salary

$116,848

Average Female Salary

$103,007

About

Aerospace engineers are most often employed by the Aircraft & parts manufacturing industry. The average yearly wage for Aerospace engineers was $115,040 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Aerospace engineers by wage are Computer hardware engineers, Chemical engineers, and Sales managers.

Aerospace engineers are part of the Architecture & engineering occupations, along with Architects, except landscape and naval, Landscape architects, Surveyors, cartographers, & photogrammetrists, Aerospace engineers, Chemical engineers, and 16 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Aerospace engineers are Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach Cities PUMA, CA, Mukilteo & Everett (Southwest) Cities PUMA, WA, and St. Mary's & Calvert Counties PUMA, MD. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Aerospace engineers are Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach Cities PUMA, CA, Beaches & Merritt Island PUMA, FL, and Lancaster City PUMA, CA.

Photo by U.S. Pacific Fleet

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

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Aerospace engineers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Aircraft & parts manufacturing is the industry that employs the most Aerospace engineers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Aerospace engineers, by average wage, is Employment services. Aerospace engineers are paid most in Orlando (North), Winter Park & Maitland Cities PUMA, FL but are relatively concentrated in Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach Cities PUMA, CA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$115,040

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,034

In 2020, Aerospace engineers earned an average of $115,040, $59,086 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Sales managers make somewhat more than Aerospace engineers while Computer hardware engineers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Aerospace engineers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.245

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Aerospace engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.245, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Aerospace engineers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Aerospace engineers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Aerospace engineers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Aerospace engineers.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Aerospace engineers, by number of employees, are Aircraft & parts manufacturing, Aerospace products & parts manufacturing, Architectural, engineering & related services, National security & international affairs, Air transportation, Administration of economic programs & space research, Scientific research & development services, Navigational, measuring, electromedical, & control instruments manufacturing, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, and Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Aerospace engineers, by average wage, are Employment services, Administration of economic programs & space research, and Aircraft & parts manufacturing.

Industries by Share

132k

2020 Workforce

± 8,921

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 9.48%

The number of people employed as Aerospace engineers has been growing at a rate of 1%, from 130,839 people in 2019 to 132,147 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Aerospace engineers employed by various industries. Aircraft & parts manufacturing employs the largest share of Aerospace engineers at 76%, followed by Aerospace products & parts manufacturing with 8.25% and Architectural, engineering & related services with 4.24%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Aerospace engineers in the US. The average age of male Aerospace engineers in the workforce is 44.3 and of female Aerospace engineers is 39.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Aerospace engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

115k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 8,318

17.3k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 3,225

86.9% of Aerospace engineers are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Aerospace engineers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Aerospace engineers

White (Non-Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

70.3% of Aerospace engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 12.3% of Aerospace engineers, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Aerospace engineers.

Age by Sex

44.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.978

39.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.25

The median age of Aerospace engineers is 43.7, and Male employees are generally 4.54 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Aerospace engineers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Aerospace engineers is Engineering but a relatively high number of Aerospace engineers hold a major in Engineering.

Majors

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

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Aerospace engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Aerospace engineers need many skills, but most especially Science, Reading Comprehension, and Operations Analysis. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Aerospace engineers need more than the average amount of Science, Technology Design, and Operations Analysis.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Aerospace Engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Aerospace Engineers are expected to see a growth of 2.71% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

2.71%

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 Aerospace Engineers. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.71%, the average rate of national job growth.