Aerospace engineers

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Total Workforce

133k

Average Age

43.4

Average Salary

$109,346

Average Male Salary

$112,144

Average Female Salary

$93,781

About

Aerospace engineers are most often employed by the Aircraft & parts manufacturing industry. The average yearly wage for Aerospace engineers was $109,346 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Aerospace engineers by wage are Financial managers, Magnetic resonance imaging technologists, and Veterinarians.

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 Broomfield, Jefferson (Northeast), Adams (Northwest) & Boulder (Southeast) Counties PUMA, CO, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach Cities PUMA, CA, and Bothell (North), Mill Creek Cities & Silver Firs PUMA, WA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Aerospace engineers are Beaches & Merritt Island PUMA, FL, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach Cities PUMA, CA, and Bothell (North), Mill Creek Cities & Silver Firs PUMA, WA.

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 Aircraft & parts manufacturing. Aerospace engineers are paid most in Snoqualmie City, Cottage Lake, Union Hill & Novelty Hill PUMA, WA but are relatively concentrated in Beaches & Merritt Island PUMA, FL.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$109,346

AVERAGE SALARY

± $4,121

In 2018, Aerospace engineers earned an average of $109,346, $55,458 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

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

Wage Distribution

0.263

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Aerospace engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.263, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. 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, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

Highest Paying

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

Industries by Share

133k

2018 Workforce

± 8,950

-0.359%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 9.54%

The number of people employed as Aerospace engineers has been declining at a rate of -0.359%, from 133,476 people in 2017 to 132,997 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Aerospace engineers employed by various industries. Aircraft & parts manufacturing employs the largest share of Aerospace engineers at 79.6%, followed by Aerospace products & parts manufacturing with 6.45% and Architectural, engineering & related services with 3.86%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Aerospace engineers in the US. The average age of male Aerospace engineers in the workforce is 44 and of female Aerospace engineers is 40.3, and the most common race/ethnicity for Aerospace engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

113k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 8,240

20.3k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 3,495

84.8% of Aerospace engineers are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Aerospace engineers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Aerospace engineers

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

69.4% of Aerospace engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 15% 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 Gender

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.982

40.3

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.14

The median age of Aerospace engineers is 43.4, and Male employees are generally 3.68 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 degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors 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.