Aerospace engineers

Add Comparison

2019 Workforce

134k

Average Age

43.9

Estimated Job Growth

6.03%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$116,005

Average Male Salary

$116,818

Average Female Salary

$109,994

About

Aerospace engineers are most often employed by the Aircraft & parts manufacturing industry. The average yearly wage for Aerospace engineers was $116,005 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Aerospace engineers by wage are Optometrists, Physician assistants, and Software developers.

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 Seattle City (Northwest) PUMA, WA, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach Cities PUMA, CA, and Wichita (Northwest) & Newton Cities PUMA, KS. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Aerospace engineers are Manchester & East Hartford Towns PUMA, CT, Lancaster City PUMA, CA, and Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach & Hermosa Beach Cities 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 Management, scientific & technical consulting services. Aerospace engineers are paid most in Snoqualmie City, Cottage Lake, Union Hill & Novelty Hill PUMA, WA but are relatively concentrated in Manchester & East Hartford Towns PUMA, CT.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$116,005

AVERAGE SALARY

± $3,987

In 2019, Aerospace engineers earned an average of $116,005, $60,482 more than than the average national salary of $55,524.

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

Wage Distribution

0.248

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Aerospace engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.248, 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, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

Highest Paying

Industries by Share

134k

2019 Workforce

± 8,990

0.898%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 9.41%

The number of people employed as Aerospace engineers has been growing at a rate of 0.898%, from 132,997 people in 2018 to 134,191 people in 2019.

This graphic shows the share of Aerospace engineers employed by various industries. Aircraft & parts manufacturing employs the largest share of Aerospace engineers at 76.8%, followed by Aerospace products & parts manufacturing with 6.72% and Architectural, engineering & related services with 5.88%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Aerospace engineers in the US. The average age of male Aerospace engineers in the workforce is 44.5 and of female Aerospace engineers is 39.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Aerospace engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

118k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 8,438

16k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 3,104

88.1% 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)

71.9% of Aerospace engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.3% 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 Gender

44.5

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.969

39.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.39

The median age of Aerospace engineers is 43.9, and Male employees are generally 5.05 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 Mechanical Technologies.

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

Growth Projections

Projections on wages and job growth for Aerospace engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ten-year national workforce is projected to grow 6.85%, but Aerospace engineers are expected to see a growth of 6.03% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow slower than the national average.

Job Growth

6.03%

ESTIMATED GROWTH

6.85%

NATIONAL AVERAGE

This line chart shows the 10-year projected employment growth (from 2018 to 2028) for Aerospace engineers. This profession is expected to grow lower than 6.85%, the average rate of national job growth.