Chemical engineers

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Total Workforce

63.7k

Average Age

40.8

Average Salary

$107,571

Average Male Salary

$111,052

Average Female Salary

$92,120

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Chemical engineers are most often employed by the Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals industry. The average yearly wage for Chemical engineers was $107,571 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Chemical engineers by wage are Veterinarians, Geoscientists and hydrologists, except geographers, and Aerospace engineers.

Chemical 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 Chemical engineers are South of I-10 & Inside Loop I-610 PUMA, TX, Bay & Midland Counties PUMA, MI, and New Orleans City (South) PUMA, LA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Chemical engineers are New Orleans City (South) PUMA, LA, East Baton Rouge Parish (South) PUMA, LA, and Bay & Midland Counties PUMA, MI.

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

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Chemical engineers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals is the industry that employs the most Chemical engineers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Chemical engineers, by average wage, is Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products. Chemical engineers are paid most in South of I-10 & Inside Loop I-610 PUMA, TX but are relatively concentrated in New Orleans City (South) PUMA, LA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$107,571

AVERAGE SALARY

± $6,586

In 2018, Chemical engineers earned an average of $107,571, $53,682 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Veterinarians make somewhat more than Chemical engineers while Geoscientists and hydrologists, except geographers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Chemical engineers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.295

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Chemical engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.295, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Chemical engineers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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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 Chemical engineers.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Chemical engineers

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

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Chemical engineers, by number of employees, are Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals, Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, and Petroleum refining.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Chemical engineers, by average wage, are Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products, Scientific research & development services, Petroleum refining, Petroleum refining, Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

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Industries by Share

63.7k

2018 Workforce

± 6,198

8.01%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 13%

The number of people employed as Chemical engineers has been growing at a rate of 8.01%, from 59,021 people in 2017 to 63,749 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Chemical engineers employed by various industries. Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals employs the largest share of Chemical engineers at 34.1%, followed by Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing with 20.5% and Petroleum refining with 14.2%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Chemical engineers in the US. The average age of male Chemical engineers in the workforce is 42 and of female Chemical engineers is 35.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Chemical engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

52k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,599

11.7k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,658

81.6% of Chemical engineers are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Chemical engineers.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Chemical engineers

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

78.3% of Chemical engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 13% of Chemical engineers, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Chemical engineers.

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Age by Gender

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.44

35.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.68

The median age of Chemical engineers is 40.8, and Male employees are generally 6.6 years older than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

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

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Skills

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