Chemical engineers

Detailed Occupation

Add Comparison

2020 Workforce

68.5k

Average Age

40.1

Estimated Job Growth

4.29%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$113,571

Average Male Salary

$116,176

Average Female Salary

$102,652

About

Chemical engineers are most often employed by the Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals industry. The average yearly wage for Chemical engineers was $113,571 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Chemical engineers by wage are Computer hardware engineers, Physician assistants, 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, Mission Bend (Southwest), Cinco Ranch & Four Corners PUMA, TX, and Brazoria County (North)Pearland City PUMA, TX. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Chemical engineers are Brazoria County (North)Pearland City PUMA, TX, Mission Bend (Southwest), Cinco Ranch & Four Corners PUMA, TX, and South of I-10 & Inside Loop I-610 PUMA, TX.

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

Employment

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 Oil & gas extraction. Chemical engineers are paid most in Tomball City & The Woodlands (Southwest) PUMA, TX but are relatively concentrated in Brazoria County (North)Pearland City PUMA, TX.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$113,571

AVERAGE SALARY

± $6,744

In 2020, Chemical engineers earned an average of $113,571, $57,617 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

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

Wage Distribution

0.286

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Chemical engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.286, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Chemical 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 Chemical engineers.

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.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Chemical engineers, by number of employees, are Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals, Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing, Petroleum refining, Resin, synthetic rubber, & fibers & filaments manufacturing , Soap, cleaning compound, & cosmetics manufacturing , Architectural, engineering & related services, Tire manufacturing, Scientific research & development services, Paint, coating, & adhesive manufacturing , Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products, and Plastics product manufacturing.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Chemical engineers, by average wage, are Oil & gas extraction, Petroleum refining, and Computer Systems Design.

Industries by Share

68.5k

2020 Workforce

± 6,424

2.82%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 13%

The number of people employed as Chemical engineers has been growing at a rate of 2.82%, from 66,610 people in 2019 to 68,486 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Chemical engineers employed by various industries. Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals employs the largest share of Chemical engineers at 34.4%, followed by Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing with 18.5% and Petroleum refining with 12.8%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Chemical engineers in the US. The average age of male Chemical engineers in the workforce is 41.3 and of female Chemical engineers is 35.1, and the most common race/ethnicity for Chemical engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

55.3k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 5,772

13.2k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,820

80.7% of Chemical engineers are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Chemical engineers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Chemical engineers

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

71.4% of Chemical engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 13.6% 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.

Age by Sex

41.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.37

35.1

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.28

The median age of Chemical engineers is 40.1, and Male employees are generally 6.19 years older than than their Female counterparts.

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

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.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Chemical Engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Chemical Engineers are expected to see a growth of 4.29% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow more than the national average.

Job Growth

4.29%

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