Civil engineers

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

388k

Average Age

41.8

Estimated Job Growth

1.67%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$96,311

Average Male Salary

$99,342

Average Female Salary

$80,078

About

Civil engineers are most often employed by the Architectural, engineering & related services industry. The average yearly wage for Civil engineers was $96,311 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Civil engineers by wage are Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers, Marine engineers & naval architects, and Financial examiners.

Civil 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 Civil engineers are Mount Pleasant Town PUMA, SC, Katy City (Northeast) PUMA, TX, and Queen Anne & Magnolia PUMA, WA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Civil engineers are Mount Pleasant Town PUMA, SC, Huntsville (North) & Madison (East) Cities PUMA, AL, and Mission Bend (Southwest), Cinco Ranch & Four Corners PUMA, TX.

Photo by Kristoffer Trolle

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

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Civil engineers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Architectural, engineering & related services is the industry that employs the most Civil engineers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Civil engineers, by average wage, is Petroleum refining. Civil engineers are paid most in Hackensack & Englewood (West) Cities PUMA, NJ but are relatively concentrated in Mount Pleasant Town PUMA, SC.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$96,311

AVERAGE SALARY

± $2,516

In 2020, Civil engineers earned an average of $96,311, $40,357 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Financial examiners make somewhat more than Civil engineers while Power plant operators, distributors, & dispatchers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Civil engineers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.295

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Civil engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.295, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Civil 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 Civil engineers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Civil engineers

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

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Civil engineers, by number of employees, are Architectural, engineering & related services, Construction, Administration of economic programs & space research, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, Administration of environmental quality & housing programs, Bus service & urban transit, National security & international affairs, U. S. Air Force, Aircraft & parts manufacturing, and U. S. Army.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Civil engineers, by average wage, are Petroleum refining, Management of companies & enterprises, and Electronic component & product manufacturing, n.e.c. .

Industries by Share

388k

2020 Workforce

± 15,276

7.74%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.26%

The number of people employed as Civil engineers has been growing at a rate of 7.74%, from 360,284 people in 2019 to 388,171 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Civil engineers employed by various industries. Architectural, engineering & related services employs the largest share of Civil engineers at 59%, followed by Construction with 24% and Administration of economic programs & space research with 3.09%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Civil engineers in the US. The average age of male Civil engineers in the workforce is 42.8 and of female Civil engineers is 36.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Civil engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

327k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 14,026

61.1k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 6,067

84.3% of Civil engineers are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Civil engineers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Civil engineers

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

72.2% of Civil engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 10.8% of Civil engineers, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Civil engineers.

Age by Sex

42.8

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.598

36.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.18

The median age of Civil engineers is 41.8, and Male employees are generally 6.07 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Civil engineers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Civil engineers is Engineering but a relatively high number of Civil 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 Civil engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Civil engineers need many skills, but most especially Complex Problem Solving. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Civil engineers need more than the average amount of Technology Design, Science, and Programming.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Civil Engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Civil Engineers are expected to see a growth of 1.67% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

1.67%

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