Environmental engineers

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Total Workforce

31.1k

Average Age

42.4

Average Salary

$81,432

Average Male Salary

$82,145

Average Female Salary

$79,731

About

Environmental engineers are most often employed by the Architectural, engineering & related services industry. The average yearly wage for Environmental engineers was $81,432 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Environmental engineers by wage are Budget analysts, Marine engineers & naval architects, and Electrical powerline installers & repairers.

Environmental 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 Environmental engineers are . The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Environmental engineers are .

Photo by U.S. Department of the Interior

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

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Environmental engineers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Architectural, engineering & related services is the industry that employs the most Environmental engineers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Environmental engineers, by average wage, is Pulp, paper, & paperboard mills . Environmental engineers are paid most in false but are relatively concentrated in false.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$81,432

AVERAGE SALARY

± $7,761

In 2018, Environmental engineers earned an average of $81,432, $27,543 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Budget analysts make somewhat more than Environmental engineers while Marine engineers & naval architects make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Environmental engineers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.299

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Environmental engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.299, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Environmental engineers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Environmental engineers.

Spatial Concentration

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

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Environmental engineers, by number of employees, are Architectural, engineering & related services, Administration of environmental quality & housing programs, and Management, scientific & technical consulting services.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Environmental engineers, by average wage, are Pulp, paper, & paperboard mills , Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals, Construction, Industrial & miscellaneous chemicals, Administration of economic programs & space research, and Sewage treatment facilities.

Industries by Share

31.1k

2018 Workforce

± 4,327

7.25%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 18.7%

The number of people employed as Environmental engineers has been growing at a rate of 7.25%, from 28,964 people in 2017 to 31,063 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Environmental engineers employed by various industries. Architectural, engineering & related services employs the largest share of Environmental engineers at 23%, followed by Administration of environmental quality & housing programs with 14.7% and Management, scientific & technical consulting services with 10.2%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Environmental engineers in the US. The average age of male Environmental engineers in the workforce is 44.4 and of female Environmental engineers is 37.8, and the most common race/ethnicity for Environmental engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

21.9k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 3,632

9.18k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,352

70.4% of Environmental engineers are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Environmental engineers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Environmental engineers

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

65.8% of Environmental engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 15.9% of Environmental engineers, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Environmental engineers.

Age by Gender

44.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 2.46

37.8

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 3.04

The median age of Environmental engineers is 42.4, and Male employees are generally 6.58 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Environmental engineers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Environmental engineers is Engineering but a relatively high number of Environmental engineers hold a major in Natural Resources & Conservation.

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 Environmental engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Environmental engineers need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Complex Problem Solving. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Environmental engineers need more than the average amount of Science, Technology Design, and Programming.