Mechanical engineers

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

302k

Average Age

41.3

Estimated Job Growth

3.92%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$93,201

Average Male Salary

$93,936

Average Female Salary

$85,889

About

Mechanical engineers are most often employed by the Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing industry. The average yearly wage for Mechanical engineers was $93,201 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Mechanical engineers by wage are Biomedical & agricultural engineers, Industrial production managers, and Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists.

Mechanical 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 Mechanical engineers are Troy & Rochester Area PUMA, MI, Wayne County (Northwest) PUMA, MI, and Oakland County (Northeast) PUMA, MI. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Mechanical engineers are Troy & Rochester Area PUMA, MI, Columbus City PUMA, IN, and Oakland County (Northeast) PUMA, MI.

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

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Mechanical engineers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing is the industry that employs the most Mechanical engineers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Mechanical engineers, by average wage, is Oil & gas extraction. Mechanical engineers are paid most in Lakeside, Winter Gardens & Ramona PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Troy & Rochester Area PUMA, MI.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$93,201

AVERAGE SALARY

± $2,229

In 2020, Mechanical engineers earned an average of $93,201, $37,247 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Biomedical & agricultural engineers make somewhat more than Mechanical engineers while Industrial production managers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Mechanical engineers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.245

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Mechanical engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.245, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Mechanical 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 Mechanical engineers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Mechanical engineers

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

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Mechanical engineers, by number of employees, are Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing, Machinery manufacturing, n.e.c. or not specified, Architectural, engineering & related services, Construction, & mining & oil & gas field machinery manufacturing , Engine, turbine, & power transmission equipment manufacturing , Aircraft & parts manufacturing, Miscellaneous fabricated metal products manufacturing, Electronic component & product manufacturing, n.e.c. , Metalworking machinery manufacturing, Construction, and Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Mechanical engineers, by average wage, are Oil & gas extraction, Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals, and Real estate property managers, offices of real estate appraisers, and other activities related to real estate.

Industries by Share

302k

2020 Workforce

± 13,478

7.18%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.99%

The number of people employed as Mechanical engineers has been growing at a rate of 7.18%, from 281,755 people in 2019 to 301,972 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Mechanical engineers employed by various industries. Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing employs the largest share of Mechanical engineers at 28.8%, followed by Machinery manufacturing, n.e.c. or not specified with 13.8% and Architectural, engineering & related services with 9.2%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Mechanical engineers in the US. The average age of male Mechanical engineers in the workforce is 41.7 and of female Mechanical engineers is 37.8, and the most common race/ethnicity for Mechanical engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

274k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 12,848

27.6k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 4,078

90.9% of Mechanical engineers are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Mechanical engineers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Mechanical engineers

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

73.2% of Mechanical engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 12.2% of Mechanical engineers, Asian (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Mechanical engineers.

Age by Sex

41.7

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.613

37.8

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.77

The median age of Mechanical engineers is 41.3, and Male employees are generally 3.83 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

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

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Projections

Projections on job growth for Mechanical Engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.71%, but Mechanical Engineers are expected to see a growth of 3.92% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow more than the national average.

Job Growth

3.92%

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