Mechanical engineers

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Total Workforce

289k

Average Age

41.1

Average Salary

$87,560

Average Male Salary

$88,680

Average Female Salary

$76,611

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Mechanical engineers are most often employed by the Motor vehicles & motor vehicle equipment manufacturing industry. The average yearly wage for Mechanical engineers was $87,560 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Mechanical engineers by wage are Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel, Credit analysts, and Firstline supervisors of police & detectives.

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 (Central) PUMA, MI. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Mechanical engineers are Troy & Rochester Area PUMA, MI, Oakland County (Central) PUMA, MI, and Oakland County (Northeast) 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 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 Petroleum refining. Mechanical engineers are paid most in Washtenaw County (West, Northeast & Southeast) PUMA, MI but are relatively concentrated in Troy & Rochester Area PUMA, MI.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$87,560

AVERAGE SALARY

± $2,112

In 2018, Mechanical engineers earned an average of $87,560, $33,672 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel make somewhat more than Mechanical engineers while Credit analysts make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Mechanical engineers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.251

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Mechanical engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.251, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Mechanical 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 Mechanical engineers.

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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.

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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, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Mechanical engineers, by average wage, are Petroleum refining, Aerospace products & parts manufacturing, Hospitals, Coating, engraving, heat treating & allied activities , Other transportation equipment manufacturing, and Oil & gas extraction.

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Industries by Share

289k

2018 Workforce

± 13,189

10.9%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.97%

The number of people employed as Mechanical engineers has been growing at a rate of 10.9%, from 260,664 people in 2017 to 289,149 people in 2018.

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 33.7%, followed by Machinery manufacturing, n.e.c. or not specified with 14.4% and Architectural, engineering & related services with 7.72%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Mechanical engineers in the US. The average age of male Mechanical engineers in the workforce is 41.3 and of female Mechanical engineers is 38.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Mechanical engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

262k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 12,564

26.8k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 4,021

90.7% of Mechanical engineers are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Mechanical engineers.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Mechanical engineers

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

75.4% of Mechanical engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.8% 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.

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Age by Gender

41.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.63

38.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.95

The median age of Mechanical engineers is 41.1, and Male employees are generally 2.4 years older than than their Female counterparts.

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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

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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 Installation.