Aircraft Design Engineer Salary
$120K - $125K
7% of jobs
$125K - $130K
7% of jobs
$130K - $135K
8% of jobs
$137.5K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$135K - $140K
7% of jobs
$140K - $145K
7% of jobs
$145K - $150K
7% of jobs
$150K - $155K
7% of jobs
The median wage is $155.2K / yr.
$155K - $160K
8% of jobs
$164.5K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$160K - $165K
19% of jobs
$165K - $170K
16% of jobs
$170K - $175K
7% of jobs
$120K
$157.5K
$176K
$152,999
/year
$73.56
/hour
Aircraft Design Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$152,999
Columbus
Ohio
$147,782
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How much does an Aircraft Design Engineer make?
As of Aug 19, 2026, the average annual pay for an Aircraft Design Engineer in the United States is $152,999 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $73.56 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,942/week or $12,749/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $176,000 and as low as $120,000, the majority of Aircraft Design Engineer salaries currently range between $138,500 (25th percentile) to $166,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $172,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for an Aircraft Design Engineer varies little (about 28000), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.
An Aircraft Design Engineer in your area makes on average $147,782 per year, or $5,217 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $152,999. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Aircraft Design Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Aircraft Design Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as an Aircraft Design Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Aircraft Design Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for an Aircraft Design Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Nome, AK, , with Berkeley, CA, and Sitka, AK, close behind in the second and third positions. Sitka, AK, beats the national average by $31,316 (20.5%), and Nome, AK, furthers that trend with another $36,796 (24.0%) above the $152,999 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as an Aircraft Design Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 6% between Nome, AK, and Waimea, HI, , reinforcing the limited potential for much wage advancement. The possibility of a lower cost of living may be the best factor to use when considering location and salary for an Aircraft Design Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Nome, AK | $189,795 | $91.25 |
Berkeley, CA | $187,339 | $90.07 |
Sitka, AK | $184,315 | $88.61 |
San Francisco, CA | $180,260 | $86.66 |
Palo Alto, CA | $179,854 | $86.47 |
San Jose, CA | $179,790 | $86.44 |
Santa Clara, CA | $179,688 | $86.39 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $179,568 | $86.33 |
Livermore, CA | $179,466 | $86.28 |
Waimea, HI | $178,449 | $85.79 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Aircraft Design Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Aircraft Design Engineer job category, we found that Design Developer jobs have average salaries similar than Aircraft Design Engineer jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Design Developer | $129,348 | $62.19 |
Senior Stress Engineer | $126,557 | $60.84 |
Senior Process Engineer | $121,116 | $58.23 |
Technical Design Engineer | $120,062 | $57.72 |
Cad Cam Engineer | $93,130 | $44.77 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
