Automotive Test Engineer Salary
$37K - $47.5K
8% of jobs
$47.5K - $58K
5% of jobs
$68.4K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$58K - $68.5K
11% of jobs
$68.5K - $79K
15% of jobs
The median wage is $85.4K / yr.
$79K - $89.5K
17% of jobs
$89.5K - $100K
14% of jobs
$103.8K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$100K - $110.5K
11% of jobs
$110.5K - $121K
8% of jobs
$121K - $131.5K
5% of jobs
$131.5K - $142K
3% of jobs
$142K - $152.5K
2% of jobs
$37K
$87K
$155K
$92,027
/year
$44.24
/hour
Automotive Test Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$92,027
Columbus
Ohio
$88,889
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How much does an Automotive Test Engineer make?
As of Aug 13, 2026, the average annual pay for an Automotive Test Engineer in the United States is $92,027 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $44.24 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,769/week or $7,668/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $155,000 and as low as $37,000, the majority of Automotive Test Engineer salaries currently range between $69,500 (25th percentile) to $109,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $133,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for an Automotive Test Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 39500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
An Automotive Test Engineer in your area makes on average $88,889 per year, or $3,138 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $92,027. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Automotive Test Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Automotive Test Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as an Automotive Test Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Automotive Test Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for an Automotive Test Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Pennington County, SD, , with Cupertino, CA, and Sitka, AK, close behind in the second and third positions. Sitka, AK, beats the national average by $18,836 (20.5%), and Pennington County, SD, furthers that trend with another $22,890 (24.9%) above the $92,027 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as an Automotive Test 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 Pennington County, SD, and Sunnyvale, CA, , 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 Automotive Test Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Pennington County, SD | $114,917 | $55.25 |
Cupertino, CA | $113,538 | $54.59 |
Sitka, AK | $110,863 | $53.30 |
Louisville, NE | $110,610 | $53.18 |
Wyoming, WY | $109,754 | $52.77 |
Santa Clara, CA | $108,682 | $52.25 |
Mountain View, CA | $108,562 | $52.19 |
Livermore, CA | $107,947 | $51.90 |
San Jose, CA | $107,855 | $51.85 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $107,410 | $51.64 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Automotive Test Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Automotive Test Engineer category.
For example Cognizant System Engineer jobs pay as much as $35,188 (38.2%) more than the average Automotive Test Engineer salary of $92,027. If you're qualified, finding work as an Cognizant System Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Automotive Test Engineer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Cognizant System Engineer | $127,215 | $61.16 |
Lead Software Test Engineer | $125,264 | $60.22 |
Sr Test Engineer | $118,516 | $56.98 |
Mechatronics Engineering | $90,511 | $43.51 |
Product Test Engineer | $76,106 | $36.59 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
