Design Engineer I Salary
$40.5K - $51K
3% of jobs
$51K - $61.5K
11% of jobs
$66.6K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$61.5K - $72K
23% of jobs
The median wage is $78.6K / yr.
$72K - $82.5K
21% of jobs
$82.5K - $93K
16% of jobs
$93.7K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$93K - $103.5K
9% of jobs
$103.5K - $114K
6% of jobs
$114K - $124.5K
3% of jobs
$124.5K - $135K
3% of jobs
$135K - $145.5K
3% of jobs
$145.5K - $156K
1% of jobs
$40.5K
$80K
$158K
$88,150
/year
$42.38
/hour
Design Engineer I Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$88,150
Columbus
Ohio
$85,144
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How much does a Design Engineer I make?
As of Aug 4, 2026, the average annual pay for a Design Engineer I in the United States is $88,150 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $42.38 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,695/week or $7,345/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $158,000 and as low as $40,500, the majority of Design Engineer I salaries currently range between $68,000 (25th percentile) to $98,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $133,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Design Engineer I varies greatly (by as much as 30500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Design Engineer I in your area makes on average $85,144 per year, or $3,006 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $88,150. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Design Engineer I salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Design Engineer I jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Design Engineer I on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Design Engineer I Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Design Engineer I job is above the national average. Topping the list is Kirkland, WA, , with Nome, AK, and Cupertino, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Cupertino, CA, beats the national average by $20,604 (23.4%), and Kirkland, WA, furthers that trend with another $23,818 (27.0%) above the $88,150 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Design Engineer I appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 7% between Kirkland, WA, 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 a Design Engineer I role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Kirkland, WA | $111,968 | $53.83 |
Nome, AK | $109,349 | $52.57 |
Cupertino, CA | $108,754 | $52.29 |
Sitka, AK | $106,192 | $51.05 |
Rayville, LA | $105,232 | $50.59 |
Wyoming, WY | $105,129 | $50.54 |
Andover, MA | $104,738 | $50.35 |
San Francisco, CA | $103,855 | $49.93 |
Santa Clara, CA | $103,526 | $49.77 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $103,457 | $49.74 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Design Engineer I Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Design Engineer I category.
For example Aerospace Research Engineer jobs pay as much as $17,862 (20.3%) more than the average Design Engineer I salary of $88,150. If you're qualified, finding work as a Aerospace Research Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Design Engineer I position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Aerospace Research Engineer | $106,012 | $50.97 |
Site Engineer | $104,617 | $50.30 |
Autocad Design Engineer | $88,150 | $42.38 |
Associate Project Engineer | $82,636 | $39.73 |
Engineer Programmer | $80,664 | $38.78 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
