Materials Engineer
Materials Engineer Salary
$38K - $49K
3% of jobs
$49K - $60K
2% of jobs
$60K - $71K
9% of jobs
$79.2K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$71K - $82K
15% of jobs
$82K - $93K
19% of jobs
The median wage is $94.4K / yr.
$93K - $104K
14% of jobs
$114.9K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$104K - $115K
13% of jobs
$115K - $126K
11% of jobs
$126K - $137K
6% of jobs
$137K - $148K
5% of jobs
$148K - $159K
3% of jobs
$38K
$96K
$158K
$100,738
/year
$48.43
/hour
Materials Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$100,738
Columbus
Ohio
$97,303
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How much does a Materials Engineer make?
As of Aug 25, 2026, the average annual pay for a Materials Engineer in the United States is $100,738 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $48.43 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,937/week or $8,394/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $158,000 and as low as $38,000, the majority of Materials Engineer salaries currently range between $80,000 (25th percentile) to $116,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $141,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Materials Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 36500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Materials Engineer in your area makes on average $97,303 per year, or $3,435 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $100,738. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Materials Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Materials Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Materials Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Materials Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Materials Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Redwood City, CA, , with Pennington County, SD, and Nome, AK, close behind in the second and third positions. Nome, AK, beats the national average by $24,227 (24.0%), and Redwood City, CA, furthers that trend with another $29,886 (29.7%) above the $100,738 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Materials Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 9% between Redwood City, CA, and San Francisco Bay Area, 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 Materials Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Redwood City, CA | $130,624 | $62.80 |
Pennington County, SD | $126,498 | $60.82 |
Nome, AK | $124,965 | $60.08 |
Cupertino, CA | $124,285 | $59.75 |
Mercer Island, WA | $123,377 | $59.32 |
San Carlos, CA | $121,640 | $58.48 |
Sitka, AK | $121,357 | $58.34 |
Glendale, RI | $119,944 | $57.67 |
Menlo Park, CA | $118,715 | $57.07 |
San Francisco Bay Area, CA | $118,687 | $57.06 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Materials Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Materials Engineer category.
For example Engineering Coop jobs pay as much as $46,130 (45.8%) more than the average Materials Engineer salary of $100,738. If you're qualified, finding work as a Engineering Coop may help you make more money than that of the average Materials Engineer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Engineering Coop | $146,868 | $70.61 |
Forensic Electrical Engineer | $128,375 | $61.72 |
Structural Design Engineer | $102,774 | $49.41 |
Graduate Engineer | $72,591 | $34.90 |
Engineering Drafting | $52,344 | $25.17 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
