Ocean Engineer Salary
$26K - $37K
6% of jobs
$37K - $48K
13% of jobs
$54.4K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$48K - $59K
10% of jobs
$59K - $70K
15% of jobs
The median wage is $72.2K / yr.
$70K - $81K
31% of jobs
$81K - $92K
9% of jobs
$92K - $103K
4% of jobs
$103K - $114K
4% of jobs
$114K - $125K
3% of jobs
$125K - $136K
3% of jobs
$136K - $147K
2% of jobs
$26K
$75K
$147K
$76,684
/year
$36.87
/hour
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How much does an Ocean Engineer make?
As of Aug 13, 2026, the average annual pay for an Ocean Engineer in the United States is $76,684 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $36.87 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,474/week or $6,390/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $147,000 and as low as $26,000, the majority of Ocean Engineer salaries currently range between $53,500 (25th percentile) to $81,500 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $122,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for an Ocean 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 Ocean Engineer in your area makes on average $0 per year, or $76,684 (100.000%) less than the national average annual salary of $76,684. Ohio ranks number 28 out of 50 states nationwide for Ocean Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Ocean Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as an Ocean Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Ocean Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for an Ocean Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is San Mateo, CA, , with San Francisco, CA, and Sunnyvale, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Sunnyvale, CA, beats the national average by $10,779 (14.1%), and San Mateo, CA, furthers that trend with another $11,702 (15.3%) above the $76,684 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as an Ocean Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 5% between San Mateo, CA, and Manhattan, NY, , 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 Ocean Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
San Mateo, CA | $88,386 | $42.49 |
San Francisco, CA | $88,230 | $42.42 |
Sunnyvale, CA | $87,463 | $42.05 |
Santa Clara, CA | $87,069 | $41.86 |
Fremont, CA | $86,812 | $41.74 |
Berkeley, CA | $85,657 | $41.18 |
Livermore, CA | $85,212 | $40.97 |
Barnstable Town, MA | $85,066 | $40.90 |
Kentville, NS | $84,486 | $40.62 |
Manhattan, NY | $84,024 | $40.40 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Ocean Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
We found a few related jobs that pay more than jobs in the Ocean Engineer category.
For example Marine Architect jobs pay as much as $52,072 (67.9%) more than the average Ocean Engineer salary of $76,684. If you're qualified, finding work as an Marine Architect may help you make more money than that of the average Ocean Engineer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Marine Architect | $128,756 | $61.90 |
Senior Naval Architect | $123,935 | $59.58 |
Graduate Computer Engineer | $121,515 | $58.42 |
Underwater Engineer | $94,629 | $45.49 |
Assistant Petroleum Engineer | $88,754 | $42.67 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
