Protection Engineer Salary in California
$66.6K - $77K
8% of jobs
$77K - $87.3K
6% of jobs
$87.3K - $97.7K
9% of jobs
$99.2K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$97.7K - $108.1K
22% of jobs
The median wage is $110.5K / yr.
$108.1K - $118.4K
26% of jobs
$123.8K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$118.4K - $128.8K
10% of jobs
$128.8K - $139.2K
6% of jobs
$139.2K - $149.5K
5% of jobs
$149.5K - $159.9K
5% of jobs
$159.9K - $170.2K
3% of jobs
$170.2K - $180.6K
2% of jobs
$66.6K
$111.5K
$181.6K
$116,498
/year
$56.01
/hour
Protection Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$118,044
California
California
$116,498
Do you get a good deal as a Protection Engineer?
Take The Breakroom Quiz to find out if your job offers fair pay and conditions. The 3-minute quiz lets you compare your pay, hours, benefits, and more.
Take The Breakroom Quiz
How much does a Protection Engineer make in California?
As of Aug 31, 2026, the average annual pay for a Protection Engineer in California is $116,498 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $56.01 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,240/week or $9,708/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing salaries as high as $181,591 and as low as $66,616, the majority of Protection Engineer salaries currently range between $101,200 (25th percentile) to $128,300 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $159,878 annually in California. The average pay range for a Protection Engineer varies greatly (by as much as 27100), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
California ranks number 50 out of 50 states nationwide for Protection Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Protection Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Protection Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Protection Engineer Jobs in California
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Protection Engineer job is above the average in California in California. Topping the list is Vacaville, , with Cupertino, and Berkeley, close behind in the second and third positions. Berkeley, beats the average in California by $28,039 (24.1%), and Vacaville, furthers that trend with another $32,648 (28.0%) above the $116,498 average.
With these 10 cities paying on average above the average for California, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Protection Engineer appears to be exceedingly fruitful.
Finally, another factor to consider is the average salary for these top 10 cities varies very little at 8% between Vacaville, and Santa Cruz, , 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 Protection Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Vacaville | $149,146 | $71.70 |
Cupertino | $145,636 | $70.02 |
Berkeley | $144,537 | $69.49 |
Mountain View | $139,183 | $66.91 |
Santa Clara | $138,635 | $66.65 |
Sunnyvale | $138,542 | $66.61 |
Livermore | $138,464 | $66.57 |
San Jose | $138,346 | $66.51 |
Daly City | $136,777 | $65.76 |
Santa Cruz | $136,301 | $65.53 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Protection Engineer Jobs in California
Analyzing similar jobs related to the Protection Engineer job category in California, we found 5 that were relevant. However, none pay more than the $116498 state average for Protection Engineer jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Senior Fire Protection Engineer | $117,309 | $56.40 |
Power System Protection Engineer | $116,160 | $55.85 |
Ul Engineer | $100,420 | $48.28 |
Fire Protection Design Engineer | $98,213 | $47.22 |
Fire Alarm Designer | $75,039 | $36.08 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
