Research And Development Engineer
Research And Development Engineer Salary
$20K - $32K
1% of jobs
$32K - $44K
2% of jobs
$44K - $56K
4% of jobs
$56K - $68K
9% of jobs
$76.4K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$68K - $80K
13% of jobs
The median wage is $91.7K / yr.
$80K - $92K
22% of jobs
$92K - $104K
16% of jobs
$113.1K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$104K - $116K
11% of jobs
$116K - $128K
12% of jobs
$128K - $140K
6% of jobs
$140K - $152K
5% of jobs
$20K
$92.5K
$151K
$96,571
/year
$46.43
/hour
Research And Development Engineer Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$96,571
Columbus
Ohio
$93,278
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How much does a Research And Development Engineer make?
As of Jul 26, 2026, the average annual pay for a Research And Development Engineer in the United States is $96,571 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $46.43 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,857/week or $8,047/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $151,000 and as low as $20,000, the majority of Research And Development Engineer salaries currently range between $77,500 (25th percentile) to $117,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $138,500 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Research And Development 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.
A Research And Development Engineer in your area makes on average $93,278 per year, or $3,293 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $96,571. Ohio ranks number 31 out of 50 states nationwide for Research And Development Engineer salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Research And Development Engineer jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Research And Development Engineer on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Research And Development Engineer Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Research And Development Engineer job is above the national average. Topping the list is Nome, AK, , with Berkeley, CA, and Redwood City, CA, close behind in the second and third positions. Redwood City, CA, beats the national average by $21,666 (22.4%), and Nome, AK, furthers that trend with another $23,225 (24.0%) above the $96,571 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Research And Development 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 Nome, AK, and Santa Clara, 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 Research And Development Engineer role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Nome, AK | $119,796 | $57.59 |
Berkeley, CA | $118,245 | $56.85 |
Redwood City, CA | $118,237 | $56.84 |
Sitka, AK | $116,337 | $55.93 |
Pennington County, SD | $114,321 | $54.96 |
Mountain View, CA | $113,923 | $54.77 |
San Francisco, CA | $113,777 | $54.70 |
Stanford, CA | $113,613 | $54.62 |
Palo Alto, CA | $113,521 | $54.58 |
Santa Clara, CA | $113,416 | $54.53 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Research And Development Engineer Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Research And Development Engineer job category, we found that Proposals Engineer jobs have average salaries greater than Research And Development Engineer jobs.
Significantly, Proposals Engineer jobs pay $17,891 (18.5%) more than the average Research And Development Engineer salary of $96,571. If you're qualified, finding work as a Proposals Engineer may help you make more money than that of the average Research And Development Engineer position.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Proposals Engineer | $114,462 | $55.03 |
Project Engineer I | $90,644 | $43.58 |
Mechanical Process Engineer | $87,962 | $42.29 |
Engineer Programmer | $80,664 | $38.78 |
Graduate Engineer | $72,591 | $34.90 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
