Systems Engineering Salary
$60.5K - $73K
2% of jobs
$73K - $85.5K
2% of jobs
$85.5K - $98K
3% of jobs
$98K - $110.5K
13% of jobs
$114K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$110.5K - $123K
16% of jobs
The median wage is $134.9K / yr.
$123K - $135.5K
14% of jobs
$135.5K - $148K
11% of jobs
$148K - $160.5K
13% of jobs
$161.8K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$160.5K - $173K
4% of jobs
$173K - $185.5K
11% of jobs
$185.5K - $198K
11% of jobs
$60.5K
$138K
$196.5K
$142,070
/year
$68.30
/hour
Systems Engineering Salary Comparison by Location
Nationwide
United States
$142,070
Columbus
Ohio
$137,225
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How much does a Systems Engineering make?
As of Jun 16, 2026, the average annual pay for a Systems Engineering in the United States is $142,070 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $68.30 an hour. This is the equivalent of $2,732/week or $11,839/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $196,500 and as low as $60,500, the majority of Systems Engineering salaries currently range between $114,000 (25th percentile) to $173,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $196,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Systems Engineering varies greatly (by as much as 59000), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.
A Systems Engineering in your area makes on average $137,225 per year, or $4,845 (3.410%) less than the national average annual salary of $142,070. Ohio ranks number 30 out of 50 states nationwide for Systems Engineering salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Systems Engineering jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
Find your next high paying job as a Systems Engineering on ZipRecruiter today.
What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Systems Engineering Jobs
We've identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Systems Engineering job is above the national average. Topping the list is Redondo Beach, CA, , with Nome, AK, and Pennington County, SD, close behind in the second and third positions. Pennington County, SD, beats the national average by $34,074 (24.0%), and Redondo Beach, CA, furthers that trend with another $37,022 (26.1%) above the $142,070 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Systems Engineering 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 Redondo Beach, CA, and Morristown, NJ, , 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 Systems Engineering role.
City | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Redondo Beach, CA | $179,092 | $86.10 |
Nome, AK | $176,237 | $84.73 |
Pennington County, SD | $176,144 | $84.68 |
Cupertino, CA | $175,278 | $84.27 |
Berkeley, CA | $173,956 | $83.63 |
Sitka, AK | $171,149 | $82.28 |
Acton, MA | $171,119 | $82.27 |
Springfield, NJ | $169,933 | $81.70 |
Wyoming, WY | $169,436 | $81.46 |
Morristown, NJ | $169,319 | $81.40 |
What are Top 5 Best Paying Related Systems Engineering Jobs in the U.S.
Analyzing some similar jobs related to the Systems Engineering job category, we found that Senior Windows Systems Engineer jobs have average salaries similar than Systems Engineering jobs.
Job Title | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
Senior Windows Systems Engineer | $131,958 | $63.44 |
Sr Hardware Engineer | $131,907 | $63.42 |
Virtualization Engineer | $123,889 | $59.56 |
Consulting Systems Engineer | $100,250 | $48.20 |
Modeler | $83,896 | $40.33 |
About Our Data
ZipRecruiter salary estimates, histograms, trends and comparisons are derived from both employer job postings and third party data sources.
