Computer Engineer Salary

Before choosing a career, you should know about career opportunities, working conditions, the work environment, insurance, and especially the salary aspect. How much does a computer engineer make?

Salary Outlook

The average salary of a computer engineer in the United States is $127,038 per year, which is 126% higher than the average U.S. salary. Our latest research found that new college graduates can earn an average salary range of $75,000 to $96,000 per year.

HourlyWeeklyMonthlyAnnual
$61.07$2,443$10,586$127,038

Salary Range

Percentile10%25%50%75%90%
Hourly$38.40$47.21$58.57$78.18$94.49
Weekly$1,535$1,887$2,342$3,127$3,780
Monthly$6,656$8,183$10,151$13,552$16,378
Annual$79,881$98,196$121,818$162,626$196,540

Software and Hardware Engineer

Computer engineering has two major specialties: software engineering and hardware engineering.

Computer software engineers develop, design, and test software or construct and maintain computer networks and programs for companies. They create computer interfaces, operating systems, new programs, and applications for devices such as desktops, smartphones, and tablets. The average software engineer salary is $133,721 per year.

Computer EngineerHardware EngineerSoftware Engineer
Junior$79,856$85,560$74,152
Intermediate$126,914$146,136$136,525
Senior$200,096$207,117$208,605

Computer hardware engineers research, develop, and test hardware or computer equipment, including chip sets, mainboards, etc. They ensure that their hardware works properly with the latest software technology. The average hardware engineer salary is $139,822 per year.

Overall, the average pay for a hardware engineer is 5% higher than for a software engineer.

Highest-Paying Companies

Based on our data, Google is the highest-paying company in the computer engineering industry, with employees earning an average of $153,760 per year, which is 21% higher than the average computer engineering salary in the United States. A senior engineer at Google can earn up to $285,000 or more.

CompanyHourlyMonthlyAnnual
Google$73.93$12,813$153,760
LinkedIn$72.73$12,607$151,280
Apple$71.54$12,400$148,800
Facebook$70.94$12,297$147,560
HP$70.35$12,193$146,320
IBM$69.75$12,090$145,080
Cisco Systems$69.15$11,987$143,840
Microsoft$68.56$11,883$142,600
Citrix Systems$66.17$11,470$137,640
Oracle$64.38$11,160$133,920
Amazon$63.79$11,057$132,680
Qualcomm$63.79$10,953$131,440
Intel Corporation$63.19$10,850$130,200
eBay$62.00$10,747$128,960
Workday$59.02$10,230$122,760
Orbitz Worldwide$57.82$10,023$120,280
Jabil Circuit$54.85$9,507$114,080
Xerox$54.85$9,507$114,080
Danaher$50.68$8,783$105,400
Micron Technology$48.88$8,473$101,680

Highest-Paying Jobs/Fields

Job/Field – CompanyAnnual
Software – Google$353,400
Software – Apple$319,920
Software – Intel$291,400
Software – LinkedIn$260,400
Manager – Facebook$259,160
Manager – Riverbed$235,600
Hardware – Qualcomm$229,400
Software – Citrix$223,200
Software – Agilent$219,480
Software – Red Hat$212,040
Software – Akamai$209,560
Software – SAP$190,960
Software – Workday$187,240
Manager – Eaton$181,040
Software – MITRE$177,320
Software – MathWorks$174,840
Hardware – NI$169,880
QA – Salesforce$168,640
Software – Rackspace$156,240
Software – Orbitz$150,040

Highest-Paying Cities

Silicon Valley (San Francisco Bay Area, California) is the best place to be a computer engineer; the median salary is around $166,160 per year.

CityHourlyMonthlyAnnual
San Francisco$79.88$13,847$166,160
San Jose$78.69$13,640$163,680
New York$68.56$11,883$142,600
Washington D.C.$67.96$11,780$141,360
Brooklyn$65.57$11,367$136,400
Boston$64.38$11,160$133,920
Chicago$63.79$11,056$132,680
Los Angeles$63.19$10,953$131,440
Dallas$62.60$10,850$130,200
Philadelphia$61.40$10,643$127,720

Salary by State

StateHourlyMonthlyAnnual
Alabama$62.30$10,798$129,580
Alaska$49.72$8,618$103,416
Arizona$51.39$8,907$106,888
Arkansas$59.88$10,380$124,558
California$68.26$11,832$141,980
Colorado$51.00$8,840$106,082
Connecticut$65.12$11,289$135,470
Delaware$55.68$9,651$115,816
Florida$56.78$9,843$118,110
Georgia$65.82$11,408$136,896
Hawaii$60.07$10,411$124,930
Idaho$49.36$8,556$102,672
Illinois$63.08$10,933$131,192
Indiana$60.87$10,550$126,604
Iowa$56.22$9,744$116,932
Kansas$54.52$9,450$113,398
Kentucky$52.38$9,078$108,934
Louisiana$50.13$8,690$104,284
Maine$53.48$9,269$111,228
Maryland$60.09$10,416$124,992
Massachusetts$68.56$11,883$142,600
Michigan$58.28$10,101$121,210
Minnesota$53.74$9,316$111,786
Mississippi$69.92$12,121$145,452
Missouri$59.68$10,344$124,124
Montana$61.55$10,669$128,030
Nebraska$48.67$8,437$101,246
Nevada$55.53$9,626$115,506
New Hampshire$58.96$10,220$122,636
New Jersey$63.76$11,052$132,618
New Mexico$54.16$9,388$112,654
New York$70.62$12,240$146,878
North Carolina$59.92$10,385$124,620
North Dakota$56.04$9,713$116,560
Ohio$57.14$9,905$118,854
Oklahoma$54.85$9,507$114,080
Oregon$56.97$9,874$118,482
Pennsylvania$51.93$9,000$108,004
Rhode Island$60.69$10,519$126,232
South Carolina$53.98$9,357$112,282
South Dakota$46.62$8,081$96,968
Tennessee$57.33$9,936$119,226
Texas$56.31$9,760$117,118
Utah$51.24$8,882$106,578
Vermont$56.16$9,734$116,808
Virginia$60.33$10,457$125,488
Washington$57.59$9,982$119,784
West Virginia$59.35$10,287$123,442
Wisconsin$52.79$9,150$109,802
Wyoming$55.35$9,595$115,134