AEC salary guide · 2026
What AEC jobs pay
Base pay for 43 roles in architecture, engineering, interior design and construction management. Each role puts a recruiter's placement band next to what live postings offer, with Bureau of Labor Statistics figures as a check.
Roles
43in 6 disciplines
Postings with pay
10,326annual ranges from employer career pages
Base pay by discipline
- Architecture$62k to $360k
- Civil engineering$68k to $335k
- Structural engineering$72k to $360k
- MEP engineering$72k to $325k
- Construction management$72k to $295k
- Interior design$62k to $285k
By discipline
Pick your specialty
Every rung from first job to principal, with the band, the posted median and how many postings back it.
- Architecture$62k to $360k8 roles · 609 postings with pay · 7 with a posted medianArchitectural designer, Intermediate architectural designer, Project architect, Senior project architect and 4 more
- Civil engineering$68k to $335k7 roles · 2,260 postings with payCivil EIT, Civil engineer (PE), Senior civil engineer, Civil project manager and 3 more
- Structural engineering$72k to $360k6 roles · 1,085 postings with payStructural EIT, Structural engineer (PE), Senior structural engineer, Structural project manager and 2 more
- MEP engineering$72k to $325k7 roles · 3,100 postings with payMEP EIT, MEP engineer (PE), Senior MEP engineer, MEP project manager and 3 more
- Construction management$72k to $295k9 roles · 3,161 postings with pay · 8 with a posted medianAssistant project manager or field engineer, Construction project engineer, Construction project manager, Senior construction project manager and 5 more
- Interior design$62k to $285k6 roles · 111 postings with pay · 3 with a posted medianInterior designer, Interior project designer, Senior interior designer, Interior design director and 2 more
BLS benchmark
National wages by occupation
What every US employer pays, from sole practices to federal agencies, in the May 2025 release. One median covers every level at once, so set it against the middle of a ladder, not one rung.
| Occupation | 10th percentile | Median | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical engineersSOC 17-2071 | $76,550 | $120,630 | $184,300 |
| Construction managersSOC 11-9021 | $69,690 | $114,990 | $189,440 |
| Mechanical engineersSOC 17-2141 | $73,990 | $104,110 | $164,340 |
| Civil engineersSOC 17-2051 | $68,240 | $100,840 | $163,220 |
| Architects (except landscape and naval)SOC 17-1011 | $62,300 | $99,280 | $161,420 |
| Urban and regional plannersSOC 19-3051 | $60,010 | $89,320 | $134,490 |
| Landscape architectsSOC 17-1012 | $54,770 | $79,870 | $130,190 |
| Cost estimatorsSOC 13-1051 | $48,530 | $78,740 | $130,820 |
| SurveyorsSOC 17-1022 | $46,880 | $75,440 | $125,590 |
| Interior designersSOC 27-1025 | $41,420 | $67,190 | $114,140 |
Method
Three sources, side by side
- Recruiter bands
- Base salary at US mid-market AEC firms (40 to 400 people), before bonus, equity and project incentive pay. Placement bands from AEC recruiters, last revised April 20, 2026. Bonus typically adds 5 to 15% for senior roles and up to 25% at principal and partner level.
- Posted pay
- 10,326 open jobs in these disciplines list an annual pay range on the employer's own career page. We take the midpoint of each range and report the median and the middle half for each role, once at least 10 postings match it. Hourly, part-time and internship postings are left out.
- BLS
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Figures here are the May 2025 release: annual wages before bonus, profit sharing and overtime.
Questions
What people ask about AEC pay
Are these salaries base pay or total pay?
Base pay. The recruiter bands are base salary at US mid-market AEC firms (40 to 400 people), before bonus, equity and project incentive pay. Bonus typically adds 5 to 15% for senior roles and up to 25% at principal and partner level. Posted ranges are base pay as the employer advertised it.
Why do the recruiter band and posted pay differ?
A recruiter band comes from people placed in the role. A posted range is what one firm advertises for one opening, often to meet a state pay-transparency law. For most roles the posted median falls inside the band. At principal level the posted median sits below the band in architecture, civil engineering, structural engineering and MEP engineering. Few principal jobs are posted publicly (1 to 67 per discipline with pay right now), so those medians rest on thin data.
How do I tell what I should be making?
Find your role and years on your discipline's ladder. If your base is under both the recruiter band and the posted median, you are likely paid below the market for a mid-market firm. Licenses, sector and city move the number; each discipline page says by how much where the data shows it.
How often are these numbers updated?
Posted pay is worked out from the live job database each time the site is rebuilt. BLS figures change once a year, when BLS publishes a new release (the current one is May 2025). The recruiter bands were last revised April 20, 2026.
Find jobs that pay this
Upload your resume and see the open AEC jobs you fit best. Many list their pay range.