RESTON, VA — Civil engineering salaries continue to trend up according to the 2022 ASCE Civil Engineering Salary Report today released by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), with an average annual salary of nearly $125,000. The median pre-tax annual salary in 2021 among survey respondents was $124,296. Base salaries rose by about 6% from 2020 to 2021. The median primary income for those civil engineers with a Professional Engineers license was $130,000, nearly $23,000 more than those with no licenses or certifications.
“The work that civil engineers do, regardless of whether it is planning, design, construction, or maintenance, is about solving the complex challenges of today and tomorrow, and those skills are clearly in high demand,” said ASCE President Dennis D. Truax, P.E., F.ASCE. “We see from the data that salaries for civil engineers continue to rise, even after the volatile market conditions of the recent past. It’s a testament to the value put on what we do for society.”
The report also shows high job satisfaction and opportunities for career growth in 2022. Of the salary survey respondents, 63.3% reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their financial compensation. That number was even higher, though, when asked about overall job satisfaction: 85.2% said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their civil engineering jobs. More than nine in 10 respondents receive health and insurance benefits through their employer and nearly 79% are offered telework options — an increasingly important and desired employee benefit since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, two-thirds of survey respondents said they were very satisfied or satisfied with the advancement opportunities afforded by their workplace. In a field that plays such a large role in giving back to and shaping communities, employees want to feel like their role is impactful and creating positive change for others.
Now approaching the one year anniversary of the passage of the bipartisan federal infrastructure bill, an influx of significant infrastructure projects getting underway nationwide will present more job opportunities in this rewarding field.
The ASCE Salary Report is released every fall, collected from responses of Society members about their jobs and financial compensation. This year’s report is derived from 3,128 member responses.