Materials engineers
Salary, job outlook, AI risk & career information
Materials engineers in the United States earn a median salary of $112,860 per year — about $54 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roughly 23K people work in this occupation nationwide, with projected employment growth of +6%.
AI & Automation Risk
Materials engineering is heavily reliant on digital simulation, data analysis, and computational modeling, areas where AI and machine learning are already accelerating material discovery and property prediction. While the role requires physical lab work and manufacturing oversight, a significant portion of the core value—designing alloys, analyzing failures, and writing technical reports—is increasingly susceptible to AI-driven productivity gains and automation.
Salary by City — What You Actually Take Home
Real purchasing power = salary adjusted for cost of living. Higher = more money in your pocket.
| City | Local Salary | Cost of Living | Real Purchasing Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur, ALBEST VALUE | $134,370 | Below avg (87.2) | $154,073 |
| Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH | $137,290 | Below avg (92.7) | $148,111 |
| Boulder, CO | $151,940 | Above avg (105.2) | $144,427 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $156,730 | Above avg (110.4) | $141,936 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $156,130 | Above avg (111.1) | $140,489 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $144,010 | Above avg (104.5) | $137,826 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $138,430 | Average (101.4) | $136,495 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $134,630 | Average (99.6) | $135,217 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $127,740 | Below avg (95.4) | $133,941 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $127,230 | Below avg (95.7) | $132,952 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $147,490 | Above avg (112.6) | $131,029 |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC | $131,080 | Average (101.0) | $129,831 |
| Huntsville, AL | $120,720 | Below avg (93.1) | $129,706 |
| Columbia, SC | $121,290 | Below avg (93.7) | $129,498 |
| Bakersfield-Delano, CA | $130,440 | Average (100.9) | $129,294 |