Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2025
Civil Engineer Salary in New Orleans, LA
Engineering · SOC 17-2051 · COL Index 95.9
Civil Engineers in New Orleans, LA earn a median salary of $108,240 as of 2025, with a 10th-to-90th percentile range of $70,000 to $156,760. The mean is $111,530 across approximately 1,070 workers. Adjusted for New Orleans, LA's cost-of-living index of 95.9, the median equates to $112,868 of purchasing power in an average-cost U.S. metro.
Civil Engineer in New Orleans, LA pays modestly above the national median: $108,240 versus $101,468 nationally, roughly 7% above.
Cost-of-living in New Orleans, LA sits near the national baseline (index 95.9), so the unadjusted $108,240 median is reasonably comparable to wages in other near-baseline cities. Wage distribution at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles: $85,296, $108,240, $132,500, $156,760. 1,070 Civil Engineer workers are documented in New Orleans, LA per the BLS OEWS survey. The percentile spread is the most useful framing — entry-level pay clusters near p25, mid-career near p50, senior-level near p75-p90.
Salary Distribution
Percentile Breakdown
| Percentile | Salary | COL-Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (Entry Level) | $70,000 | $72,993 |
| 25th Percentile | $85,296 | $88,943 |
| 50th Percentile (Median) | $108,240 | $112,868 |
| 75th Percentile | $132,500 | $138,165 |
| 90th Percentile (Top Earners) | $156,760 | $163,462 |
What These Numbers Tell You
The 10th-to-90th percentile band for Civil Engineers in New Orleans, LA is moderately wide — the 90th-percentile worker earns about 2.2× the 10th-percentile worker. That is typical for a professional role with standard career progression: experience, scope, and employer size all matter, but the spread is not so extreme that the role bifurcates into separate sub-markets.
New Orleans, LA's cost-of-living index of 95.9 sits close to the U.S. average — $108,240 here has roughly the same purchasing power as the same salary in the typical U.S. metro. That makes this market a clean baseline for comparing offers across cities.
New Orleans, LA ranks #10 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Civil Engineer pay — in the top quartile nationally (top 14%). Markets in this band tend to be major regional employer hubs even when they are not the absolute highest-cost cities.
How to Use This in Negotiation
The classic negotiation move is to anchor your ask on the 75th percentile of the BLS band — $132,500 for Civil Engineers in New Orleans, LA — when you have meaningful experience, then bring evidence (years on the job, scope of past work, relevant certifications, comparable offers) to justify why you sit at that point in the distribution. Anchoring on the median when you have 5+ years of experience leaves money on the table; anchoring on the 90th percentile ($156,760) without strong evidence undercuts credibility.
For new entrants, the 25th-to-50th percentile band ($85,296–$108,240) is the realistic target. For mid-career workers, the median-to-75th band ($108,240–$132,500) is the right anchor. Senior specialists and managers should be benchmarking against the 75th-to-90th band ($132,500–$156,760).
For specific scripts and a full negotiation framework, see the data-driven salary negotiation guide. To benchmark your current pay, the salary percentile calculator places any number into the BLS distribution for this role and metro.
How This Salary Is Calculated
Wage figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program — a federal survey of about 1.2 million U.S. establishments, published once per year by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code. The New Orleans, LA percentile bands above (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) and the mean are pulled directly from the BLS data file for SOC code 17-2051 in this MSA. The COL-adjusted figure rebases salary to a U.S. national average COL of 100, using a composite index derived from public housing, food, and transportation data. Read the full methodology for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average Civil Engineer salary in New Orleans, LA?
Civil Engineers in New Orleans, LA earn a median salary of $108,240 as of 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data. The mean (employment-weighted average) is $111,530 across roughly 1,070 workers in this metro.
What is the salary range for Civil Engineers in New Orleans, LA?
Pay ranges from $70,000 at the 10th percentile to $156,760 at the 90th percentile — a $86,760 spread. The 25th-to-75th percentile band ($85,296 to $132,500) is the typical anchor for salary negotiation.
Is $108,240 a good Civil Engineer salary in New Orleans, LA?
$108,240 is the BLS median — half of Civil Engineers in New Orleans, LA earn more, half earn less. Whether it is "good" depends on your experience: new entrants typically land near the 25th percentile ($85,296), mid-career workers near the median, and senior specialists near or above the 75th percentile ($132,500). Cost-of-living-adjusted to a national average baseline, the median equates to $112,868.
How does Civil Engineer pay in New Orleans, LA compare to other metros?
New Orleans, LA ranks #10 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Civil Engineer median pay. It sits in the top quartile of U.S. metros for this role.
Where does this Civil Engineer salary data come from?
Every wage figure comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program at bls.gov/oes — public domain federal data covering 1.2 million U.S. employers. The same data feeds the U.S. Department of Labor's prevailing wage system used for H-1B and federal contracting wage determinations.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, New Orleans, LA MSA, SOC 17-2051, 2025 release. Public domain. See bls.gov/oes. Cite as: "SalaryTruth, BLS OEWS 2025."
Last refreshed 2026-05-21 · 1,070 Civil Engineers tracked in New Orleans, LA.