Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2025
Civil Engineer Salary in Sacramento, CA
Engineering · SOC 17-2051 · COL Index 124.7
Civil Engineers in Sacramento, CA earn a median salary of $130,150 as of 2025, with a 10th-to-90th percentile range of $81,680 to $175,940. The mean is $129,650 across approximately 5,590 workers. Adjusted for Sacramento, CA's cost-of-living index of 124.7, the median equates to $104,370 of purchasing power in an average-cost U.S. metro.
Civil Engineer in Sacramento, CA pays a substantial premium over the national median: $130,150 versus $101,468 nationally, roughly 28% above. The premium reflects local labor demand, cost-of-living adjustment, and industry concentration.
Cost-of-living in Sacramento, CA runs at index 124.7, above the national baseline. The cost-adjusted median works out to about $104,370 in national-baseline dollars. Wage distribution at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles: $101,068, $130,150, $153,045, $175,940. 5,590 Civil Engineer workers are documented in Sacramento, CA 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) | $81,680 | $65,501 |
| 25th Percentile | $101,068 | $81,049 |
| 50th Percentile (Median) | $130,150 | $104,370 |
| 75th Percentile | $153,045 | $122,731 |
| 90th Percentile (Top Earners) | $175,940 | $141,091 |
What These Numbers Tell You
The 10th-to-90th percentile band for Civil Engineers in Sacramento, CA 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.
Sacramento, CA's cost-of-living index of 124.7 (about 25% above the U.S. average) means a $130,150 median translates to roughly $104,370 in an average-cost market. Most of that gap is housing and transportation; the salary premium most professional roles earn here only partially offsets it.
Sacramento, CA ranks #3 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Civil Engineer pay — among the very top markets nationally. Top-3 metros for any occupation typically combine three signals: dense local employer concentration, high cost of living, and a deep pool of senior workers that pulls the percentile bands upward.
How to Use This in Negotiation
The classic negotiation move is to anchor your ask on the 75th percentile of the BLS band — $153,045 for Civil Engineers in Sacramento, CA — 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 ($175,940) without strong evidence undercuts credibility.
For new entrants, the 25th-to-50th percentile band ($101,068–$130,150) is the realistic target. For mid-career workers, the median-to-75th band ($130,150–$153,045) is the right anchor. Senior specialists and managers should be benchmarking against the 75th-to-90th band ($153,045–$175,940).
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 Sacramento, CA 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 Sacramento, CA?
Civil Engineers in Sacramento, CA earn a median salary of $130,150 as of 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data. The mean (employment-weighted average) is $129,650 across roughly 5,590 workers in this metro.
What is the salary range for Civil Engineers in Sacramento, CA?
Pay ranges from $81,680 at the 10th percentile to $175,940 at the 90th percentile — a $94,260 spread. The 25th-to-75th percentile band ($101,068 to $153,045) is the typical anchor for salary negotiation.
Is $130,150 a good Civil Engineer salary in Sacramento, CA?
$130,150 is the BLS median — half of Civil Engineers in Sacramento, CA earn more, half earn less. Whether it is "good" depends on your experience: new entrants typically land near the 25th percentile ($101,068), mid-career workers near the median, and senior specialists near or above the 75th percentile ($153,045). Cost-of-living-adjusted to a national average baseline, the median equates to $104,370.
How does Civil Engineer pay in Sacramento, CA compare to other metros?
Sacramento, CA ranks #3 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Civil Engineer median pay. It is among the highest-paying markets 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, Sacramento, CA MSA, SOC 17-2051, 2025 release. Public domain. See bls.gov/oes. Cite as: "SalaryTruth, BLS OEWS 2025."
Last refreshed 2026-05-21 · 5,590 Civil Engineers tracked in Sacramento, CA.