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Updated May 2026 · BLS OEWS 2025

Industrial Engineer Salary in Tulsa, OK

Engineering · SOC 17-2112 · COL Index 86.8

Industrial Engineers in Tulsa, OK earn a median salary of $99,830 as of 2025, with a 10th-to-90th percentile range of $74,880 to $140,550. The mean is $104,370 across approximately 850 workers. Adjusted for Tulsa, OK's cost-of-living index of 86.8, the median equates to $115,012 of purchasing power in an average-cost U.S. metro.

Industrial Engineer in Tulsa, OK pays below the national median: $99,830 locally versus $107,025. The discount usually reflects either lower cost-of-living, smaller local industry concentration, or weaker labor demand.

Cost-of-living in Tulsa, OK runs below the national baseline (index 86.8). The cost-adjusted purchasing power of $99,830 works out to roughly $115,012 in national-baseline dollars — often higher real income than in high-cost coastal cities at the same gross wage. Wage distribution at the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles: $84,860, $99,830, $120,190, $140,550. 850 Industrial Engineer workers are documented in Tulsa, OK 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.

$99,830
Median Salary
$104,370
Mean Salary
$115,012
COL-Adjusted
850
Employment

Salary Distribution

Percentile Breakdown

PercentileSalaryCOL-Adjusted
10th Percentile (Entry Level)$74,880$86,267
25th Percentile$84,860$97,765
50th Percentile (Median)$99,830$115,012
75th Percentile$120,190$138,468
90th Percentile (Top Earners)$140,550$161,924

What These Numbers Tell You

The 10th-to-90th percentile band for Industrial Engineers in Tulsa, OK is moderately wide — the 90th-percentile worker earns about 1.9× 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.

Tulsa, OK's cost-of-living index of 86.8 runs below the U.S. average, so a $99,830 salary here has the equivalent purchasing power of about $115,012 in an average-cost metro. Lower nominal pay in markets like this often translates to comparable or better real income than higher headline numbers in coastal hubs.

Tulsa, OK ranks #60 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Industrial Engineer pay — in the lower half nationally (86th percentile). Lower nominal pay here is often offset by a lower cost of living; check the COL-adjusted figure on this page for an apples-to-apples comparison.

How to Use This in Negotiation

The classic negotiation move is to anchor your ask on the 75th percentile of the BLS band — $120,190 for Industrial Engineers in Tulsa, OK — 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 ($140,550) without strong evidence undercuts credibility.

For new entrants, the 25th-to-50th percentile band ($84,860$99,830) is the realistic target. For mid-career workers, the median-to-75th band ($99,830$120,190) is the right anchor. Senior specialists and managers should be benchmarking against the 75th-to-90th band ($120,190$140,550).

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 Tulsa, OK percentile bands above (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) and the mean are pulled directly from the BLS data file for SOC code 17-2112 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 Industrial Engineer salary in Tulsa, OK?

Industrial Engineers in Tulsa, OK earn a median salary of $99,830 as of 2025, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data. The mean (employment-weighted average) is $104,370 across roughly 850 workers in this metro.

What is the salary range for Industrial Engineers in Tulsa, OK?

Pay ranges from $74,880 at the 10th percentile to $140,550 at the 90th percentile — a $65,670 spread. The 25th-to-75th percentile band ($84,860 to $120,190) is the typical anchor for salary negotiation.

Is $99,830 a good Industrial Engineer salary in Tulsa, OK?

$99,830 is the BLS median — half of Industrial Engineers in Tulsa, OK earn more, half earn less. Whether it is "good" depends on your experience: new entrants typically land near the 25th percentile ($84,860), mid-career workers near the median, and senior specialists near or above the 75th percentile ($120,190). Cost-of-living-adjusted to a national average baseline, the median equates to $115,012.

How does Industrial Engineer pay in Tulsa, OK compare to other metros?

Tulsa, OK ranks #60 of 70 BLS-tracked metros for Industrial Engineer median pay. Nominal pay is in the lower half of U.S. metros, though the cost of living usually offsets at least part of that gap.

Where does this Industrial 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, Tulsa, OK MSA, SOC 17-2112, 2025 release. Public domain. See bls.gov/oes. Cite as: "SalaryTruth, BLS OEWS 2025."

Last refreshed 2026-05-21 · 850 Industrial Engineers tracked in Tulsa, OK.